Revision: May 13, 2021, 8:17 a.m.
Rep. Roy, Rock. 32
May 12, 2021
2021-1443h
05/10
Amendment to SB 155-FN
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT codifying provisions included in select emergency orders issued by the governor in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and relative to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of vaccination status.
Amend the bill by inserting after section 10 the following and renumbering the original section 11 to read as 12 :
11 New Subdivision; State Commission for Human Rights; Prohibition on Discrimination Based on Vaccination Status. Amend RSA 354-A by inserting after section 17 the following new subdivision:
Discrimination Based on Vaccination Status Prohibited
354-A:17-a Discrimination Based on Vaccination Status. It shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person or government entity to deny an individual access to goods, services, employment, housing, education, or places of public accommodation based on an individual's vaccination status. For purposes of this subdivision, it shall be unlawful:
I. For a person or government entity to ask about or make decisions based on vaccine status in matters of housing.
II. For a person or government entity to ask about or in any way discriminate against anyone based on vaccine status in matters of public accommodation, to include public and private transportation.
III. For the state or any political subdivision to pass any law, rule, ordinance or order that would require a vaccine by any citizen of New Hampshire or maintain any list or registry with personal identification information regarding vaccine status or events.
IV. For any medical provider to share any vaccine information with anyone without the express written permission of the patient or if applicable, the patient's legal guardian.
V. For any public or private school (pre-kindergarten through grade 12) to mandate any vaccine for any child in order to attend said school if the vaccine has been in use in the United States for less than 10 years. To be required by the school, the vaccine must have been in use for 10 years or more, be recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the specific age and demographics of the child, and be provided at no cost to the parent or legal guardian. Religious and medical exemptions shall be honored if accompanied by a letter from the child's primary care physician or by a leader in child's religious faith documenting why receiving a vaccine is contrary to the child's deeply held religious beliefs or not in the child's best health interests. The religious institution providing this documentation must be a member of a religion recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a religious organization and qualify for tax exemption as such and any doctor writing an exemption letter must be licensed to practice in New Hampshire.
VI. For any public or private university, college or other secondary school to mandate any vaccine, inquire about vaccine status, or maintain any registry containing personally identifiable information related to vaccines.
VII.(a) For an employer to ask about or make employment decisions based on an individual's vaccine status except as provided in subparagraph (b).
(b) If the employer is a health care provider, the employer may inquire as to vaccination status, and require vaccination of employees, where a direct threat is determined to exist that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation.
(1) In this subparagraph, “direct threat” means a significant risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of the individual or others that cannot be eliminated or reduced by reasonable accommodation. The determination that an individual poses a “direct threat” shall be based on an individualized assessment of the individual’s present ability to safely perform the essential functions of the job. This assessment shall be based on a reasonable medical judgment that relies on the most current medical knowledge and/or on the best available objective evidence. In determining whether an individual would pose a direct threat, the factors to be considered include:
(A) The duration of the risk;
(B) The nature and severity of the potential harm;
(C) The likelihood that the potential harm will occur; and
(D) The imminence of the potential harm.
(2) Subparagraph (b) shall not apply where no direct threat exists or where:
(A) A physician licensed under RSA 329, or a physician exempted under RSA 329:21, III, certifies that vaccination against a particular disease may be detrimental to the employee’s health.
(B) An employee objects to vaccination because of religious beliefs, and the employee signs a notarized form stating that the employee has not be vaccinated because of religious beliefs.
(C) A physician licensed under RSA 329, or a physician exempted under RSA 329:21, III, certifies that the employee has sufficient antibody levels or previously contracted the illness for which vaccination is required, and is therefor immune.
2021-1443h
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill:
I. Establishes the position of temporary health partner.
II. Authorizes emergency licensing of medical providers.
III. Authorizes COVID-19 testing and vaccination by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.
IV. Permits out-of-state pharmacies providing investigational drugs to clinical trial participants in New Hampshire to be temporarily licensed as mail-order pharmacies.
V. Protects the pre-existing, non-conforming use status of summer camps that were unable to operate during the summer of 2020 due to COVID-19.
VI. Establishes procedures to allow construction to continue during the pandemic.
VII. Temporarily allows expanded outdoor dining.
VIII. Prohibits discrimination based on an individual's vaccination status.