Legislative Updates by Rep. Maureen Mooney for January, 2026

Happy New Year!

The legislative session for 2026 has officially started. Last week, the House voted on nearly 200 RETAINED bills from last year. Here is a summary of full House actions on the bills I was most frequently contacted about:

• HB 675-FN-A-Local – (Second new title) AN ACT limiting total central office administrative expenses by school districts and requiring reporting of central office administrative expenses to the department of education. At the House session, this bill was amended three times. It ultimately failed to pass. The bill would have created a cap on school district spending based on a formula. Such a cap could be overridden by a 2/3 majority of that district’s governing body. Status: Inexpedient to legislate this session.

• HB 186-FN-A – AN ACT relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations therefor. At the House session, this bill passed with a vote of 208-135. The bill would legalize marijuana. Status: Headed to the State Senate next.

• HB 704-FN-A – (New title) AN ACT making an appropriation to the retired senior volunteer program. At the House session, the Finance Committee’s amendment #3025-2963h was adopted, and the bill passed as amended on a voice vote. The bill as amended spends $180,000 ONLY on the RSVP Program and that's ONLY contingent upon "both unrestricted general fund revenues and the ending general fund balance for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2026 were greater than budget forecasts." The other organizations mentioned in the original bill ( i.e., Alzheimer's, etc.) were either included already in the state budget or suspended in the state budget. Status: Headed to the State Senate next.

The beginning of January is typically when new laws implemented last year come into effect. Here are two notable bills (passed by both House and Senate and signed by Governor) that are now law as of January 1, 2026:

• HB 377-FN – AN ACT relative to health care professionals administering hormone treatments and puberty blockers and relative to recognizing the second Thursday in October as children’s environmental health day. This law prohibits performing medical procedures or prescribing or issuing medication to a minor child that alters gender. The bill passed (before Committee of Conference) through the House with a vote of 197-167 and the Senate 16-7. The Governor signed this bill into law on June 26, 2025 and it became effective January 1, 2026.

• HB 649 in HB 2-FN-A-Local - AN ACT relative to state fees, funds, revenues, and expenditures. As part of the adopted state budget - section 141:253 removes the requirements for physical safety inspections and on-board diagnostic tests for passenger vehicles. The original bill (HB649) that removed the safety inspections passed in the House with a vote of 212-143, and in the Senate on a voice vote. Ultimately, HB 649 became part of the state budget (HB2-FN-A-LOCAL, section 141:253 on page 72) which passed last June, with section 141:253 effective on January 1, 2026. Here is an informative page on the NH Division of Motor Vehicles website outlining what this new law means: https://www.dmv.nh.gov/vehicles-boats-and-titles/inspections-emissions.
  

Around Town

A special “thank you” to the Merrimack Police Department for its efficiency and professionalism in keeping everyone safe during the planned protest on January 8, 2026.

As of this writing, it has been 19 days since this article was published about the possibility of an ICE processing center in Merrimack, and still NO “draft documents” have been produced. This is unacceptable and deeply concerning. The Town of Merrimack is keeping close watch on the matter at this site.

See you around town!

Rep. Maureen Mooney is in her sixth term as a NH State Representative serving Merrimack. Her website is: www.votemooney.com and Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/maureenmooneynh.