CHAPTER 42
HB 363 – FINAL VERSION
11Mar2015… 0159h
04/30/2015 1408s
2015 SESSION
01/04
HOUSE BILL 363
AN ACT relative to Lyme disease awareness.
SPONSORS: Rep. P. Brown, Hills 31; Rep. Emerson, Ches 11; Sen. Daniels, Dist 11
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
This bill proclaims the month of May to be Lyme disease awareness month. This bill requires the department of health and human services to include certain information on its Internet website.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11Mar2015… 0159h
04/30/2015 1408s
15-0828
01/04
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT relative to Lyme disease awareness.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
42:1 Statement of Intent.
I. The general court hereby finds:
(a) That the state of New Hampshire has had one of the highest incidence rates of Lyme disease in the United States according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and has been in the top 3 since 2006.
(b) The department of health and human services has reported that in 2013 there were 1,691 confirmed cases of Lyme disease and 119 confirmed cases of other tick-borne diseases, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, and Ehrlichiosis in the state of New Hampshire. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that the actual incidence of Lyme disease is approximately 10 times the amount reported, therefore approximately 16,910 total cases in 2013 alone.
II. Therefore, section 2 of this act designates the month of May as Lyme disease awareness month to raise public awareness and improve education for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease.
42:2 New Section; Lyme Disease Awareness Month. Amend RSA 4 by inserting after section 13-t the following new section:
4:13-u Lyme Disease Awareness Month. The governor shall annually proclaim the month of May as Lyme disease awareness month and shall urge cities and towns throughout the state to observe this month in an appropriate manner educating the public about the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of Lyme disease.
42:3 New Paragraph; Department of Health and Human Services; Information Required. Amend RSA 126-A:5 by inserting after paragraph XXVII the following new paragraph:
XXVIII. The commissioner shall include a link to the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (www.ILADS.org) on its Internet website and may include a disclaimer that the department of health and human services neither endorses nor supports the position of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society.
42:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: May 14, 2015 Effective Date: May 14, 2015