Revision: Oct. 13, 2023, 1:03 p.m.
2024 SESSION
24-2399.0
05/10
HOUSE BILL [bill number]
AN ACT relative to expanded safe haven protections.
SPONSORS: [sponsors]
COMMITTEE: [committee]
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows a parent to relinquish their child by placing the child in a safe haven baby box, expands the age of a child to 61 days and provides protection from legal action to the parent.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
24-2399.0
05/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four
AN ACT relative to expanded safe haven protections.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Safe Haven Baby Box. Amend RSA 132-A:1 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. "Safe haven baby box" means a device or container to safely accept delivery of a child 61 days of age or younger that is:
(a) Voluntarily installed by a hospital, law enforcement agency, or fire department;
(b) Physically located inside a hospital, law enforcement facility, or fire department facility that is staffed 24 hours a day;
(c) Located in an area that is conspicuous and visible to the employees of the hospital, law enforcement agency, or fire department; and
(d) Equipped with an alarm that notifies the hospital, law enforcement agency, or fire department where the device or container is located.
2 Temporary Care and Control of Children at a Hospital or Safe Haven. Amend RSA 132-A:2, I to read as follows:
I. A hospital or safe haven, without a court order, shall take temporary care and control of a child who is not more than [7] 61 days old, provided that the child is handed to a person at the hospital or safe haven, or is placed in a safe haven baby box, by the child's parent or parents, and the parent or parents did not express an intent to return for the child. The child's parent or parents shall not be required to reveal personally identifiable information.
3 Safe Haven; Notice to Department. Amend RSA 132-A:3, III to read as follows:
III. Within 24 hours of receiving a report under this paragraph, the department shall request law enforcement officials to investigate the incident [using all resources available], including by using the National Crime Information Center database, to determine if the child is a missing child.
4 Temporary Care and Control of Children at a Hospital or Safehaven; Liability. Amend RSA 132-A:4 to read as follows:
132-A:4 Liability.
I. No person or entity subject to the provisions of this chapter shall be liable for any claim at law or in equity as a result of action taken pursuant to the requirements of this chapter.
II. Evidence of a parent’s crime or wrongdoing obtained as a direct consequence of the parent acting pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to an exclusionary rule and, notwithstanding any contrary rule of evidence or law, shall be inadmissible in a criminal or civil trial against the parent.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.