CHAPTER 153
HB 491 - FINAL VERSION
22Feb2023... 0112h
15Jun2023... 2184EBA
2023 SESSION
23-0374
04/10
HOUSE BILL 491
AN ACT relative to prohibiting the use of the prone restraint for minors.
SPONSORS: Rep. Meuse, Rock. 37; Rep. Levesque, Straf. 4; Rep. N. Murphy, Hills. 12; Rep. Vogt, Rock. 21; Rep. Moulton, Hills. 20; Sen. Altschiller, Dist 24
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill prohibits the use of prone restraint on a child in a school or treatment facility.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22Feb2023... 0112h
15Jun2023... 2184EBA 23-0374
04/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
AN ACT relative to prohibiting the use of the prone restraint for minors.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
I. The general court finds that while certain forms of physical and medication restraint may periodically be necessary to protect the safety of a child or others around them, restraint techniques, such as prone restraint, that present a clear danger to the life of a child, or that present risk of serious injury to a child, should not be used.
II. Prone restraint is an inherently dangerous form of restraint whose application has resulted in deaths and serious injuries to children. Current law prohibits the use of prone restraint, a dangerous restraint technique, as described in RSA 126-U:4, I. It has come to the general court’s attention that, despite current law’s prohibition against the use of dangerous restraint techniques, the statute is not being properly interpreted and applied.
III. The intent of this act is to ensure proper compliance with New Hampshire’s current law prohibiting the use of dangerous forms of restraint, including prone restraint, and to clarify the circumstances under which the use of other forms of physical restraint must cease to protect the well being of the child.
153:2 Limiting the Use of Child Restraint Practices in Schools and Treatment Facilities; Definitions; Prone Restraint. Amend the introductory clause of RSA 126-U:1, IV(d) to read as follows:
(d) “Prone restraint” is a prohibited physical restraint technique which occurs when a child is intentionally placed face-down on the floor or another surface, and the child's physical movement is limited to keep the child in a prone position. For the purpose of this definition, physical restraint that involves the temporary controlling of an individual in a prone position while transitioning to an alternative, safer form of restraint is not considered to be a prohibited form of physical restraint.
(e) Restraint shall not include:
153:3 Prohibition of Dangerous Restraint Techniques; Prone Restraint. Amend the introductory paragraph in RSA 126-U:4, I to read as follows:
I. Prone restraint, or any other physical restraint or containment technique that:
153:4 New Paragraph; Limiting the Use of Child Restraint Practices in Schools and Treatment Facilities; Authorization and Monitoring of Extended Restraint. Amend RSA 126-U:4 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. Other forms of physical and medical restraint shall be administered in such a way so as to prevent or minimize physical harm. During the administration of restraint, the physical status of the child, including skin temperature, color, and respiration, shall be continuously monitored. The child shall be released from restraint immediately if they demonstrate signs of one or more of the following: difficulty breathing; choking; vomiting; bleeding; fainting; unconsciousness; discoloration; swelling at points of restraint; cold extremities, or similar manifestations.
153:5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 28, 2023
Effective Date: September 26, 2023