NH 2026 Legislative Season

Proposed 2026 New Hampshire Legislation

This page at New Futures is an excellent resource to educate yourself about our unique NH legislative process. Bills beginning with "SB" start in the Senate, and bills beginning with "HB" start in the House. On March 26, they "cross over" and are debated again on the other side.

As the legislature swings into action on January 7, 2026, it will convene committee hearings for each of these, with opportunity for testimony from the public.

The “Track” links point to Fast Democracy, a free platform on which you can track bills of interest.

You’ll see bills with current action items have red text beneath them. Bills without current action items have purple text identifying where in the process they are.

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. (Senate Education Policy Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: House ruled ITL (INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE) on 01/07/2026

    • Current Actions: None

  • SB459 Nearly identical to SB211, extending sports discrimination to higher education. (Senate Education Policy Committee?) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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. (Senate Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: HOUSE APPROVED on 01/08/2026 - going to Governor’s Desk

    • Current Actions: Ask Ayotte to Veto here.

  • SB552 Nearly identical to SB268 - bathrooms, sports, prisons. (Senate Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

  • HB1217 Nearly identical to SB268 - bathrooms, sports, prisons. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

  • HB1299 Nearly identical to SB268 - bathrooms, sports, prisons. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

  • 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. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

  • SB520 This is a positive bill that allows for elective breast surgery for minors. (House Judiciary Committee?) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Health and Human Services Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE:

      • Meeting was scheduled with the House Judiciary Committee for Wednesday, January 14, 2026 at 1 Granite Place, Concord, NH, Room 230 @ 2:30 pm.

      • Committee recommended ITL (INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE) - which means the committee does not support.

      • Very similar legislative language was included in a proposed amendment to the pending bill CACR25 (see below) after the public testimony was heard by the Judiciary Committee. Stay informed about CACR25 to see if the legislative body attempts to combine these two bills. STAY TUNED.

    • Current Actions: None

    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. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE:

      • Meeting was scheduled with the House Judiciary Committee for Wednesday, January 21, 2026 at 1 Granite Place, Concord, NH, Room 230 @ 11:30 AM.

      • Bill has several proposed amendments, and was moved to Executive Counsel.

      • Executive Council issued two committee reports, with the majority ruling the bill ITL (inexpedient to legislate) 11-7 and the minority committee report ruling OTP (ought to pass). STAY TUNED.

    • Current Actions: None

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. (House Transportation Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Transportation Committee

    • Current Actions: None

  • HB1564 This bill removes all references of "gender identity" from NH law. (House Judiciary Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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. (Senate Judiciary Committee?) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

Youth

Further encroachments against children’s rights against abusive parents:

  • HB1376 This bill provides legal justification for parents to raise their trans children against the child's intended gender. (House Children & Family Law Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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. (Senate Education Policy Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: House PASSED on 1/7/2026 with an amendment. Returning to Senate, expected to pass.

    • Current Actions: Ask Ayotte to Veto here.

  • SB434 Nearly identical to SB33. (Senate Education Policy Committee?) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Committee hearing has been scheduled for 02/03/26 at 9:15 at the State Library, Map Room.

    • Current Actions: Prepare your testimony to OPPOSE this bill for the public hearing here.

Three bills restricting curriculum:

  • SB431 This bill extends prohibitions on teaching public school students about discrimination. (Senate Education Policy Committee?) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to the Senate’s Education Committee

    • Current Actions: None

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

    • BILL UPDATES:

      • Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to House’s Education Policy and Administration Committee.

      • Committee Hearing scheduled for 02/02/26 at 1:20 at 1 Granite Place, Concord, NH , room 232

      • Bill sponsor recommended bill be ruled ITL (inexpedient to legislate) or referred for further study during testimony. Committee heard public testimony and the bill is now in Exec (they did not vote, but should issue recommendations within the week).

    • Current Actions: NONE

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

    • BILL UPDATE:

      • Introduced on 01/07/2026 and referred to House’s Education Policy and Administration Committee.

      • Committee Hearing scheduled for 02/02/26 at 2:00 at 1 Granite Place, Concord, NH , room 232

      • Committee heard public testimony and the bill is now in Exec (they did not vote, but should issue recommendations within the week).

    • Current Actions: NONE

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. (Senate Education Policy Committee?) Track

    • BILL UPDATE: Committee hearing has been scheduled for 02/03/26 at 9:30 at the State Library, Map Room

    • Current Actions: Prepare your testimony to OPPOSE this bill for the public hearing here.

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. (House Education Policy Committee) Track

    • BILL UPDATE:

      • Committee hearing scheduled for 01/28/26 at 2:00pm at 1 Granite Place, Concord, NH with the House Education Policy and Administration Committee

      • Committee heard public testimony and the bill is now in Exec (they did not vote, but should issue recommendations within the week).

    • Current Actions: NONE

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

    • BILL UPDATE:

      • Committee hearing scheduled for 01/28/26 at 1:30pm at the 1 Granite Place, Concord, NH with the House Education Policy and Administration Committee

      • Committee heard public testimony and the bill is now in Exec (they did not vote, but should issue recommendations within the week).

    • Current Actions: NONE