Citizen in a RepublicNH Bill Briefing
← All bills

HB 1116 · 2026 · House · Judiciary Committee

Judicial privilege and small claims notice

AI-generated

relative to judicial privilege and relative to the litigation of small claims.

Bars state judges from claiming judicial privilege to avoid testifying in criminal proceedings where they have firsthand knowledge of material facts, and requires courts to send small claims notice within 10 days of filing.AI-generated

Status

Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · March 5, 2026
  1. ✓Introduced
  2. ✕House
  3. Senate
  4. Governor
  5. Law

Analysis

This bill: I. States that a New Hampshire state judge may not claim judicial privilege to refuse to testify in a criminal proceeding where they have firsthand knowledge of material facts. II. Requires the court in small claims litigations to send notice of the claim within 10 days of its filing.

From the bill's official ANALYSIS section.

Official record

Bill page — docket & status

gc.nh.gov · the authoritative source

Sponsors

Rep. Jack FlanaganRPrime

Public testimony

9 signed in online · 3 wrote testimony

89% support11% oppose0% neutral

In their wordsVerbatim, exactly as submitted

“I strongly support this bill. The only people who should be making decisions regarding their children's' health / immunization are the parents or legal guardians. Thank you for supporting this bill.”
— Pamela Harders, Manchestersupports
“Why are so many in law enforcement given special rules to follow? They should be treated exactly the same as every other citizen. If I can't, they can't.”
— John Beto, Templesupports
“I support Judges being able to testify in criminal cases if they are privy to firsthand knowledge pertaining to said criminal cases to protect citizens from outside jurisdiction so long as it remains within code of conduct of pre existing rights, reaponsibilities, and protections…”
— Derek Avila, Nashuasupports

Verbatim excerpts of submitted testimony, quoted from the testimony tool.

Read the testimony · as of Aug 12, 2026

Hearings

  • 2026-02-049:30 amHouse JudiciaryGP 230Public hearing
  • 2026-02-1310:00 amHouse JudiciaryGP 158Public hearing

Legislative history

  1. Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Judiciary HJ 1 P. 7
  2. Feb 4, 2026HousePublic Hearing: 02/04/2026 01:30 pm GP 230
  3. Feb 13, 2026HouseExecutive Session: 02/13/2026 10:00 am GP 158
  4. Feb 13, 2026HouseCommittee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/13/2026 (Vote 18-0; CC) HC 9 P. 17
  5. Mar 5, 2026HouseInexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 20

Coverage

No reporting linked yet.

Documents (PDF)

Bill text & amendments link direct to gc.nh.gov; committee reports stream from the state record.