Bill asks attorney general to request quarterly reports from federal agencies operating in New Hampshire

Representative Keith Ammon introduced House Bill 640 (a reworked filing of a prior 2022 measure) asking the New Hampshire attorney general to request quarterly aggregated reports from federal agencies conducting law enforcement, investigative or operational activity in the state. The requested data would include counts of active facilities and staff, surveillance or warrant activity, arrests, and other operational figures; the bill proposes a public-facing, searchable website with quarterly summaries and an annual report.

Ammon and original sponsor William Foster said the intent is transparency and improved state awareness of federal operations, not to interfere with ongoing investigations or preserve operational secrecy. "If they refuse to provide information, 'no response' is itself a data point," Foster testified, urging that the public and state officials deserve at least a baseline level of visibility into federal activities.

Members questioned whether the Legislature can compel or meaningfully request information from federal agencies protected by the Supremacy Clause; sponsors acknowledged the bill is a voluntary request and that federal agencies may decline. Representative Ammon also noted the bill reduces frequency from monthly (in the 2022 version) to quarterly to reduce the reporting burden and questioned a fiscal estimate in the Department of Justice fiscal note that projected several staff positions would be required.

Ending: Committee members asked the sponsor and the Department of Justice for a clearer fiscal estimate and debated whether the state should pursue voluntary intergovernmental transparency agreements instead of a statutory reporting request. No committee vote was held at the hearing.