SB 402 New Hampshire Senate · 2026 Regular Session

eliminating certain non-compete agreements for physician associates.

SB 402 eliminates geographic non-compete restrictions in contracts for physician associates in New Hampshire. It makes any agreement preventing a physician associate from practicing in specific areas after employment ends void and unenforceable for new contracts or renewals signed on or after the law's effective date. This directly affects physician associates (healthcare providers working under physician supervision) and their employers by removing barriers to where they can practice following job changes. The law does not impact other contract terms, only the geographic restriction provision, and applies only to agreements entered after the bill takes effect.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
Jan 2026
House Passage
Apr 2026
Signed into Law
May 2026
Introduced Nov 18, 2025 Signed May 12, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 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 final chaptered version. The only changes are administrative: the bill was assigned Chapter 55, section numbers were updated to reflect that chapter (e.g., 'New Section' became '55:1'), the fiscal note was removed, and formal approval and effective dates were added.
TECHNICAL

Section numbers were updated from generic labels ('New Section', '2') to chapter-specific numbers ('55:1', '55:2') to reflect the bill's assignment as Chapter 55.

The fiscal note section was removed from the final chaptered version, which is standard practice for enrolled legislation.

TIMELINE

Formal approval date (May 08, 2026) and effective date (July 07, 2026) were added to the final version.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
5
Committee
4
May 12, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by the Governor on 05/08/2026; Chapter 55; Effective 07/07/2026
upper
Apr 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass: MA VV 04/09/2026 HJ 10 P. 12
lower
Mar 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass 03/18/2026 (Vote 12-0; CC)
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Introduced
Introduced (in recess of) 02/19/2026 and referred to Executive Departments and Administration HJ 5 P. 124
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Upper · Passed
Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 01/29/2026; SJ 2
upper
Jan 22, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 01/29/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 3
upper
Nov 18, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and Referred to Executive Departments and Administration; SJ 1
upper
1 primary · 12 co-sponsors

Sponsors