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HB 1408-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-3077
09/06
HOUSE BILL
1408-FN
AN ACT
prohibiting public disclosure of personal information on the Internet by an elected official.
SPONSORS: Rep. A. Murray, Hills. 20; Rep. Hegner, Hills. 41; Rep. Haskins, Rock. 11; Rep. C. Harvey, Ches. 6; Rep. Manohar, Hills. 9; Rep. Lucas, Graf. 7; Rep. Lovett, Graf. 8; Rep. Vail, Hills. 6; Rep. O'Rorke, Ches. 7
COMMITTEE: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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ANALYSIS
This bill creates a misdemeanor offense for an elected official to publicly disclose on the Internet personal information of a constituent with the intent to harass.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-3077
09/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT
prohibiting public disclosure of personal information on the Internet by an elected official.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Abuse of Office; Public Disclosure of Personal Information on the Internet by an Elected Official. Amend RSA 643 by inserting after section 2 the following new section:
643:3 Public Disclosure of Personal Information on the Internet by an Elected Official.
I. For purposes of this section:
(a) “Personal information" means the name or any part thereof, home address or any part thereof, city or unincorporated area of residence, age, marital status, relationship to the elected official, race or ethnic background, telephone number, personal mobile telephone number, pager number, personal e-mail address, social media accounts or profiles, online identifiers, contact information, or a personal photograph or video of a constituent; directions to the home of a constituent; current or former employers of a constituent; current or former educational systems in which a constituent is enrolled; or photographs or videos of the home or vehicle of a constituent.
(b) Of a “harassing nature” means of a nature that a reasonable person would consider as seriously alarming, seriously annoying, seriously tormenting, or seriously terrorizing of the person and that serves no legitimate purpose.
(c) “Online identifiers” means any personally identifying information or signifiers that would tie an individual to a particular electronic service, device, or Internet application, website, or platform account, including, but not limited to, access names, access codes, account names, aliases, avatars, credentials, gamer tags, display names, handles, login names, member names, online identities, pseudonyms, screen names, user accounts, user identifications, usernames, Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), domain names, Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, and media access control (MAC) addresses.
II. An elected official is guilty of a misdemeanor if the elected official knowingly makes the personal information of a constituent, or a constituent’s immediate family, publicly available on the Internet:
(a) With the intent to threaten, intimidate, or incite the commission of a crime of violence against that person; or
(b) With the intent and knowledge that the personal information will be used to threaten, intimidate, or facilitate the commission of a crime of violence against that person.
III. An elected official who is convicted for a violation of paragraph II shall be fined not more than $500 or confined in jail for not more than one year, or both.
IV.(a) A constituent may submit a written request to a state or local government official to remove personal information from records that are available on the Internet. If a state or local government receives the written request, then the state or local government official shall not knowingly make available on the Internet personal information about the constituent or the constituent’s immediate family. A constituent’s written request to a state or local government official to remove records that the official makes available on the Internet shall include:
(1) Evidence that the person submitting the request is a constituent of said elected official; and
(2) An affirmation stating under penalty of perjury that the person submitting the request has reason to believe that the dissemination of the personal information contained in the records that the official makes available on the Internet poses an imminent and serious threat to the person’s safety or wellbeing, or the safety or wellbeing of the person’s immediate family.
(b) Falsification of the evidence proffered to satisfy the requirements of this paragraph shall constitute false swearing and shall be punishable under RSA 641:2.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
LBA
26-3077
11/24/25
HB 1408-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT
prohibiting public disclosure of personal information on the Internet by an elected official.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated State Impact
FY 2026
FY 2027
FY 2028
FY 2029
Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
Revenue Fund
None
Expenditures*
Indeterminable
Funding Source
General Fund
Appropriations*
$0
$0
$0
$0
Funding Source
None
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
Estimated Political Subdivision Impact
FY 2026
FY 2027
FY 2028
FY 2029
County Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
County Expenditures
Indeterminable
Local Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
Local Expenditures
Indeterminable
METHODOLOGY:
This bill adds, deletes, or modifies a criminal penalty, or changes statute to which there is a penalty for violation. Therefore, this bill may have an impact on the judicial and correctional systems, which could affect prosecution, incarceration, probation, and parole costs, for the state, as well as county and local governments. A summary of such costs can be found at:
https://gencourt.state.nh.us/lba/Budget/Fiscal_Notes/JudicialCorrectionalCosts.pdf
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association