SB 470 New Hampshire Senate · 2026 Regular Session

relative to the expungement of certain disciplinary matters.

SB 470 allows licensed professionals (like doctors, lawyers, or contractors) who faced minor disciplinary actions - such as reprimands, fines, or administrative penalties - to petition to have those records removed from public view. To qualify, they must have completed the disciplinary action over 3 years ago, have no further violations, no pending investigations, and maintain a good license standing. For cases involving only reprimands or fines, approval is automatic if requirements are met; for other cases, petitioners must show expungement aids rehabilitation without harming public safety. The bill does not cover cases involving permanent license revocation.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Nov 2025

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Nov 21, 2025 Signed Jun 24, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

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

MINOR

The changes between the version adopted by both bodies and the chaptered final version are entirely technical and procedural. The bill was assigned Chapter 186, its sections were renumbered with chapter prefixes (186:1, 186:2, 186:3), the fiscal note was removed (as it is a legislative process document not part of enacted law), and approval/effective dates were added. No substantive policy changes were made.

TECHNICAL

The bill was assigned Chapter 186 and its three sections were renumbered from generic numbers (New Section, 2, 3) to chapter-specific numbers (186:1, 186:2, 186:3), which is the standard process when a bill is formally enrolled as law.

The fiscal note (stating less than $10,000 annual impact) and the 'Agencies Contacted' section were removed, as these are legislative process documents that do not appear in the final chaptered law.

TIMELINE

Approval date (June 19, 2026) and effective date (August 18, 2026) were added to the final version, confirming the 60-day effective period specified in the bill's text.

Introduced → As Amended by the Senate · 6 edits

MODERATE

The Senate amendment significantly narrows who can petition for expungement of disciplinary records by adding exclusions for serious misconduct (criminal acts, fraud, patient safety, etc.), doubling the waiting period from 3 to 7 years, excluding post-adjudicative suspensions, requiring completion of all disciplinary action requirements, and changing the standard from mandatory to discretionary approval for more serious cases.

Scope change

The bill's scope was substantially narrowed. It now excludes licensees whose disciplinary actions involved serious misconduct categories (criminal acts, fraud, patient safety, public safety, professional integrity), adds a longer waiting period, requires completion of all disciplinary requirements, and gives the office discretion rather than mandating approval for more serious cases.

ELIGIBILITY

Added a new exclusion: licensees whose disciplinary action involved criminal acts, fraud, deceit, patient safety, public safety, or acts impacting the integrity of the profession are no longer eligible to petition for expungement.

Post-adjudicative suspensions are now excluded from eligibility. Previously, only permanent revocation was excluded; now both post-adjudicative suspension and permanent revocation disqualify a licensee.

TIMELINE

The waiting period before filing a petition increased from more than 3 years after the disciplinary action to more than 7 years.

REQUIREMENT

A new requirement was added that the licensee must have completed all requirements of the disciplinary action before petitioning for expungement.

ENFORCEMENT

For petitions beyond simple reprimands or fines, the office changed from 'shall be granted' (mandatory approval if criteria met) to 'may be granted' (discretionary approval), giving the office more latitude to deny even qualifying petitions.

TECHNICAL

The new section was renumbered from 310:10-a (inserted after section 10) to 310:12-a (inserted after section 12), likely to avoid conflicts with other pending legislation.

Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 24, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by the Governor on 06/19/2026; Chapter 186; Effective 08/18/2026

upper

May 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA VV 05/07/2026 HJ 12 P. 10

lower

Apr 27, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass 04/22/2026 (Vote 16-0; CC) HC 18 P. 7

lower

Mar 27, 2026

Introduced

Introduced (in recess of) 03/26/2026 and referred to Executive Departments and Administration HJ 9 P. 54

lower

Mar 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment #2026-1240s, MA, VV; OT3rdg; 03/26/2026; SJ 7

upper

Mar 26, 2026

Introduced

Sen. Rochefort Floor Amendment # 2026-1240s, AA, VV; 03/26/2026; SJ 7

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 03/26/2026, Vote 4-0; SC 11

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 03/12/2026; Vote 4-0; CC; SC 9

upper

Nov 21, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and Referred to Executive Departments and Administration; SJ 1

upper

1 primary · 2 co-sponsors