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CHAPTER 252
SB 448-FN - FINAL VERSION
01/29/2026 0061s
03/26/2026 1209s
23Apr2026... 1444h
06/04/2026 2018EBA
2026 SESSION
26-2026
06/08
SENATE BILL
448-FN
AN ACT
modifying the definition of veteran.
SPONSORS: Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. Long, Dist 20; Sen. Avard, Dist 12; Sen. McGough, Dist 11; Sen. McConkey, Dist 3; Sen. Ward, Dist 8; Sen. Murphy, Dist 16; Sen. Pearl, Dist 17; Sen. Rochefort, Dist 1; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Sen. Carson, Dist 14; Sen. Perkins Kwoka, Dist 21; Sen. Abbas, Dist 22; Rep. Harvey-Bolia, Belk. 3; Rep. See, Merr. 26; Rep. Sellers, Graf. 10; Rep. Thibault, Merr. 25
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill changes the definition of veteran and expands eligibility for state benefits and programs that depend on veteran status, ensuring that individuals discharged under honorable conditions, including those with a general discharge under honorable conditions, are not excluded from eligibility.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
01/29/2026 0061s
03/26/2026 1209s
23Apr2026... 1444h
06/04/2026 2018EBA 26-2026
06/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT
modifying the definition of veteran.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
252:1 New Hampshire Veterans' Home; Command and Employees. Amend RSA 119:6 to read as follows:
119:6 Commandant and Employees. The board shall appoint, or may remove, for just cause, a commandant of the home. [
Honorably discharged veterans as defined in RSA 119:1
]
A veteran as defined by RSA 21:50
shall have preference for employment in the home if qualified by the New Hampshire division of personnel.
252:2 Preference of Resident Laborers and Veterans; Employment of Veterans. Amend RSA 283:4, I to read as follows:
I. In public employment of clerks, office help, mechanics, laborers, inspectors, supervisors, foremen, janitors, peace officers, and relief employees in the construction of public works, public projects and in the conduct of city, town or district departments by a county, city, town, or district, or by persons contracting therewith for such construction, carrying out of relief projects and in the conduct of city, town, or district departments, preference shall be given to citizens of the state who have served in the armed forces of the United States, for not less than 90 days, in times of war, and [
have been discharged honorably
therefrom, or released from active duty therein
]
meet the definition of "veteran" in RSA 21:50
, if equally qualified for said employment and if registered in accordance with the provisions of RSA 283:7. Where such employment is obtained from relief rolls or for persons in need, in cases of equal or greater need preference shall be given to such veterans.
252:3 Property Taxes; Certain Disabled Veterans. Amend the introductory paragraph in RSA 72:36-a to read as follows:
72:36-a Certain Disabled Veterans. Any person, who is [
discharged from military service of the United States and who meets the
]
a
veteran [
eligibility criteria established
]
as defined
by RSA 21:50, and who owns a home which has been specially adapted by the Veterans Administration through an approved Special Adapted Housing (SAH) or Special Home Adaptation (SHA) grant or owns a home that has been specially adapted and has been acquired using proceeds from the sale of such an SAH or SHA home, the person or person's surviving spouse, as defined in RSA 72:29, V, shall be exempt from all taxation on said homestead, provided that:
252:4 Reemployment of Veterans; Veterans Guaranteed Reemployment. Amend RSA 97:1 to read as follows:
97:1 Veterans Guaranteed Reemployment. Each county, town, city, precinct, school board or other political subdivision of the state shall reemploy a veteran of any branch of the military service of the United States who has been placed on inactive status or [
been given a discharge other than dishonorable
]
is a veteran as defined by RSA 21:50
and who, within 90 days after being so made inactive or discharged, in writing, notifies the treasurer or other fiscal agent of such political subdivision that he
or she
desires to be reinstated in the position he
or she
held with such political subdivision at the time he
or she
entered said military service.
252:5 Interstate Compact on Educational Opportunity for Military Children. Amend RSA 110-D:3, XX to read as follows:
XX. "Veteran" [
means a person who served in the uniformed services and who was discharged or released there from under conditions other than dishonorable
]
shall have the same meaning as in RSA 21:50
.
252:6 Honorable Discharge; References Amended. Amend the following RSAs by replacing "honorable discharge" or "an honorable discharge" with "discharge of a character outlined in RSA 21:50": RSA 115-A:16; 115-A:29, I-II; 115-B:1, II(a); 115-B:1, II(c); 165:5; 175:1, XXII; 176:10; 261:86, I(d); 275-G:1, II; 466:8, I; and 651-A:13.
252:7 Honorably Discharged; References Amended. Amend the following RSAs by replacing "honorably discharged" with "discharge of a character outlined in RSA 21:50": RSA 72:28, IV(a); Amend section 7 of the bill by replacing line 3 with the following:
72:28-b, IV; 72:35, I; 99-F:2, VI(a)(1)-(3); 100-A:4, VI(a)(1); 119:1, I; 119:2, II; 261:86, I(c)-(e); 261:141,
VIII(c); 261:157-a; and 291:3.
252:8 Applicability. The change in terminology made under sections 6 and 7 of this act shall apply to municipal rules in effect on the effective date of this act without amendment or readoption by the municipality.
252:9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage
Approved: July 02, 2026
Effective Date: August 31, 2026