Committee reviews changes to New Hampshire impaired‑driving care management program

The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee opened a public hearing on Senate Bill 143, which would amend RSA chapter 265‑A to change enrollment and education rules for New Hampshire's Impaired Driving Care Management Program.

Supporters, including legislative and Department of Health and Human Services officials, said the bill removes an education exemption for repeat impaired‑driving offenders, clarifies approval of out‑of‑state education programs and aligns program standards with behavioral‑health and public‑safety oversight.

Tommy O'Neil, minority caucus director speaking for Senator Suzanne Prentice, the bill's prime sponsor, said the changes were requested by DHHS. Jenny O'Higgins, legislative liaison for behavioral health at DHHS, told the committee, "This really is cleanup language to make our programs more efficient," and said the department had worked with impaired driver programs, the Department of Highway Safety and the Department of Justice in drafting the language.

Key provisions discussed include removing the current exemption that lets IDCMP participants skip the education component if they completed an impaired driver education program within five years; allowing out‑of‑state residents charged in New Hampshire to complete approved education and services in their legal state of residence; and requiring that an out‑of‑state resident's education hours comply with their home state's requirements. O'Higgins said programs in New Hampshire currently require 20 hours of education and that the state uses instructor‑led curriculum aligned with national best practices.

Committee members pressed DHHS on the origin of the bill and program effectiveness. Representative Muse asked about recidivism; O'Higgins said the department is seeking technical assistance and review of educational models and does not have statewide recidivism rates at the hearing but offered to provide that data to the committee by email. Representative Newell asked why language referencing the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR) was removed; O'Higgins explained the state had competitively bid the certifying body and the department now contracts with a different certifier (NHPRR), so the bill makes certification language vendor‑neutral and ties standards to SAMHSA best practices.

Testimony and questioning focused on program standardization, the balance between safety and behavioral‑health referral, and implementation details such as course delivery and curriculum. Several committee members and staff noted DHHS had circulated the language to affected programs in advance.

The public hearing record closed after testimony; committee action was not recorded in the hearing transcript. O'Neil said the bill passed the Senate "on consent," according to his remarks at the hearing.