New Hampshire HB 1070: relative to the involuntary emergency admission process.

Bill Text

HB 1070-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

 26-2381

 05/09

HOUSE BILL 1070-FN

AN ACT relative to the involuntary emergency admission process.

SPONSORS: Rep. D. Mannion, Rock. 25; Rep. Bordes, Belk. 5; Rep. Coker, Belk. 2; Rep. Foote, Rock. 13; Rep. Proulx, Hills. 15; Rep. Roy, Rock. 31; Rep. Tenczar, Hills. 1; Rep. Rhodes, Ches. 17

COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

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ANALYSIS

 This bill provides that an individual may be transported by ambulance for psychiatric evaluation to determine whether the individual should be hospitalized under an involuntary emergency admission petition.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 26-2381

 05/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT relative to the involuntary emergency admission process.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 Involuntary Emergency Admissions. Amend RSA 135-C:28 to read as follows:

 III. Notwithstanding RSA 135-C:28, II, when a peace officer observes a person engaging in behavior which gives the peace officer reasonable suspicion to believe that the person may be suffering from a mental illness and probable cause to believe that unless the person is placed in protective custody the person poses an immediate danger of bodily injury to himself or others, the police officer may place the person in protective custody. Any person taken into protective custody under this paragraph shall be transported directly to an emergency room of a licensed general hospital or to another site designated by the community mental health program serving the area, for the purpose of determining if an involuntary emergency admission shall be ordered in accordance with RSA 135-C:28, I. The period of protective custody shall end when a physician, PA, or APRN makes a determination as to whether involuntary emergency admission shall be ordered or at the end of 6 hours, whichever event occurs first. 

 IV. When a person is transported to the emergency room of a licensed general hospital or to another site designated by the community mental health program serving the area for a compulsory mental health evaluation under this section, the person shall be transported by ambulance and shall be subject to the care of an emergency medical technician. The individual's consent to transport by ambulance shall not be required; provided however, that if law enforcement deems the individual to be a safety risk to emergency medical personnel, the individual shall be transported by law enforcement. 

 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 LBA

 26-2381

 11/5/25

HB 1070-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to the involuntary emergency admission process.

FISCAL IMPACT: 

 Estimated Political Subdivision Impact

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

FY 2029

 County Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

 County Expenditures

$0

$0

$0

$0

 Local Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

 Local Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

Indeterminable

METHODOLOGY:

This bill stipulates that under certain circumstances, individuals transported for a compulsory mental health evaluation shall be transported via ambulance and shall be subject to the care of an emergency technician. In the event of an ambulance transport requested by local law enforcement, it is unclear whether the cost of this transport would be borne by the individual or the municipality. The New Hampshire Municipal Association notes that to the extent municipalities are responsible, the cost of ambulance transport can range from $414 to over $2,300 per case. The aggregate impact on municipalities is unknown and would depend on the number of transports requested. 

The Department of Health and Human Services states the bill will have no impact on that department. 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

New Hampshire Municipal Association and Department of Health and Human Services