Revision: Dec. 10, 2025, 9:05 a.m.
Rep. Belcher, Carr. 4
December 10, 2025
2025-3106h
09/05
Floor Amendment to HB 392-FN
Amend the title of the bill by replacing it with the following:
AN ACT prohibiting state agencies from engaging in certain programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion or environmental justice.
Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
1 Findings. The general court finds that:
I. Federal Executive Order 14151 (January 20, 2025), Executive Order 14173 (February 12, 2025), and related orders direct the immediate termination of all federal diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, “environmental justice” programs, “equity action plans,” Justice40 initiatives, equity-related grants and contracts, and any policy that classifies individuals or groups as inherently privileged, oppressed, racist, or sexist, or that prefers or disadvantages individuals on the basis of race, sex, or other protected characteristics under the guise of “equity,” “environmental justice,” or “disparate impact” mitigation.
II. Continuation of state programs that mirror these now-prohibited federal practices jeopardizes federal funding, as federal agencies are required to audit, withhold, or claw back grants tied to such discriminatory frameworks.
III. True civil-rights compliance under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Protection Clause, and part I, article 14 of the New Hampshire constitution requires strictly color-blind, sex-neutral, and identity-neutral administration except where biologically or medically necessary for individual patient outcomes.
I. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no executive agency, including but not limited to the department of health and human services and the department of environmental services, shall:
(a) Use race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, or any proxy therefor as a factor, weight, or criterion in the allocation, prioritization, or distribution of services, benefits, resources, grants, permits, contracts, or any other state-administered program or scarce resource, except that nothing in this section shall prohibit evidence-based medical treatment or screening that is tailored to individual biological differences (such as sex-specific care for prostate or cervical cancer, or higher sickle-cell screening for individuals of West African descent) when such treatment is medically indicated for that patient. Group-level statistical disparities or outcome-equalization goals shall never be used as justification for differential treatment.
(b) Require, conduct, fund, promote, or permit any training, policy, guidance, or program that teaches, advocates, or implies that:
(1) Any race, sex, ethnicity, or identity group is inherently or collectively privileged, oppressive, advantaged, disadvantaged, racist, sexist, or responsible for past actions of others;
(2) An individual, by virtue of their race, sex, or identity, bears responsibility for or should feel guilt, anguish, or psychological distress because of actions in which they played no part;
(3) Meritocracy or individual achievement is inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive;
(4) American societal structures, the United States Constitution, or New Hampshire’s constitution are inherently or irredeemably designed to perpetuate oppression based on identity categories; or
(5) Students, employees, or citizens must adopt “critical consciousness,” identify personal or societal “oppressors” and “oppressed,” or engage in dialectical analysis that frames society primarily as identity-based power struggles intended to foster division rather than resolution.
(c) Maintain or utilize any screening tool, map, index, or methodology (including but not limited to the federal EJScreen, CDC Social Vulnerability Index, or any successor tool when used with demographic indexes incorporating race, ethnicity, sex, or gender identity) that incorporates race, ethnicity, sex, or gender identity as a factor in permitting, enforcement, grant prioritization, or resource allocation decisions.
(d) Require or consider “cumulative impacts” analysis that incorporates demographic factors prohibited under subparagraph (a) in any permitting or regulatory decision.
(e) Establish or maintain any office, position, coordinator, or program whose primary function is the advancement of “health equity,” “environmental justice,” “racial equity,” “social justice,” “LGBTQ+ inclusion,” or similar outcome-equalization frameworks that treat individuals differently based on protected characteristics.
II. Any existing program, policy, contract, grant application, or guidance document in violation of paragraph I shall be terminated or amended to comply with this section no later than 60 days after the effective date of this section. Agency commissioners shall certify compliance in writing to the governor, the speaker of the house, and the senate president within 90 days of the effective date of this section.
III. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit:
(a) Neutral, nondiscriminatory outreach or language-access services required by federal civil-rights statutes.
(b) Refugee health screenings or resettlement services that are 100 percent federally funded and do not incorporate prohibited demographic weighting.
(c) Data collection required by federal law for statistical purposes, provided such data is not used for discriminatory decision-making prohibited herein.
(d) Medically necessary, individual-specific care based on biological sex or genetic ancestry.
IV. If any provision of this section is held invalid, the remainder shall remain in full force and effect.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
2025-3106h
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill prohibits state agencies from engaging in certain programs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion or environmental justice.