NH 2026 Legislative Season

Biological Sex, Bathrooms, Sports, Prisons

First, there are eight bills that attempt to legislate on binary "biological sex," which is usually not defined.

Though HB1205 in 2024 largely shut down trans participation in high school sports, efforts continue:

• SB211 Retained from last year, this bill extends discrimination in sports to higher education. Track

• SB459 Nearly identical to SB211, extending sports discrimination to higher education. Track

Last year's "bathroom ban" HB148 passed the House and Senate, to be vetoed by the Governor. It was unenforceable, as all bathroom bans are and will be. This year six bills that are nearly identical to the vetoed bill are up for consideration.

• SB268 Retained from last year, this bill legalizes discrimination for bathrooms, locker rooms, sports, and prisons. Biological sex is not defined, nor are enforcement mechanisms. Track

• SB552 Nearly identical to SB268 - bathrooms, sports, prisons. Track

• HB1217 Nearly identical to SB268 - bathrooms, sports, prisons. Track

• HB1299 Nearly identical to SB268 - bathrooms, sports, prisons. Track

• HB1442 This sweeping and cruel bill applies to publicly accessible bathrooms, including private businesses. It criminally charges trans bathroom users with "willful trespass." Bizarrely, it only applies to trans women. They also make an erroneous attempt to define around intersex conditions, based on the presence of the SRY gene. The potential impact is so remarkable that it was recently covered in a national trans news article. Track

• HB1447 Classifies bathrooms, locker rooms, sleeping quarters with the same highly unusual SRY gene-based definition of biological sex, but without the trespass language. Track

Medical

In the medical category:

• HB1356 This bill extends the statute of limitations for gender surgery on a minor to 10 years after majority, causing a chilling effect on accepted medical practice. Track

• SB520 This is a positive bill that allows for elective breast surgery for minors. Track

Marriage

Legislation is lining up in anticipation of the US Supreme Court reversing the 2015 Obergefell vs. Hodges decision, which legalized same-sex marriage.

• HB1615 This Republican bill creates an second-class alternative to marriage, in anticipation of a federal attack on marriage equality. Track

• CACR25 This is another positive one! It is a CACR, not a normal bill, amending the NH constitution to establish marriage as a fundamental civil right. This protection will be essential as Obergefell gets challenged at the federal level. Track

Gender Identity

There are two bills aimed at literally erasing gender identity from official life:

• HB1165 This bill removes the "X" designation on NH Drivers Licenses and identification cards. Track

• HB1564 This bill removes all references of "gender identity" from NH law. Track

Civil Rights & Harassment

This bill would effectively reduce the penalty for harassing or threatening on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity:

• SB464 This bill dilutes a legal definition, preventing civil rights offenses from being recognized as such. Track

Youth

Further encroachments against childrens’ rights against abusive parents:

• HB1376 This bill provides legal justification for parents to raise their trans children against the child's intended gender. Track

Schools & Censorship

Two near-identical bills focused on censoring school libraries and educational materials:

• SB33 Retained from last year, this bill enables small groups of citizens to cause "harmful" materials to be removed from public schools. Track

• SB434 Nearly identical to SB33. Track

Three bills restricting curriculum:

• SB431 This bill extends prohibitions on teaching public school students about discrimination. Track

• HB1778 This bill prohibits teaching public school students about "Personal Identity Ideology" including DEI, race, color, biological sex, sexual orientation, religion or gender identity. Track

• HB1792 This bill prohibits a laundry list of concepts including "critical race theory" and "LGBTQ+ ideology as a prescriptive world-view". Track

Last year's HB10, the "parental bill of rights," created a situation where teachers would be forced to out LGBTQIA students. This trend continues:

• SB430 This bill expands upon the "forced outing" or mandatory disclosure of any information about public school students to their parents. Track

Flags

Finally, they are coming for our pride flags in the public schools:

• HB1132 This bill only allows official flags in school buildings, effectively banning pride flags. Track

• HB1345 In addition to many flag rules, this bill only allows official flags to be flown in schools, effectively banning pride flags. Track