This has been a very busy and hectic legislation session. Many bills have already been disposed of and many are still working their way through the process. The State Library has been tracking a wide range of bills during this legislative session. The status of bills that have (or had) implications for libraries are as follows:

• House Bill (HB) 110 is relative to the liability of school districts for information obtained through the use of the Internet. The purpose of this bill is to provide a policy which outlines the intended appropriate and acceptable use of school district computer systems and networks, defines the inappropriate use of such systems and networks, and limits districts' financial and legal liability for information gained from the use of such systems and networks. Status: Passed by the House.
• HB 457 would require all state agencies, departments, and commissions in all three branches of state government to have a presence on Webster by January 1, 1998. This bill is seen as a beginning step to increase the presence of state government on the Web. The sponsor of this bill, Representative Holley from Nashua, has been appointed by the Speaker of the House to serve on the New Hampshire Automated Information Systems Board. Status: Passed by the House.
• HB 627 would have established a conservation number plate trust fund and a special motor vehicle license plate to support natural and cultural resources. The Department of Cultural Affairs anticipates that much of the funds would be made available to local communities, including libraries, for preservation projects. Status: This bill appears headed back to committee, but if brought back and passed in the next session would provide, by some estimates, around $165,000 annually to the Department.
• HB 482 would require the Public Utilities Commission to perform a study relative to methods to expand the computer access sites in Littleton, Conway, Portsmouth, and Keene and to make recommendations on expanding computer access to such areas. Status: Still in the Science, Technology, and Energy Committee.
• Senate Bill (SB) 35 includes "accessibility lift" within the definition of "elevator" and thus would make it necessary to have them inspected as are elevators. Libraries that have installed lifts to meet handicapped access needs will be affected by this change if it becomes law. Status: Passed the Senate. Hearing before the House Health and Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee at 1:00 p.m. on March 20, 1997.
• SB 179 as introduced would create a New Hampshire local government records management improvement fund, but was reported out of committee with an amendment to create a study committee. The purpose of this legislation was to establish a fund which would be used to assist the towns and cities with maintenance, preservation, and citizen access to local governments' historic and public records. Funds would derive from a $5.00 surcharge on UCC filings at the state and local level. Status: Action by full Senate on amended bill pending.

A number of bills have already met early deaths, despite favorable hearings.

• HB 466 would have required administrative rules to be available to the public at the State Library before they took effect. The committee felt that to some extent HB 457 would cover this and some aspects of the bill were too harsh. Although the State Library supported the bill, we agreed that we did not want to be responsible for rules not taking effect if we didn't have the rule in hand.
• HB 733 would have expanded the definition of a document under the state document depository program to include electronic publications. Although no one spoke in opposition to the bill, the subcommittee working on the bill felt that it made too many changes and moved to fast. The State Library strongly supported the bill and will introduce it again in the next session.
• HB 741 would have made toll-free all telephone calls made from telephones within the state to telephone numbers of state offices. The Committee felt many Departments and Agencies already had 800 numbers and as written the bill would have been very expensive.

Current status of bills is available from the State Library Reference and Information Services Section at 271-2144. The current House and Senate Calendars are also available on Webster.

The URL for House calendars is http://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/default.html and for the Senate http://gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/