New Hampshire Senate Bill SB202

New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/23/25
• Refer: 1/23/25
• Report Pass: 2/20/25
• Engrossed: 3/28/25
• Refer: 3/28/25
• Report Pass: 5/7/25
• Enrolled: 6/30/25
• Chaptered: 7/22/25
• Passed: 7/22/25

Caption

Relative to Alzheimer's disease and other related dementia training for first responders.

Summary

SB 202 makes targeted changes to New Hampshire law related to Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementia response and training. It adds an emergency medical services representative to the existing subcommittee on Alzheimer’s disease and other related dementia, and it expands the subcommittee’s scope to include the ability of public safety personnel, including law enforcement and emergency medical services, to respond to people with Alzheimer’s disease. The bill also expands the membership of the Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Coordinating Board from 22 to 23 members by adding one representative from the Alzheimer’s Association. It updates the appointment provisions for board members to include that new seat and keeps the existing term limits and vacancy procedures in place. The act takes effect 60 days after passage.

Impact

SB 202 would amend RSA 126-A:15-a and RSA 153-A:3 to formally include emergency medical services and the Alzheimer’s Association in state advisory and coordinating bodies. In practical terms, it would broaden state-level coordination on dementia-related training and response planning for first responders, while also creating a statutory basis for training expectations for fire service and EMS personnel. The fiscal note estimates no revenue impact and state expenditures of $10,000 or less per year, funded through the Fire Standards and Training and Emergency Medical Services Fund, with local and county compliance costs described as indeterminable.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been viewed positively and as a low-cost public safety measure. The fiscal note frames the proposal as a modest administrative and training expansion, and there is no recorded committee transcript or vote history indicating organized opposition. Overall, the available context suggests support for improving first responder preparedness for interactions with people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The main policy issue implied by the bill is whether to require or incorporate dementia training into first responder licensure and continuing education, and whether the added training burden could create uncertain costs for local fire and EMS agencies. The fiscal note notes those local and county costs are indeterminable, but no named opponents or disputed amendments are shown in the record provided.