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NH HB1445

Bill

Status

Introduced

12/4/2025

Primary Sponsor

Erik Johnson

Click for details

Origin

House of Representatives

2026 Regular Session

AI Summary

  • Mandates the New Hampshire Division of Motor Vehicles to enter into a memorandum of understanding with federal agencies to issue enhanced driver's licenses and identification cards that serve as proof of identity and citizenship for U.S. land and sea border crossings

  • Changes current law from permissive ("may") to mandatory ("shall") for issuing Real ID compliant cards and enhanced identification cards to eligible New Hampshire residents who request them

  • Enhanced cards must comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative standards developed by the U.S. Department of State and Department of Homeland Security

  • Estimated implementation costs of at least $563,000, including $163,000 for new card design and $400,000 for system development and testing, plus indeterminable costs for RFID chip testing with federal border systems

  • Effective date of January 1, 2027, though the Department of Safety indicates this timeline may be infeasible due to testing and implementation requirements

Legislative Description

Requiring the issuance of enhanced drivers licenses and Real ID compliant cards for border crossing and proof of citizenship.

Last Action

Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Voice Vote 02/05/2026 House Journal 3

2/5/2026

Committee Referrals

Transportation12/4/2025

Full Bill Text

No bill text available