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Committee hears debate over bill requiring DHHS to disclose medical and religious immunization exemptions
Summary
Representative Kelly Potenza introduced HB1584 to require the Department of Health and Human Services to prominently state that medical and religious exemptions are available and to permit any signed written statement as a religious exemption; DHHS and professional witnesses warned the bill is overly broad and could impose punitive penalties on employees.
Representative Kelly Potenza, prime sponsor of HB1584, told the House Committee on Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs the bill is about “truthful disclosure, statutory clarity and respect for rights that already exist in New Hampshire law.” The bill would require DHHS to conspicuously note that medical and religious exemptions from school and child‑care immunization requirements are available and would clarify that parents are not required to use a state‑created form to claim a religious exemption.
Why it matters: Potenza said the measure aims to make exemption information prominent in materials directed at parents and the public so people are not misled or feel pressured. “Transparency builds trust,” she said during her opening remarks, arguing that the change would preserve immunization recommendations while giving parents plain notice of existing legal options.
DHHS opposed; concerns about scope and penalties
Dr. Ben Chan, New Hampshire’s state epidemiologist, testified that DHHS opposes HB1584 because the required statement is written too broadly and would apply to many routine communications that do not concern school immunization requirements. He said the department already maintains information about exemptions on its web pages but that the bill as drafted risks applying a required disclaimer to messages about RSV, influenza and other respiratory viruses that are unrelated to school‑entry immunization rules. “The department is opposed to 15 84 for a number of reasons,” Chan told the committee.
Megan Hetty, chief of the Bureau of Infectious Disease Control, told lawmakers the current religious exemption form was adopted through administrative rulemaking and provides useful standardization for schools and child‑care providers. She said changing the statutory wording could create a contradiction with RSA 141‑c and that the annual compliance report required by the bill would likely require DHHS to hire at least one part‑time specialist to compile and review communications statewide.
Members and public press on penalties and implementation
Committee members pressed the sponsor on whether the bill was intended to fund new staff. Rep. Potenza said she wanted the bill to be revenue‑neutral and supported amending language to avoid new costs. Several committee members and public witnesses, including representatives of the New Hampshire Nurses Association and school nurses, urged narrowing the bill’s scope and revising the penalty provisions so individual employees would not face punitive fines for routine communications.
What’s next: Committee members indicated they may consider narrowing the bill to target communications about school and childcare immunization requirements and to refine any enforcement language. Several witnesses urged the panel to preserve the standardized exemption form that supports consistent recordkeeping at the school level.
Sources: Testimony from Representative Kelly Potenza (prime sponsor), Dr. Ben Chan (state epidemiologist, DHHS) and Megan Hetty (chief, Bureau of Infectious Disease Control).
