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The New Hampshire Government Transparency & Performance Act (NH-GT&P)

New Hampshire state companion to GT&P. Extends the Right-to-Know Law (RSA 91-A), the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant audit division, and the NH Medicaid fraud-recovery framework. New Hampshire has no general state False Claims Act.

THE NEW HAMPSHIRE GOVERNMENT TRANSPARENCY & PERFORMANCE ACT (NH-GT&P)

Vehicle: State passage. New Hampshire General Court, regular session. Primary referral to House / Senate Executive Departments and Administration.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “New Hampshire Government Transparency & Performance Act (NH-GT&P).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The General Court finds that New Hampshire operates the Right-to-Know Law under RSA 91-A; that the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant (LBA) Audit Division operates under RSA 14:31-a and performs state agency audits; that state-agency performance reporting operates through the Department of Administrative Services budget process under RSA 9; that whistleblower protection for state employees operates under RSA 275-E; that state employment is governed by RSA 21-I; and that New Hampshire has no comprehensive state False Claims Act as of enactment, with Medicaid-fraud recoveries pursued through the NH Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under RSA 126-A:5 and the Attorney General. This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH NEW HAMPSHIRE LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “State agency” has the meaning in RSA 21-I:11.
  2. (b) “LBA” means the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant under RSA 14:31-a.
  3. (c) “MFCU” means the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit under RSA 126-A:5.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing New Hampshire Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • RSA 91-A (Right-to-Know Law).
  • RSA 14:31-a (LBA Audit Division).
  • RSA 9 (Budget and Appropriations).
  • RSA 275-E (Whistleblower Protection Act).
  • RSA 21-I (personnel system).
  • RSA 126-A:5 (MFCU).
  • RSA 541-A (Administrative Procedure Act).

TITLE II — STATE-AGENCY OUTCOME PUBLICATION

Sec. 201. New Hampshire Agency Outcome Dashboard

  1. (a) The Department of Administrative Services, in coordination with LBA, shall maintain a New Hampshire Agency Outcome Dashboard (“NH-AOD”).
  2. (b) Each State agency shall publish, for each major program in its biennial budget submission, machine-readable performance data on cost per unit, output volume, and outcome measurement.
  3. (c) Updated at least quarterly.

Sec. 202. Integration with Budget Submissions

  1. (a) Each State agency shall include NH-AOD data in its biennial budget submission.

TITLE III — STATE CIVIL-SERVICE ACCOUNTABILITY

Sec. 301. Published Performance Expectations

  1. (a) RSA 21-I shall be applied so that executive and director positions have published annual performance expectations tied to agency program measures.
  2. (b) Two-cycle failure grounds non-retention consistent with RSA 21-I authority.

TITLE IV — REGULATORY PARTICIPATION

Sec. 401. New Hampshire Regulatory Participation Dashboard

  1. (a) The Office of Legislative Services, in coordination with agencies that adopt rules under RSA 541-A, shall publish a New Hampshire Regulatory Participation Dashboard.
  2. (b) Informational.

TITLE V — WHISTLEBLOWER REWARDS

Sec. 501. Medicaid Fraud Control Unit Reward Framework

  1. (a) A person who provides original information leading to a Medicaid-fraud recovery by MFCU under RSA 126-A:5 may receive a reward aligned with the federal range under 31 U.S.C. Sec. 3730(d), drawn from amounts recovered to the State.
  2. (b) This Section does not create a general state false-claims cause of action. New Hampshire retains the traditional approach of centralizing fraud-recovery authority in the Attorney General; the mechanism established herein is a discretionary reward rather than a private qui tam cause of action.

TITLE VI — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 601. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 602. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect July 1 of the year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: GT&P. Other New Hampshire bills: NH-ACSA, NH-MEWRA, NH-AI-Workforce.