HB 1444-FN
relative to the purchase or acquisition of certain unmanned aircraft systems.
Official record at gencourt.state.nh.us ↗Open this bill in the searchable view → · Follow this bill by RSS
On the record
Quoted from the General Court bill status page, not worked out from the docket.
| Status | SIGNED BY GOVERNOR |
|---|---|
| In the House | PASSED/ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT |
| In the Senate | PASSED/ADOPTED |
| Introduced | 1/7/2026 |
| Floor date | 2/19/2026 |
| LSR number | 2749 |
| Chapter | 0095 |
| Local government impact | no |
| Committee code | H34 |
Where it stands
House: PASSED/ADOPTED WITH AMENDMENT · Senate: PASSED/ADOPTED
Every floor vote on this bill was a voice or division vote, so there is no record of how individual legislators voted.
A bill goes on the consent calendar when the committee vote was unanimous or nearly so, and any members who dissented did not object to placing it there. It then passes without floor debate. Ten members may file a petition to pull a bill off the consent calendar and have it debated and voted on separately.
Sponsors
Moffett, Michael(R) Merr 4, Cambrils, Jose(R) Merr 4, Creighton, James(R) Hills 30, Freeman, Lisa(R) Belk 8, Litchfield, Melissa(R) Rock 32, Mandelbaum, Jennifer(D) Rock 21, Notter, Jeanine(R) Hills 12, Pearl, Howard(R) Merr 17, Sullivan, Victoria(R) Hills 18
Prime sponsor in bold. From the General Court sponsor file.
What happened
Every action recorded in the official docket, in order. Each line ends with the journal or calendar that recorded it; where we have the document, that citation links to it.
- January 7, 2026Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Commerce and Consumer Affairs
- January 15, 2026Public Hearing: 01/15/2026 10:00 am GP 229
- January 22, 2026Subcommittee Work Session: 01/22/2026 01:15 pm GP 229
- February 4, 2026Executive Session: 02/04/2026 01:00 pm GP 229
- February 4, 2026Subcommittee Work Session: 02/04/2026 10:15 am GP 229
- February 11, 2026Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0558h 02/04/2026 (Vote 14-0; CC)
- February 19, 2026Amendment # 2026-0558h: AA VV 02/19/2026
- February 19, 2026Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0558h: MA VV 02/19/2026
- February 19, 2026Referred to Finance 02/19/2026
- February 19, 2026Introduced 02/19/2026 and Referred to Judiciary
- February 19, 2026Referral Waived by Committee Chair per House Rule 47(f) 02/19/2026
- March 10, 2026Hearing: 03/10/2026, Room 100, SH, 01:45 pm
- April 16, 2026Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 04/16/2026; Vote 4-1; CC
- April 16, 2026Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/16/2026
- May 14, 2026Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 05/14/2026)
- May 14, 2026Enrolled (in recess of) 05/14/2026
- June 1, 2026Signed by Governor Ayotte 05/28/2026; Chapter 95; eff. 07/27/2026
Votes
Roll call tallies and individual votes from the General Court roll call files. Presiding, excused and absent are shown separately: one member presides over each House roll call and does not vote except to break a tie.
Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0558h
Decided on a voice vote. Only the outcome was recorded — there is no count of how any member voted.
Ought to Pass
Decided on a voice vote. Only the outcome was recorded — there is no count of how any member voted.
Committee reports
Reproduced from the House Calendar in the committee’s own words.
Committee — OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMENDMENT
This amended bill requires all New Hampshire state, county, municipal, and political subdivision agencies to comply with the National Defense Authorization Act of 2024, Public Law 11831—specifically the American Security Drone Act (sections 1821–1833)—when purchasing new drones. These federal provisions prohibit the use of federal funds to buy or operate drones manufactured or assembled primarily in China or Russia. Most drones sold in the United States today, including commercial models, contain substantial onboard storage (often up to 1 TB via SSD cards) and many are capable of transmitting data over 4G/5G networks or through shortrange satellite links. Nearly all Chinese drone manufacturers produce models with shortrange transmission capability as a standard feature, typically using WiFi or 2.4GHz/5.8GHz radio frequencies. In addition, roughly 90% of the global commercial drone market relies on components made in China, including airframes, batteries, radios, cameras, and displays. Because Chinese law requires domestic companies to provide data to the government upon request, concerns have grown that even commercially sold drones could be compelled to transmit sensitive information—such as flight logs, operator locations, or highresolution imagery—to foreign governments. Such data could theoretically be used to map critical US infrastructure or monitor military activity. Although no publicly available evidence confirms that this has occurred, these concerns have led the FCC to prohibit drones from several Chinese manufacturers from operating in critical frequency bands within the United States. Vote 14-0.
Hearings and recordings
Recordings are the General Court’s own, on YouTube. Start times are estimates unless stated otherwise, and the player opens early.
- January 15, 2026 at 10:00Commerce and Consumer Affairs public hearing recording 0:05:33–0:09:09, about 4 min (estimated)
- January 22, 2026 at 13:15Commerce and Consumer Affairs subcommittee work session recording 3:48:27–3:55:25, about 7 min (estimated)
- February 4, 2026 at 10:15Commerce and Consumer Affairs subcommittee work session recording 0:12:16–0:16:03, about 4 min (estimated)
- February 4, 2026 at 13:00Commerce and Consumer Affairs executive session recording 4:11:00–4:13:30, about 2 min (estimated)
- February 19, 2026House floor debate recording (start time not identified)
- March 10, 2026 at 13:45Judiciary hearing recording (start time not identified)
- April 16, 2026Senate floor debate recording (start time not identified)
Page generated 2026-09-03 from data published by the New Hampshire General Court. Granite Record is an independent project, not affiliated with the General Court. The official record always takes precedence. Corrections: [email protected]