More proposed NH laws of interest

New Hampshire is awash in proposed legislation at this time of year when our enormous legislature (third largest government body in the English-speaking world is the usual description) puts forward all its ideas for future laws. Most will go nowhere, but you never can tell.

I have previously mentioned a couple of items of Granite Geek interest (changing time zones, using algorithms to draw political boundaries) and I have a separate article in the newsletter/blog this week after renewed efforts to bring ranked-choice voting or approval voting to New Hampshire. But there are plenty of others. Here are some; you can click through to read each bill:

• SB216 Establishing an automated vehicle testing and deployment commission and an automated vehicle testing pilot program, and providing requirements for automated vehicle deployment.
• HB132 Relative to net neutrality. (If ISPs want state contracts, they’ll have to abide by net neutrality rules)
• HB161 Prohibiting the use of false or deceptive caller identification information. (This seems to want to outlaw “spoofing”)
• HB577 Relative to call blocking in an automated telephone dialing system. (This also includes an anti-“spoofing” element)
• HB470 Allowing state agencies to accept cryptocurrencies as payment.
• HB190 Allowing the use of gold and silver as lawful mediums of exchange in any transaction in this state. (but not cowrie shells)
• HB200 and HB490 These two bills add differing levels of notice to patients about the relationship between Lyme tests and Lyme disease – part of years-long efforts by Lyme advocates who think that doctors underestimate the prevalence of the disease.
• HB536 Adding biometric information to consumer protection act. (“includes, but is not limited to, imagery of the iris, retina, fingerprint, face, hand, palm, and vein patterns, and voice recordings, from which an identifier template, such as a face-print, a minutiae template, or a voiceprint, can be extracted, and keystroke patterns or rhythms, gait patterns or rhythms, and sleep, health, or exercise data that contain identifying information.)
• HB307 wants to require certain outdoor lighting to be a certain color (3,000 Degrees Kelvin or less) “to better enable communities to conserve energy consumed by outdoor lighting and carry out dark sky policies.”
• SB2785 would require all the vehicles owned by state government to be “zero-emission vehicles” by 2039.
• SB218 would give the state transportation commission control over small drones.