Bill > HB776

This bill makes two distinct changes to New Hampshire state law: first, it expands the definition of aggravated driving while intoxicated to include wrong-way driving as an additional aggravating factor. Specifically, the bill adds a new provision that driving or operating a vehicle in violation of section 265:26, I (which relates to wrong-way driving) can now elevate a standard driving while intoxicated offense to an aggravated offense. The bill also includes a whimsical provision that officially designates the Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) as the state marsupial of New Hampshire, and playfully renames all opossums within the state's borders as "New Hampshire opossums." The changes to the driving while intoxicated statute will take effect on January 1, 2026, while the marsupial designation will take effect 60 days after the bill's passage. The bill's potential implementation may have indeterminate fiscal impacts on the state's judicial and correctional systems due to potential changes in prosecution and sentencing related to the expanded definition of aggravated driving while intoxicated.

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https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/legacy/bs2016/bill_docket.aspx?lsr=0803&sy=2025&sortoption=&txtsessionyear=2025&txtbillnumber=HB776