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Bill aims to revive and broaden New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders; members say vacancies prevent quorum
Summary
Sponsors and council members asked the House committee to update the council's membership and mission to increase lived-experience representation and fix quorum problems that have limited the panel's work.
Representative Jerry Stringham told the House Health Committee that House Bill 634 would update the New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders' mission and membership to make it more representative and effective.
Stringham said the council was created about 15 years ago but its work "fell off" and that the council itself recommended changes to refresh membership, add seats for people with autism and family members, and simplify appointment procedures to address chronic vacancies. "This bill is an important step to revive the council and fulfill its mission," Stringham said.
Marissa Berg, a council member, described listening sessions the council held in November 2024 and said people with autism and families asked for stronger representation on the council, prioritized inclusion of adults with lived experience, and for the council to focus on education and access to resources. She summarized the bill's proposed changes: two dedicated seats for people with autism, two family-member seats, a seat for a New Hampshire self-advocacy organization, a seat for a clinical service provider and five at-large seats the council would appoint with priority to people with lived experience.
Isadora Rodriguez Le Gendre, executive director of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities and interim vice chair of the autism council, told the committee the proposed adjustments would help reach people who do not qualify for developmental-services funding (for example, autistic adults who do not have intellectual disability). She also said the bill includes a provision allowing remote participation by people with disabilities to count toward quorum in some circumstances and that many current vacancies are governor-appointed seats that have delayed the council's ability to meet.
Representative Jess Edwards, a co-sponsor, said the primary problem is chronic vacancy and inability to form quorums; he urged the committee to give the council a chance to meet more reliably under the proposed membership changes.
The committee heard no agency opposition; members asked questions about quorum mechanics, whether the council duplicates the Developmental Services Quality Council and how the council would increase the role of adults with autism.
No formal committee action was taken at the hearing; the committee closed public testimony and proceeded to other bills.
