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Committee hears from DOE that drafting clean-up in HB 768 corrects prior removal of ‘nonsectarian’ language
Summary
The committee heard testimony that HB 768 is a technical clean-up to match cross-references after a 2021 change removed the word “nonsectarian” from a related RSA provision; department staff recommended the bill as a technical correction.
House Bill 768, which would allow public schools to contract with any approved private school (removing residual references to "nonsectarian" where prior bills already edited the cross-reference), drew technical and historical explanation from Department of Education staff.
Representative Kristen Noble, the prime sponsor, said the change is ‘‘language cleanup’’ to match a 2021 amendment that removed the word "nonsectarian" from RSA cross-references; Department of Education counsel explained the legislative history and pointed to the 2021 amendment language in the Statutes-at-Large. The department described the bill as a technical correction to ensure the statutes read consistently and advised the committee that inconsistencies in cross-references can cause interpretation issues.
Witnesses from the public supported the clean-up as a clerical correction to ensure statutory consistency. Committee members asked whether failing to pass the bill would leave the law with an inconsistency; the DOE attorney said that inconsistency would remain and would be resolved either through statutory interpretation or subsequent correction. The committee closed the hearing and did not take a vote during the session.
