This bill creates a new Office of Regulatory Efficiency and Oversight within the Department of Business and Economic Affairs to represent private industry interests in state rulemaking. The office will be led by an executive director appointed by the governor, alongside advisors focused on private industry navigation and government efficiency, who will work to reduce regulatory duplication and barriers. Key provisions require all proposed agency rules to be submitted to the office 30 days before public hearings and mandate the completion of a public cost-benefit analysis within six months of the office's start. Additionally, the office will accept complaints from businesses regarding existing or proposed regulations and annually review professional licensing boards to recommend improvements. The legislation appropriates $1.5 million for the office's operations in the 2025 fiscal year and sets its effective date for January 1, 2025.
This bill allows New Hampshire school districts to partner with external healthcare providers to create on-site health centers that offer medical services to students beyond what school nurses currently provide. To establish these centers, districts must contract with a separate legal entity while ensuring that school nurses continue to handle first aid and emergency care, and that student participation remains entirely voluntary without any incentives. The legislation also mandates that parents or guardians must give written informed consent for unemancipated minors to receive care, and it requires that parents be present during appointments for these students. Additionally, the bill restricts schools from accessing student health records unless required by law and mandates that all health records be kept in compliance with federal privacy standards.
This bill adjusts the timing for when a specific section of the Right to Know Law applies to public records requests. It establishes that the new rules regarding attorney's fees will only begin to apply to requests made 60 days after the law takes effect. The legislation is set to become active on January 1, 2025, giving individuals and organizations time to adjust to the updated fee provisions.
This bill directs the New Hampshire Department of Transportation to include a plan for safety improvements on Route 101 within the state's 10-year transportation improvement plan. The legislation specifically targets the stretch of road from Bedford to Milford, requiring the implementation of physical barriers to separate opposing traffic lanes and the adoption of limited access design principles to reduce severe crashes. While the bill mandates these planning steps, it does not provide direct funding, instead requesting that the department seek approximately $7 million annually from federal sources to cover the estimated costs of construction and environmental permitting.
This bill expands eligibility for free school meals in New Hampshire to include students from households earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Under the new rules, school districts must provide at least one free meal daily to every student whose family income falls below this threshold, with the state funding the additional costs through the education trust fund. The legislation also updates the definition of the education trust fund to explicitly include money for these expanded meal programs. These changes take effect on September 1, 2023, and aim to ensure more children have access to nutritious food during school hours.
This bill defines biological sex as male or female and clarifies that separating people by this classification is not considered unlawful discrimination. It specifically allows organizations to maintain single-sex spaces for bathrooms, locker rooms, and athletic competitions where physical strength provides an advantage. The law also permits the use of biological sex distinctions in the operation of prisons, mental health facilities, and other secure institutions. While the bill establishes these definitions, it explicitly states that no entity is required to separate individuals based on biological sex.
This bill prohibits the state's Medicaid program from covering gender reassignment surgery for individuals under the age of 18. By adding a new provision to the state's Medicaid laws, it explicitly excludes this specific medical procedure from coverage for minors. The change would take effect 60 days after the bill is passed, ensuring that public funds are not used for these surgeries for people in that age group.
SB 307 allows New Hampshire electric distribution utilities to recover the costs of long-term transmission service agreements through retail rates. These agreements would cover projects in New England that have received funding or capacity contracts from the U.S. Department of Energy, with limits set at a total of 120 megawatts and a maximum duration of 30 years. The bill requires utilities to review proposals within three months and mandates that the Public Utilities Commission approve the agreements based on factors like benefits to ratepayers, price stability, and system reliability. If approved, utilities would pass any associated costs or savings directly to their customers through annual adjustments in retail rates.
This bill prohibits the use of dogs to hunt coyotes in New Hampshire. It directly affects hunters by adding a new rule that makes hounding coyotes with dogs illegal. The law takes effect immediately upon passage and requires no significant funding.
This bill authorizes the state to allocate $1 to the Department of Safety to fund infrastructure repairs in Hampton, North Hampton, Rye, Newcastle, Portsmouth, and Seabrook following flooding from January 2024 storms. The legislation allows the governor to issue a warrant to draw this sum from unappropriated treasury funds for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. The act takes effect immediately upon passage and designates the money for grants to help these specific coastal towns address storm-related damage.
This bill allocates $3 million to the Lead Paint Hazard Remediation Fund to help address lead paint dangers in homes. The money will come from either leftover federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act or the state's Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, depending on what is available by September 2024. The Governor's office for emergency relief and recovery will decide which source to use, and the Housing Finance Authority will manage the spending. This act takes effect on July 1, 2024.
SB 342 establishes a dedicated School Construction Fund to provide annual funding for new school building projects starting in fiscal year 2025. The bill creates a tiered funding schedule that begins at $30 million and increases by $5 million each year until reaching a cap of $80 million, which is then maintained annually. This money is restricted to new construction projects authorized on or after July 1, 2025, and must be used for facilities that serve as instructional spaces for at least 20 years. Additionally, the legislation requires the Department of Education to develop a 10-year plan to prioritize and manage future school facility needs.
