Rep. Kristin Noble

Maddy summaryHB 1828 requires New Hampshire's Department of Education to create an auditing process for teacher preparation programs at colleges and universities. The audit ensures these programs teach research-backed literacy instruction (including phonics, fluency, and vocabulary) aligned with the science of reading. The department must develop metrics to evaluate how effectively programs teach these methods and publish the results online. This directly affects all post-secondary institutions offering teacher training in New Hampshire.

Maddy summaryHB 1571 requires New Hampshire's Department of Education to review statewide academic standards for English/language arts, math, and science every 10 years, beginning in June 2026. The review must align standards with rigor, clarity, and relevance, incorporating input from students, parents, and educators. School districts must select new curriculum materials from a department-approved list based on the revised standards. The bill appropriates $1 for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 to fund this process.

Maddy summaryHB 1355 eliminates the automatic "default budget" option for New Hampshire towns that use official ballot referenda to vote on budgets. If a town's operating budget vote fails, the bill requires the governing body to hold a special meeting to create a new budget instead of automatically adopting the previous year's budget (adjusted for certain changes). This directly affects towns using the official ballot voting method for budget decisions. The key change removes the default budget from ballot language and procedures, mandating a new budget process through a special meeting when the initial vote fails. The bill focuses on procedural changes to budget approval, not on budget content or funding levels.

Maddy summaryHB 1196 repeals New Hampshire's Housing Champion Designation and Grant Program, which provided financial incentives and recognition to municipalities for adopting housing-friendly policies. The bill ends the state's authority to issue new grants or designations under this program, affecting participating municipalities and the Department of Business and Economic Affairs that administered it. Existing contracts (worth approximately $2.6 million) will be honored until June 2027, but no new funding or recognition will be provided after the bill's effective date. The repeal also eliminates the Housing Champion Program Fund and the associated advisory committee.

Maddy summaryHB 1706 repeals New Hampshire's state-administered refugee resettlement program and prohibits state agencies from using state funds for refugee resettlement activities. The bill specifically requires the Department of Health and Human Services to terminate existing contracts related to refugee resettlement (such as the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program) and bans all state spending - directly or indirectly - on resettlement efforts. It does not affect federal refugee programs or funds, as the state's involvement was limited to administering approximately $4.5 million annually in federal funds. The bill applies solely to state government actions and has no impact on existing refugee services or federal programs.

Maddy summaryHB 1373 expands background checks for individuals seeking teaching credentials in New Hampshire by adding specific crimes to the list that would disqualify applicants. It disqualifies applicants convicted of certain drug trafficking offenses (like RSA 318-B:2), sex offenses involving children (including RSA 650:2), or other serious violations listed in the bill within the last 10 years. This directly affects people applying for educator credentials who have these specific criminal histories. The bill modifies existing law (RSA 189:13-c) to include these additional disqualifying offenses, effective upon passage.

Maddy summaryHB 1379 changes the annual deadline for publishing special education complaint data reports from July 1st to September 1st, starting in 2026. This bill directly affects the New Hampshire Department of Education, which is required to publish the annual report on its website and share it with the Office of Special Education Advocate, the State Advisory Council, and education committee chairs. The key change modifies the reporting date in RSA 186-C:5-a, III without altering the report's content or scope. The bill takes effect 60 days after passage.

Maddy summaryHB 1108 revises New Hampshire's criminal threatening law to clarify that individuals displaying a firearm or other lawful self-defense tool in response to specific threats (like potential serious injury, death, property damage, or unlawful intrusion) will not be considered to have committed criminal threatening. It applies directly to people using defensive measures against these defined threats. The key provision creates a legal exception for reasonable defensive actions, specifying that the response must be to conduct a reasonable person would view as likely to cause the listed harms. The bill takes effect January 1, 2027, with no estimated state or local fiscal impact.

Maddy summaryHB 1704, the "Public Employee Choice Act," would allow most state and local government workers in New Hampshire to negotiate wages, hours, and working conditions directly with their employers without union representation. It specifically exempts law enforcement officers, firefighters (with specific certification requirements), emergency medical personnel, and corrections officers, who would remain under existing collective bargaining rules. The bill defines "independent bargaining" as direct negotiation and prohibits employers from forcing eligible employees to use a union. Violations of these new rights would be subject to penalties under the law.

Maddy summaryHB 1050 establishes that parents, educators, and community groups can provide educational instruction (referred to as "learning pods") to voluntarily associated children in any area within a municipality - whether zoned for specific land uses or not. It directly affects those organizing informal educational settings by overriding local zoning ordinances or land use rules that might previously have restricted such activities. The bill adds new provisions to state law stating that no zoning ordinance can restrict or prohibit educational instruction in municipally zoned or non-zoned areas. This creates a statewide right to operate learning pods without needing local government approval for land use. The law takes effect 60 days after passage.