New Hampshire HB 330: relative to establishing penalties for violations of the confidentiality of motor vehicle records.

Bill Text

HB 330-FN - AS INTRODUCED

2025 SESSION

 25-0538

 06/09

HOUSE BILL 330-FN

AN ACT relative to establishing penalties for violations of the confidentiality of motor vehicle records.

SPONSORS: Rep. Ulery, Hills. 13; Rep. Ohm, Hills. 10; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr. 27; Rep. Aures, Merr. 13; Rep. Slottje, Hills. 13; Rep. DeRoy, Straf. 3; Rep. Roy, Rock. 31; Sen. McGough, Dist 11; Sen. Sullivan, Dist 18

COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety

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ANALYSIS

 This bill establishes restrictions and penalties related to the handling of driver's license information.

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 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 25-0538

 06/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five

AN ACT relative to establishing penalties for violations of the confidentiality of motor vehicle records.

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

 1 Findings. The general court finds that residents of New Hampshire have a constitutional right to privacy and that driver's licenses are government-issued collections of private, personal information obtained for the benefit of the legal residents of New Hampshire. As such, the data contained on a driver's license, kept, stored, or retained by the state, other than a person's name as held out to the public, is privileged, private, and confidential.

 2 New Subparagraphs; Powers and Duties; Records and Certification. Amend RSA 260:14, II by inserting after subparagraph (b) the following new subparagraphs:

 (c) Copies of driver licenses may not be copied, retained, or scanned for any purposes other than governmental ones, including, but not limited to, voting, use by a notary public or justice of the peace, or judicial orders. Nothing shall prevent a driver’s license from being requested to be displayed or shown to verify identity in order to comply with a governmental requirement. Corporate policies of using government documents and retaining personal information are never allowed.

 (d) Release or use of any information retained by a non-governmental private entity is a misdemeanor if committed by a real person and a felony if committed by an entity other than a real person. Use of retained, scanned, or copied personal identification as defined in this chapter may result in a fine of no less than $100,000 payable to the person whose information was obtained, along with lifetime identity theft protection for that same person. If there is a data breach resulting in the compromise of illegally retained personal identification information, a fine of $100,000 per person compromised shall be imposed.

 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026.

 LBA

 25-0538

 12/29/24

HB 330-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

AN ACT relative to establishing penalties for violations of the confidentiality of motor vehicle records.

FISCAL IMPACT: 

 Estimated State Impact

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

 Revenue

$0

$0 

$0 

$0 

 Revenue Fund

None

 Expenditures*

Indeterminable

 Funding Source

General Fund

 Appropriations*

$0 

$0 

$0 

$0 

 Funding Source

None

 *Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill

 Estimated Political Subdivision Impact

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

FY 2028

 County Revenue

$0 

$0 

$0 

$0 

 County Expenditures

Indeterminable

 Local Revenue

$0 

$0 

$0 

$0 

 Local Expenditures

Indeterminable

METHODOLOGY:

This bill adds, deletes, or modifies a criminal penalty, or changes statute to which there is a penalty for violation. Therefore, this bill may have an impact on the judicial and correctional systems, which could affect prosecution, incarceration, probation, and parole costs, for the state, as well as county and local governments. A summary of such costs can be found at: https://gencourt.state.nh.us/lba/Budget/Fiscal_Notes/JudicialCorrectionalCosts.pdf

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association