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Committee recommends ITL on HB 313, citing complexity around closed sessions and reputational harms

Judiciary Committee (New Hampshire House) · November 13, 2025

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Summary

The Judiciary subcommittee and full committee voted ITL on HB 313 (nonpublic sessions where public discussion might affect a person's reputation), with sponsors and members saying the permutations and existing statutory "workarounds" make the bill premature.

The Judiciary Committee moved to treat House Bill 313 as inexpedient to legislate (ITL) after members and the subcommittee described practical complications with creating a new statutory path for nonpublic sessions where public discussion could affect reputation.

Representative Burch (subcommittee lead) said the topic "was extensively discussed" in work committee and that "there may be already protections within our statutes that present a workaround," highlighting scenarios such as when two people with competing interests would be affected differently by public discussion. At subcommittee level a motion to "support, ITL" was made and carried; the full committee again voted ITL and placed the bill on consent for reporting.

One witness in the subcommittee observed a potential statutory workaround: a person could request that discussion about them be held in an open meeting, which in practice would require the board to hold that item in public, effectively giving some protection without new law.

Outcome: Subcommittee and full committee recommended ITL; the transcript records a unanimous roll-call tally for the full committee reported as "17 yays, 0 nays." Representative Birch was asked to write the report.