NH committee hears bill to dissolve Office of Health Equity and limit environmental justice work; DHHS and advocates warn of service gaps

Representative Mike Belcher introduced House Bill 392, saying the measure would dissolve several statewide offices and ‘‘departments’’ he described as promoting what he called ‘‘DEI, equity, and social justice’’ and that those programs were ‘‘unlawful and unconstitutional.’’ He told the House Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee the bill would prohibit re‑establishment of such advisory councils and would direct the executive branch not to adopt programs that the sponsor described as discriminatory.

The Department of Health and Human Services urged the committee to oppose the measure. Associate Commissioner Anne Naughton Landry told lawmakers the Office of Health Equity ‘‘serves three primary functions’’: ensuring communication access and civil‑rights compliance, working with communities to remove barriers to care, and managing the federally funded refugee resettlement program. Landry warned that dissolving the office would…