Committee hears sharp debate over bill to remove DHHS rulemaking power to add school vaccine mandates

Representative Jim Cofalt, the bill’s prime sponsor, told the committee HB 357 would remove the commissioner’s authority under RSA 141‑C:20‑a to add vaccines to the school and childcare immunization schedule by rule and instead require any new mandates to be enacted by the Legislature.

“Our belief is that when we mandate any kind of medical intervention, that is an extraordinarily serious matter,” Cofalt said. He said the change would make policymakers rather than agency rulemakers decide whether to expand mandated vaccines.

The Department of Health and Human Services urged the committee to reject the bill. Colleen Smith, bureau chief for the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, and Dr. Benjamin Chan, the state epidemiologist, said the current rule‑making authority lets DHHS respond with deliberation, public input and speed when new evidence or an emerging threat requires action. Smith told the committee that administrative rules allow the…