Bill > HB132

This bill eliminates legal requirements for family members to financially support indigent relatives and removes counties' ability to recover public assistance costs from relatives or municipalities. Specifically, the bill repeals existing statutes (RSA 165:19, RSA 166:12, and RSA 166:24) that previously mandated family members like fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives could be required to assist or maintain financially needy relatives. The bill modifies existing law to prevent local governments from seeking reimbursement from relatives for support provided to indigent persons, effectively ending legal actions to recover expenses from family members or claims against deceased recipients' estates. While local welfare administrators and legal assistance groups suggest this provision was already rarely used, the bill formally eliminates these potential financial obligations, with an effective date of January 1, 2026. The fiscal impact is expected to be minimal, as state and local agencies do not anticipate significant revenue changes from removing these support recovery mechanisms.

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https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_status.aspx?lsr=0224&sy=2025&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2025&txtbillnumber=HB132