HB 492 - AS INTRODUCED
2021 SESSION
21-0797
05/10
HOUSE BILL 492
AN ACT requiring maintenance of the COVID-19 dashboard.
SPONSORS: Rep. Schultz, Merr. 18
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires the department of health and human services, in collaboration with the
university system of New Hampshire, to maintain the COVID-19 dashboard during the pandemic.
The bill also establishes a legislative committee to study health disparities experienced by under-
represented populations during the crisis.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
 HB 492 - AS INTRODUCED
21-0797
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
AN ACT requiring maintenance of the COVID-19 dashboard.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 1 Department of Health and Human Services; COVID-19 Dashboard. The department of health
2 and human services, in collaboration with the university system of New Hampshire, shall maintain
3 a website known as the COVID-19 dashboard to provide timely and accurate information to the
4 public regarding the state of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in New Hampshire. The website
5 shall serve as an information clearinghouse, with essential guidance for schools and local
6 communities during the pandemic. Separate sections of the dashboard shall track nursing homes,
7 prisons, and congregate living settings in the same way that case specific information regarding
8 schools is tracked. Another section of the dashboard shall track vaccination metrics by age, race,
9 town, and eligibility category. Vaccination information shall be maintained in a way that allows for
10 cross-referencing of geographic location, age, race, and eligibility category. The department shall
11 update the dashboard on a daily basis and ensure that it is available to the public 24-hours a day, 7
12 days a week.
13 2 Legislative Committee Established. There is established a committee to study health
14 disparities experienced by under-represented populations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
15 I. The members of the committee shall be as follows:
16 (a) Four members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house
17 of representatives, two of whom shall be nominated by the minority leader.
18 (b) Two members of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate, one of whom
19 shall be nominated by the minority leader.
20 II. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to
21 the duties of the committee.
22 III. The committee shall study health disparities experienced by under-represented
23 populations during the crisis. The committee shall consider ways to improve safety for vulnerable
24 populations, including prison inmates, nursing home residents, and others living in congregate living
25 settings. The committee may solicit information and testimony from any individual or entity it
26 deems relevant to the study.
27 IV. The members of the study committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members.
28 The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first
29 meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this paragraph. Four
30 members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
 HB 492 - AS INTRODUCED
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1 V. The committee shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation
2 to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the
3 senate clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before November 1, 2021.
4 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.