This bill introduces several amendments to existing laws in New Hampshire, focusing on parental access to minor children's medical records, penalties for driving under the influence, and carbon sequestration regulations. It grants parents or legal guardians full access to their minor children's medical records, with specific exceptions, such as when the minor can consent to treatment independently or when a protective order exists. Health care providers are also permitted to withhold records if they suspect that disclosure could lead to abuse or neglect. In terms of driving offenses, the bill increases the license suspension period for first-time refusals to submit to alcohol testing from 180 days to one year, and for repeat offenders from two years to three years. It also introduces new penalties for aggravated driving while intoxicated (DWI), including mandatory jail time and fines, while deleting specific time frames for license suspensions and clarifying definitions and penalties.

Additionally, the bill addresses the taxation of standing timber and establishes a Carbon Sequestration Programs Study Commission. It repeals and reenacts RSA 79:5, allowing officials to tax standing timber that has reached maturity, treating it as general property to prevent indefinite holding without tax payment. Landowners may opt to pay a fee based on the difference between pre-sequestration timber tax revenue and actual taxes paid. The commission, composed of various stakeholders, is tasked with studying the implications of dedicating forest tracts to carbon sequestration, including tax impacts and logging restrictions. A moratorium is placed on new carbon sequestration agreements for owners of standing timber on parcels over 500 acres until the commission submits its report by November 1, 2027. The bill outlines effective dates for its provisions, with some taking effect as soon as 60 days after passage.

Statutes affected:
As Amended by the Senate: 265-A:14, 265-A:18, 79:1