Rep. Mike Ouellet

Maddy summaryThis bill requires employers in New Hampshire to inform their employees about resources available to support veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Specifically, employers must provide written notice or post a visible notice containing contact information for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD. The law applies to all employers and mandates that this information be shared with staff to ensure access to support services. If an employer fails to comply with this requirement, they could face civil penalties enforced by the state Department of Labor. The bill would become effective 60 days after it is passed into law.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires state agencies to respond to all citizen inquiries, complaints, and requests for assistance within three business days. It mandates that these responses come directly from a human employee rather than an automated system and must be delivered via email, phone, or in person. The law applies to all divisions, bureaus, and sections within state agencies to ensure prompt communication with the public. Although the bill was referred for an interim study, the committee ultimately did not recommend it for future legislation.

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a formal process for the Department of Environmental Services to transfer ownership of state-owned dams to local towns or groups of landowners before the dams are removed. Under the new rules, the department must offer the dams to affected municipalities first, providing them with detailed information about the dam's condition and estimated repair costs, and only proceed with removal if no one accepts the transfer within a set timeframe. To support these transfers and future maintenance, the legislation creates a loan program funded by a state dam maintenance fund, offering 20-year loans at a 5 percent interest rate to towns or associations that take ownership. The bill also mandates that any loans taken must be repaid using local budget appropriations or property taxes from areas bordering the impoundment, with a cap of 50 percent of those taxes. Additionally, the process includes an exemption for dams deemed to be in imminent danger of failure, allowing the state to remove them immediately without offering a transfer.

Maddy summaryThis bill allocates $2,000,000 from the state's General Fund to the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2024. The funds are designated to repair off-highway vehicle and snowmobile trails that were damaged by weather events in 2023. The money will be distributed through an existing grant-in-aid process and is classified as nonlapsing, meaning the funds remain available until fully spent. The legislation also authorizes the governor to issue a warrant to access these funds from the treasury.

Maddy summaryThis law requires the state Department of Revenue Administration to study how forest carbon credit programs might reduce timber tax revenue and to submit reports to the legislature by late 2024 and late 2025. The bill also creates a public registry to list New Hampshire forest lands enrolled in carbon programs, requiring owners to provide details such as their name, property location, and enrollment dates. Additionally, it mandates that landowners or program administrators notify the local municipalities where the enrolled forest land is located about these enrollments.

Maddy summaryThis bill requires public and private schools in New Hampshire to designate interscholastic sports teams as male, female, or coed based on the biological sex listed on a student's birth certificate. It explicitly prohibits female-designated teams from allowing male students to participate and mandates that schools enforce these rules without fear of legal complaints or investigations from government entities or athletic associations. The legislation also creates a legal pathway for students or schools to sue for damages if they believe these eligibility rules have been violated or if someone faces retaliation for reporting such violations.

Maddy summaryThis bill changes the election terms for Coos County officials, including the county attorney, sheriff, treasurer, register of deeds, and register of probate, from two years to four years. The change applies to elections starting in 2024 and will continue for all future elections, aligning Coos County with the existing four-year terms already in place for Rockingham County. These officials will now be voted on by county residents every four years instead of every two years, and the law takes effect on September 1, 2024.

Maddy summaryThis bill proposes to formally establish the Woodsville fire district in Haverhill as an independent village district with its own governing board and legal status. It transfers full responsibility for maintaining local roads and providing fire protection from the town of Haverhill to the district, while also allowing the district to share expenses with other communities. The legislation sets up a specific funding formula where the town compensates the district for these services based on the district's share of the town's road mileage, property value, and population. Additionally, residents of the district retain the right to vote on whether to return these responsibilities to the town at any time.