This bill updates New Hampshire laws to clarify how public school curriculum frameworks should be developed and maintained. It requires the state education board to review and refine these frameworks every ten years, while explicitly stating that they serve as guides rather than a mandatory statewide curriculum. Local teachers and school boards retain the responsibility to decide specific lesson plans, teaching methods, and materials that best fit their communities. The legislation also adds new definitions for educational terms like "applied learning," "logic," and "rhetoric" to the state's education statutes.
HB 1624 allows individuals over the age of 21 to distill liquor at home for personal or family use, provided the product is not sold. The law sets specific production limits, permitting households with two or more producers to make up to 200 gallons of beer or wine annually, while single-person households are limited to 100 gallons. Any liquor distilled from these amounts must remain for personal consumption and cannot be offered for sale. This change takes effect on January 1, 2025.
This bill establishes new privacy protections for firearm purchasers by prohibiting payment processors and networks from requiring gun stores to use a specific "firearms code" for credit or debit card transactions. Instead, the law mandates that retailers selling guns, ammunition, and accessories must use the same general merchant codes applied to other retail stores to prevent their purchase history from being separately flagged in financial data. The Attorney General is empowered to investigate violations, issue notices to correct errors within 30 days, and pursue civil penalties or court injunctions against entities that intentionally fail to comply. These rules take effect on January 1, 2025, aiming to keep firearm purchase records separate from other consumer spending data in electronic payment systems.
This bill expands the scope of who can legally provide psychotherapy services in New Hampshire by clarifying the requirements for exemption from stricter licensing rules. It specifically allows individuals working as employees or consultants for various mental health facilities to practice if their employers offer clinical supervision and assume full professional and legal responsibility for the care provided. The change applies to a wide range of settings, including outpatient private practices and nonprofit agencies, ensuring that qualified staff in these environments can deliver mental health services under the organization's oversight. The law takes effect on September 1, 2024, sixty days after its official passage.
This bill directs the Legislative Oversight Committee to review and offer suggestions on the academic standards and minimum requirements for public school approval that the State Board of Education is currently considering. The law specifically tasks the committee with examining these standards before they are finalized, ensuring the legislature has a role in the oversight process. It does not change the actual standards themselves but establishes a formal review step for the committee to evaluate the board's work. The changes will take effect ninety days after the bill is signed into law.
This bill updates New Hampshire's state building code by establishing new certification requirements for public building contractors and adjusting the structure of the State Building Code Review Board. Key changes include setting the board member terms to three years, requiring the board to review code updates for cost impacts and public safety, and creating a simplified electronic form to verify residential energy compliance. The legislation also expands the board's authority to hear appeals from specific professional licensing boards while repealing older provisions related to local code amendments and specific building types. These measures are designed to streamline code enforcement, improve consistency in building standards, and clarify the roles of various state agencies and professionals.
This bill creates a two-year pilot program in New Hampshire to help school districts buy local food by reimbursing them for purchases from New Hampshire and New England producers. Only schools participating in the National School Lunch Program can apply, and the state aims to award grants to one district in each county to support buying dairy, meat, produce, and other eligible items. The program provides a 33.3% reimbursement on food costs, with funds managed through a selection committee that ensures diverse participation across different school sizes and regions. Any leftover money after the pilot ends will return to the state's general fund, and the program will be evaluated annually to track its impact on local farms and school nutrition.
This bill updates New Hampshire laws regarding off-road vehicles, including a new definition for OHRV clubs and stricter rules for juveniles operating ATVs with passengers. It requires agricultural and industrial utility vehicles to be registered when driven on public roads and mandates a permit and fee for organizing unregistered snowmobile or OHRV events. Additionally, the legislation changes how grant funds for snowmobile trail maintenance are distributed, reserving half of engineering costs for specific projects. These changes take effect on January 1, 2025.
This bill grants the commissioner of the Department of Safety the authority to create temporary safety zones on public and coastal waters during emergencies. Under these new rules, the commissioner can set maximum speed limits for vessels for up to ten days when immediate action is needed due to weather or environmental hazards. The law takes effect ninety days after its passage, allowing officials to respond quickly to dangerous conditions without waiting for additional legislative approval.
This bill allows election officials to deliver absentee ballots directly to residents of nursing homes and elder care facilities to make voting more convenient for them. It requires these officials to ensure the process remains fair, private, and properly handled while reporting any suspicious activities to the secretary of state. The law takes effect ninety days after its signing, providing a clear timeline for implementation.
This bill extends the deadline for a special commission to investigate the environmental and health effects of perfluorinated chemicals in five towns to November 1, 2029. The commission, which studies pollution in the air, soil, and groundwater of Merrimack, Bedford, Londonderry, Hudson, and Litchfield, will now submit its final report and any legislative recommendations by that new date. Additionally, the bill delays the official end of the commission's work until November 1, 2029, allowing more time for analysis. These changes apply directly to the commission members and the officials who receive their reports.
This bill updates the state's child care scholarship program to prioritize applications from current child care employees and eliminate waiting periods for those who reapply after being denied due to missing information. It also mandates that child care providers contracted for preventive and protective services begin training in trauma-informed care starting July 1, 2021. Additionally, the law clarifies that child care services provided as preventive or protective measures are available to grandparents who serve as legal guardians or primary caretakers for their grandchildren. These changes aim to improve access to care for specific worker groups and caregivers while enhancing staff training standards.
