Revision: Oct. 30, 2023, 9:13 a.m.
2024 SESSION
24-2570.1
11/08
HOUSE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT criminalizing interference with a whistleblower.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This bill criminalizes interference with whistleblowers in certain circumstances.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2570.1
11/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT criminalizing interference with a whistleblower.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Whistleblower Protection. Amend RSA 633 by inserting after section 633:11 the following new section:
633:12 Criminal Interference with Whistleblowers.
I. For the purposes of this section, "whistleblower" shall mean someone who reports, via formal complaint, any type of municipal, state or federal waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, or dangers to public health and safety to any person or agency that is specifically tasked with remedying such conduct.
II. It is a class B felony for any civilian state employee to knowingly cooperate or assist with any attempt by law enforcement to detain, arrest or prosecute a whistleblower.
III. It is a class B felony for any civilian state employee to harass with an intent to alarm any whistleblower in an attempt to make the whistleblower submit to detention, arrest or prosecution.
IV. It is a class A felony for a state civilian employee to engage in the conduct in paragraphs II and III if the law enforcement entity is federal.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2025.