---
type: "Bill"
title: "relative to the issuance of a summons instead of arrest."
description: "relative to the issuance of a summons instead of arrest."
jurisdiction: "us/states/nh"
legislature: "New Hampshire General Court"
session: "2026"
identifier: "HB 1696"
citation: "New Hampshire HB 1696 (2026)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jennifer M Rhodes"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 12
vote_count: 0
first_action: "2025-12-12"
last_action: "2026-05-19"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/1f9f53eb-51b4-48cc-84b8-34129a8a2701"
source_url: "https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/billinfo.aspx?id=1622&inflect=2"
source_hash: "5809f30bb59d8d3b40c129fb0828263d951c7f89fc62f623c518e818a4096480"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-nh"]
---

# New Hampshire HB 1696 (2026) — relative to the issuance of a summons instead of arrest.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/pdf.aspx?id=24187&q=billVersion)
2. **CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION** (committee substitute) — [source](https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/pdf.aspx?id=32972&q=billVersion)
3. **Version adopted by both bodies** (committee substitute) — [source](https://gc.nh.gov/bill_Status/pdf.aspx?id=30694&q=billVersion)

## Sponsors

- Jennifer M Rhodes — primary (person)
- Dennis Mannion — cosponsor (person)
- Joe Sweeney — cosponsor (person)
- Ross Berry — cosponsor (person)
- Terry W Roy — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2025-12-12** Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Criminal Justice and Public Safety HJ 1 P. 31 `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-01-15** Public Hearing: 01/21/2026 11:30 am GP 159
- **2026-02-24** Executive Session: 02/18/2026 11:30 am GP 159
- **2026-02-24** Committee Report: Ought to Pass 02/18/2026 (Vote 11-1; CC) HC 9 P. 9 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-03-05** Ought to Pass: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 9 `committee-passage-favorable, passage`
- **2026-03-06** Introduced 03/05/2026 and Referred to Judiciary; SJ 6 `introduction, referral-committee`
- **2026-03-18** Hearing: 03/24/2026, Room 100, SH, 01:50 pm; SC 11
- **2026-04-01** Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 04/09/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 13 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2026-04-03** Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/09/2026; SJ 8 `committee-passage-favorable, passage`
- **2026-05-11** Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 05/07/2026); SJ 12 `enrolled`
- **2026-05-11** Enrolled (in recess of) 05/07/2026 HJ 12
- **2026-05-19** Signed by Governor Ayotte 05/18/2026; Chapter 75; eff. 01/01/2027 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/1f9f53eb-51b4-48cc-84b8-34129a8a2701`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New Hampshire legislature records).