New Hampshire Senate Bill SB300

New Hampshire 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/25/25
• Refer: 2/25/25
• Report Pass: 3/7/25
• Report Pass: 3/18/25
• Engrossed: 3/28/25
• Refer: 3/28/25
• Report Pass: 5/15/25
• Enrolled: 7/8/25
• Chaptered: 7/22/25
• Passed: 7/22/25

Caption

Criminalizing the creation of child intimate visual representations.

Summary

SB 300 would create a new criminal offense for knowingly creating, producing, manufacturing, or directing an intimate visual representation of a child without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian. The bill defines “intimate visual representation” broadly to include photographs, films, videos, digital images, synthetic images, and computer-generated images that depict a child’s intimate parts. It also defines “intimate parts” to include unclothed or partially clothed genitals, pubic area, anus, and, for females, exposed nipples, including through transparent clothing. The bill classifies the offense as a class B felony and adds it to the list of offenses that require sex offender registration. It specifically places the new offense within the tier II offender category under New Hampshire’s criminal offender registration law. The act would take effect January 1, 2026, and would amend RSA 649-A and RSA 651-B to incorporate the new crime and registration consequences.

Impact

SB 300 would expand New Hampshire’s child sexual abuse image laws by creating a separate offense for the creation of child intimate visual representations, including synthetic or computer-generated depictions. It would amend RSA 649-A to add a new section prohibiting this conduct and amend RSA 651-B so that a conviction becomes both a registrable offense and a tier II sex offender classification. The bill would therefore affect criminal prosecution, sentencing exposure, and post-conviction registration requirements for offenders, while potentially increasing judicial and correctional system costs.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong support for the bill: the Senate passed it on March 27, 2025 by a vote of 24-0, indicating unanimous approval among those voting. No committee transcript excerpts were provided, but the bill’s sponsor list and the unanimous vote suggest broad bipartisan concern about protecting children from exploitative visual depictions, including digitally created images.

Contention

No major opposition is reflected in the provided materials, and the recorded vote was unanimous. The main policy issue embedded in the bill is the breadth of the new definition, which covers synthetic and computer-generated images as well as traditional media. That scope may raise questions about proof, consent, and how to distinguish unlawful depictions from lawful images involving children, but no specific dissenting arguments are included in the record provided.