Bills 2016

2016 Bill Summary

The Right-to-Know law changes as new bills pass into law. Almost every year there are proposed bills to amend the Right-to-Know Law. This year, Right to Know NH has proposed 3 bills to strengthen the ability of citizens of New Hampshire to access their government. The 3 bills are HB1417, HB1418, HB1419.

The first step for a bill in New Hampshire is a request (LSR) to Legislative Services to wordsmith the bill. You can see the bills affecting Right to Know through the Legislative Service search on the web. Click here, type “right-to-know” in the field labeled “Search by a word within the LSR’s title” then click the Submit button.

After the bills are wordsmithed by Legislative Services, they can be tracked as bills. Click here, make sure the year is 2016 and type “right-to-know” in the field labeled “title” then click the Submit button. The results of this search gives you links to track the status of each bill as they work through the legislature.

This year, for the 2016 session, initially there were 17 Right-to-Know LSRs. The first 4 bills were carried over from the 2015 session. All have been introduced as bills. One has been withdrawn.

RTKNH Bill RSA Title
Position Disposition Status Sponsors
Oppose HB 285 91-A:3, II(l) relative to discussion with legal counsel under the right-to-know law.
Governor Signed S D I A HA A SA A David Bickford
Support HB 606 91-A:4, IV A relative to costs for public records filed electronically.
Governor Signed S D I A HA A SA A David Bickford
None HB 613 91-A:5, IV-a relative to governmental records exempted under the right-to-know law.
Senate Interim Study S D I A HA Tara Sad, Carol McGuire, John Reagan
Limited Support HB 617 91-A:5, X requiring state police to wear a camera when interacting with the public.
Senate ITL S D I A HA Kyle Tasker, Bart Fromuth, Shem Kellogg, Robert Theberge, Donald LeBrun, Robert Cushing, Gladys Johnsen, Mario Ratzki, James Spillane, Nick Zaricki, John Reagan, Sam Cataldo, Kevin Avard
Oppose but
support concept		 HB 1216 91-A:4, VII requiring public bodies and agencies to provide information which is not regularly kept or reported upon payment by the requestor.
House ITL S D I James Verschueren, David Watters, Cynthia Chase, June Frazer, William Baber, Peter Bixby
Support
with amendment		 HB 1395 33-A:5-a relative to municipal electronic records.
House Concur S D I HA A Carol McGuire, John Reagan
Support HB 1413 91-A:8-a establishing a commission to study processes to resolve right-to-know complaints.
House ITL S D I Kathleen Souza, Kenneth Weyler, Glenn Cordelli,
Keith Ammon, Catherine Cheney
Support HB 1417 91-A:2, I-a relative to records of convenings of public bodies.
House ITL S D I mA Michael Sylvia, Duane Brown, Chris True
Support HB 1418 91-A:2, II relative to the minutes of nonpublic sessions of public bodies.
Governor Signed S D I Michael Sylvia, Duane Brown, Chris True
Support HB 1419 91-A:3, III relative to voting records in nonpublic sessions of public bodies.
Governor Signed S D I Michael Sylvia, Duane Brown, Chris True
Support HB 1465 14:10-a relative to recording of roll calls of legislative committees.
House ITL S D I Joseph Hannon, Joshua Whitehouse
Limited Support HB 1492 91-A:5, X; 106-B regarding individual privacy when law enforcement agencies use body-worn cameras.
House ITL S D I Neal Kurk
Support HB 1510 91-A:3, II(a)-(c); 91-A:3, III relative to the review of minutes of nonpublic sessions.
House ITL S D I Keith Ammon, James Spillane, William Goulette
Oppose but
support concept		 HB 1546 91-A:16; 570-A; 642; 644 permitting the audio recording of a public servant performing a public function.
House Tabled S D I A Robert Hull, Michael Sylvia, Glen Aldrich, Keith Ammon
Support
with amendment		 HB 1593 91-A:4, IV; 14-B; 15-A restricting fees for obtaining copies of public records and requiring certain information on public official and legislative financial disclosure forms.
House ITL S D I Michael Brewster
Oppose HB 1611 91-A:4, IV; 91-A:4, IV-a allowing a public body or agency to charge a fee for costs of retrieving public records under the right-to-know law.
House ITL S D I Patrick Long
None (withdrawn) relative to inspection of records under the right-to-know law.
2016-2595 Patrick Long

S – Status

D – Docket

I – As Introduced

A – Amendment

HA – House Amendment

SA – Senate Amendment

mA – Minority Amendment

ITL – Inexpedient to Legislate

OTP – Ought to Pass

OTPA – Ought to Pass with Amendment