By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – Those driving in New Hampshire who refuse to take a breathalyzer test for police will face an added administrative penalty of three months more than the existing six months under a bill signed into law Monday by Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte. This law shall take effect January 1, 2027.

“We finally have a public policy that marries up really well with the incredible law enforcement work that takes place every single day,” said Eddie Edwards, Assistant Commissioner of Safety. “…DWI is 100 percent preventable. It’s a choice to get behind the wheel and drive intoxicated,” he said.

“What is magical about what we have done here in the state of New Hampshire working as a team. We’ve sent a very strong message that drunk driving, drugged driving will not be tolerated,” he said.

He thanked the governor, bipartisan support from lawmakers, those in uniform who enforce the laws and victims of DWI who have lost children.

“I don’t think this legislation would have happened without these families,” Edwards said for those in attendance, including Beth Shaw, who lost her son, Tyler, age 20 in Bow in 2018. The operator was a repeat offender, she said.

Shaw said: “This will save lives. It will deter impaired driving.”

Senate Bill 620-FN passed the House on a bipartisan vote of 259-94 while it passed by a voice vote in the Senate.

The governor thanked Democrats for their help getting the bill passed. She said the state has among the highest refusal rates for the breath test and that this would serve to make the roads safer.

Senate Bill 620’s sponsor, state Sen. Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, said he had overlooked the Democratic party in the past attempts to get the bill passed and he said that was a mistake.
“This was a team effort and we are going to get other bills passed with this team effort,” Gannon said.

According to the amended language, “This bill increases the duration of administrative license suspensions for refusals from the current 180 days to 9 months for first refusal, and from the current 2 years to 3 years for subsequent refusals.”

A previous version of the bill called for the suspension to be one year but it was amended in the House to be nine months. The governor said that was still a step forward.

This bill also allows the courts to suspend up to 180 days of the refusal suspension in conjunction with a plea to RSA 265-A:2 or RSA 265-A:3. It is also clarified that suspensions under 265-A:18 run consecutively to any administrative suspension. The Department of Safety states existing Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) processes would remain unchanged under this bill, however, implementing the new statutory duration and judicial discretion will require information technology system configuration updates, testing, and deployment work.