Revision: Jan. 15, 2009, midnight
2009 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 372
AN ACT relative to drivers’ licenses for persons with certain neurological disorders.
SPONSORS: Rep. Harding, Graf 11; Rep. Pilliod, Belk 5; Rep. Nordgren, Graf 9; Rep. Schulze, Hills 26; Rep. Houde-Quimby, Sull 1; Sen. Gilmour, Dist 12; Sen. Sgambati, Dist 4
This bill authorizes the division of motor vehicles to refuse to license or to revoke the driver’s license of a person with a neurological disorder that affects his or her ability to drive a motor vehicle.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0566
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to drivers’ licenses for persons with certain neurological disorders.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Issuance of Drivers’ Licenses; Neurological Standards. Amend RSA 263 by inserting after section 6-c the following new section:
263:6-d Neurological Standards.
I. In this section:
(a) “Aura” means a sensation experienced before the onset of a neurological disorder.
(b) “Medical examination report” means a summary of the results of a medical examination that includes the following information:
(1) Age at onset of seizures, diagnosis, and history.
(2) Aftereffects of seizures.
(3) EEG findings, if any.
(4) Description, cause, frequency, duration, and date of most recent seizure.
(5) Current medications, including dosage, side effects, and serum level.
(6) The physician’s medical opinion as to whether or not the neurological disorder will affect the person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle. A neurological disorder does not affect a person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle safely if any of the following are true:
(A) Any seizure occurring within the last 3 months was due to a change in anticonvulsant medication ordered by a physician and whether or not seizure control after the change in medication has been established with reasonable medical certainty.
(B) Any seizure occurring within the last 3 months was a single event that a physician concludes with reasonable medical certainty will not recur in the future.
(C) If the seizures are likely to occur or have an established pattern of occurring only during sleep.
(D) If the seizures have an established pattern of an aura of sufficient duration to allow the person safely and immediately to cease operating a motor vehicle upon the onset of the aura.
(c) “Neurological disorder” means a malfunction or disease of the nervous system.
(d) “Seizure” means a neurological disorder characterized by a sudden alteration in consciousness, sensation, motor control, or behavior, due to an abnormal electrical discharge in the brain.
II.(a) A person who has had a seizure in the 3 months prior to applying for a driver’s license shall have medical examination.
(b) After the medical examination, the person or the person’s physician shall submit a medical examination report to the division.
(c) The division shall not issue a driver’s license to a person if the medical examination report shows that the person has a neurological disorder that affects the person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle.
III. A person with a driver’s license or nonresident driving privileges who experiences a seizure shall:
(a) Have a medical examination and submit a medical examination report to the division.
(b) Have a follow-up medical examination within one year after the occurrence of the seizure or within a shorter time, as recommended by a physician.
(c) After each medical examination, the person or the person’s physician shall submit a medical examination report to the division.
IV. The division shall revoke a person’s driver’s license or nonresident driving privileges if a medical examination report shows that the person has a neurological disorder that affects the person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.