CHAPTER 296

HB 1135-FN – FINAL VERSION

6Feb2014…0272h

05/15/14 1837s

4Jun2014… 1938CofC

2014 SESSION

14-2224

03/06

HOUSE BILL 1135-FN

AN ACT relative to penalties for driving without a license.

SPONSORS: Rep. Cushing, Rock 21; Rep. Muns, Rock 21; Rep. Shurtleff, Merr 11; Rep. Andrews-Ahearn, Rock 37; Rep. F. Rice, Rock 21; Rep. Emerick, Rock 21; Rep. Charron, Rock 4; Sen. Stiles, Dist 24

COMMITTEE: Transportation

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill modifies the penalties for driving a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license or a license that is not appropriate for the vehicle being driven.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

6Feb2014…0272h

05/15/14 1837s

4Jun2014… 1938CofC

14-2224

03/06

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fourteen

AN ACT relative to penalties for driving without a license.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

296:1 License Required; Penalty. Amend RSA 263:1 to read as follows:

263:1 License Required; Penalty.

I. No person, except those expressly exempted under RSA 263:25 or other provisions of this title, shall drive any motor vehicle upon any way in this state unless such person has a valid driver’s license, as required under the provisions of this chapter, for the class or type of vehicle being driven. [Except as otherwise herein provided, any person who drives a motor vehicle in this state without having a valid driver’s license of the appropriate class or type shall be guilty of a violation, provided that any person convicted of such offense for the second time in a 12 month period shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.]

II. Any person who held a driver’s license of the appropriate class or type but whose driver’s license has been expired for not more than 12 months shall be guilty of a violation or, for a second or subsequent offense shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

III. Any person who drives a motor vehicle in this state and who has never had a license shall be guilty of a class B misdemeanor.

296:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2015.

Approved: August 1, 2014

Effective Date: January 1, 2015