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
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Bill Gannon
RRepublican
Co
Cindy Rosenwald
DDemocratic
Co
David Rochefort
RRepublican
Co
David Watters
DDemocratic
Co
Donovan Fenton
DDemocratic
Co
Howard Pearl
RRepublican
Co
Jennifer Mandelbaum
DDemocratic
Co
Kevin Avard
RRepublican
Co
Mark Pearson
RRepublican
Co
Regina Birdsell
RRepublican
Co
Tara Reardon
DDemocratic
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