HB 1348 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to possession of human remains for law enforcement training purposes.

HB 1348 allows New Hampshire law enforcement agencies to legally possess portions of human remains (such as bone or tissue) for training cadaver detection dogs, but only with written permission from the deceased's next of kin or a prior donation document. The bill requires agencies to document consent, return all remains to funeral homes after training, and follow strict handling protocols. It establishes oversight by the Department of Safety to ensure respectful treatment and compliance, with penalties for violations. The law directly affects law enforcement agencies and funeral homes handling remains, while prioritizing ethical standards in training practices.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

Jul 2026

Introduced Dec 2, 2025 Signed Jul 16, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Version adopted by both bodies → CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION · 3 edits

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between the version adopted by both bodies and the chaptered final version. The changes are purely technical: the bill was assigned Chapter 301, section numbers were reformatted from sequential (1, 2, 3) to chapter format (301:1, 301:2, 301:3), and standard approval/effective date lines were added at the end.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers changed from '1', '2', '3' to '301:1', '301:2', '301:3' to reflect the bill's assignment as Chapter 301 of the state statutes.

Formatting and indentation adjustments throughout the text to conform to final chaptered layout; no changes to the actual legal language or policy content.

TIMELINE

Approval date (July 10, 2026) and effective date (September 08, 2026) were added at the end of the document, which is standard when a bill is enrolled as law.

Introduced → As Amended by the Senate · 3 edits

MINOR

The Senate amendment significantly expanded who can receive and handle human remains used in law enforcement training, added a new pathway for New Hampshire universities to assist in preparing training aids from human remains, and replaced the original oversight-and-audit framework with a requirement that law enforcement agencies maintain written policies filed with the police standards council.

Scope change

The bill's scope broadened to include higher education institutions as active participants in preparing training aids from human remains, and expanded the list of authorized recipients for returned remains beyond funeral homes to include universities and licensed medical waste disposal companies. Enforcement shifted from a top-down audit model by the department of safety to a bottom-up policy-filing requirement overseen by the police standards council.

SCOPE

Remains no longer must be returned only to the designated funeral home or mortuary. They can now also be returned to the New Hampshire institution of higher education that helped prepare the training aids, or to a company licensed for human medical waste disposal in New Hampshire.

ELIGIBILITY

New provision allows New Hampshire institutions of higher education to assist in preparing training aids from human remains for law enforcement, provided they employ or contract with a credentialed medical professional (Ph.D. in anatomical/forensic science, D.O., or M.D.), the work is done on-site at a licensed funeral home with the funeral director's consent, a written agreement exists with the requesting agency, and all consent requirements under RSA 291-B:2 are met.

ENFORCEMENT

The original Section 291-B:4 gave the department of safety authority to adopt rules, conduct periodic audits of law enforcement agencies, and impose disciplinary action or revocation for violations. This was replaced with a requirement that any law enforcement agency using human remains in training must develop a written policy (covering acquisition, handling/storage, and final disposition) and file it with the New Hampshire police standards and training council.

Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jul 16, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/10/2026; Chapter 301; eff. 9/8/2026

lower

Jun 17, 2026

Introduced

Enrolled Bill Amendment # 2026-2154e: AA VV (in recess of) 06/04/2026 HJ 15

lower

Jun 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Enrolled Bill Amendment # 2026-2154e Adopted, VV, (In recess of 06/04/2026); SJ 14

upper

May 21, 2026

Introduced

House Concurs with Senate Amendment 2026-1556s (Rep. Roy): MA VV 05/21/2026 HJ 14 P. 2

lower

Apr 23, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1556s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/23/2026; SJ 10

upper

Apr 23, 2026

Introduced

Sen. Gannon Floor Amendment # 2026-1556s, AA, VV; 04/23/2026; SJ 10

upper

Apr 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 04/23/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 15A

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Introduced 03/05/2026 and Referred to Judiciary; SJ 6

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 7

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass 02/13/2026 (Vote 13-0; CC) HC 9 P. 6

lower

Dec 2, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Criminal Justice and Public Safety HJ 1 P. 16

lower

1 primary · 6 co-sponsors