This bill prohibits health insurance companies and medical providers from forcing doctors to use electronic medical records or penalizing them financially for not doing so. It also bans carriers from mandating specific software formats or requiring data beyond basic patient identification and treatment details. On the other hand, the law requires all health carriers and providers to give patients or their legal guardians access to review their digital records within 24 hours and provide a free copy upon request. Additionally, the bill mandates that facilities create a process for addressing patient concerns about record inaccuracies and allowing for proposed corrections. These rules will take effect 60 days after the legislation is passed.
This bill restricts how many local government roles a single person can hold at the same time to prevent conflicts of interest and excessive power. It specifically bars individuals from holding multiple elected or appointed offices simultaneously, such as serving as both a selectman and a full-time town employee, or holding more than two municipal board memberships. The law also prohibits officials who manage town funds from acting as auditors and prevents employees from serving on committees that oversee their own work areas. These rules apply to all towns and municipalities, ensuring that no one can hold incompatible positions while still allowing them to share information and provide clerical help between offices.
This bill updates the rules for requesting a vote recount in New Hampshire state general elections. It allows any candidate to ask for a recount if the vote difference is less than 20% of the total votes in the relevant towns or if the total number of ballots cast exceeds the number of registered voters on election day. Candidates must submit a written request to the secretary of state by the Friday following the election and pay the required fees. The law will not take effect until 60 days after it is passed.
This bill clarifies that citizens can request government records electronically without needing to visit public offices in person. It allows public bodies to accept and provide records via digital means, such as email or online portals, while still permitting physical copies through traditional methods like printing or photography. The law applies to all public agencies and ensures that electronic requests are treated the same as written requests for existing records. These changes take effect 60 days after the bill is passed into law.
This bill establishes new standards for informed consent and outlines specific patient rights within the state's medical practice laws. It requires physicians to clearly explain diagnoses, treatment options, risks, and benefits while documenting these discussions, and it grants patients the right to refuse care, request second opinions, and maintain privacy. Additionally, the legislation ensures that doctors will not abruptly stop medically necessary treatment without providing adequate notice and assistance for finding new care. These changes apply to all patient-physician interactions and take effect 60 days after the bill is passed.
This bill updates the legal definition of temporary alimony in divorce cases to clarify how these payments are calculated and limited. Under the new rules, courts will generally apply standard duration limits to temporary support, but they can exempt these payments from those limits if the support lasts an unusually long time. Additionally, a court may choose to apply a specific percentage formula for calculating payments only if it finds that doing so would cause immediate, irreparable economic harm to the spouse receiving support. These changes take effect on January 1, 2025, and directly affect judges and parties involved in family court proceedings.
This bill removes the taxable income cap that currently limits how much of a net operating loss deduction businesses can claim under New Hampshire's business profits tax. It allows companies to deduct the full amount of their net operating losses without restriction, while keeping the rule that these losses can only be carried forward for ten years. The changes apply to all taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2024, and the law officially takes effect on July 1, 2024.
Refer to Interim Study, MA, VV; 05/22/2024; SJ 14
This bill updates the official absentee ballot application form to include specific reasons for requesting a ballot, such as religious observance, disability, employment obligations including childcare, and severe weather conditions. It also clarifies that voters assisted by someone due to a disability will have their signature on the application compared to their ballot signature only if the assistant did not sign a statement confirming the assistance. Additionally, the legislation requires local election clerks to keep their offices open from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the day before an election to help voters complete and return absentee ballots. These changes aim to streamline the voting process and ensure accessibility for various circumstances without altering the fundamental right to vote.
This bill updates the rules for professional limited liability companies in New Hampshire by formally recognizing the role of an assistant manager. It requires that company managers and most officers be qualified professionals, while specifically allowing a single-member LLC to designate an assistant manager to step in and manage the business for up to one year if the primary manager dies, becomes incapacitated, or loses eligibility. The law permits this arrangement unless the company's operating agreement states otherwise, ensuring business continuity during leadership transitions. These changes take effect 60 days after the bill is passed.
This bill increases the maximum expense deduction allowed against New Hampshire's business profits tax from $500,000 to $1,000,000 for qualifying property placed in service on or after January 1, 2025. The change applies to all businesses filing for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2024, allowing them to deduct a larger portion of their capital investments immediately rather than spreading the cost over several years. While the Department of Revenue Administration estimates this could reduce state revenue by up to $4.7 million, it notes that the actual financial impact is indeterminable because the bill may simply shift when businesses claim deductions rather than eliminate them entirely. The legislation requires the state to update its tax forms and electronic systems to reflect the new deduction limit.
This bill updates New Hampshire town meeting procedures to allow local communities to vote on specific questions using official ballots, similar to how they currently elect officials. Under the new rules, towns would place these referendum questions on the meeting warrant and conduct voting through established absentee and polling place protocols, with polls remaining open for at least one hour after discussion ends. The legislation also provides a process for towns that previously adopted a system where only officer elections use official ballots to vote on returning to that earlier arrangement, requiring a three-fifths majority to approve such a change. These adjustments take effect 60 days after the bill passes, giving municipalities time to prepare for the updated voting methods.
