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HB1178 Relative to permissible window tinting on motor vehicles.

Environment & Energy Dead Auto-scored

Relative to permissible window tinting on motor vehicles.

Impact Score — How Does This Bill Affect You?

6

Overall Impact Score

Mixed

Scale: 1 (harmful) to 10 (beneficial)

5
💰

Your Wallet

No direct financial impact on taxpayer costs or family budgets, though vehicle owners seeking tinting will incur aftermarket tinting expenses.

4
🏘️

Your Community

Law enforcement and traffic safety may be modestly affected by reduced visibility into vehicles, potentially complicating officer safety assessments during traffic stops.

7
⚖️

Your Freedom

Vehicle owners gain freedom to tint front side windows within the specified standard, and individuals with medical conditions gain access to a formal exemption process.

Status

Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Regular Calendar 204-143 03/12/2026 House Journal 8 P. 72

Voted Yes

55 R + 149 D

Voted No

133 R + 10 D

R Yes D Yes R No D No

Sponsor

Joseph Barton (R)

The Short Version

This bill allows darker window tinting (35% light transmittance minimum) on front side windows of vehicles in New Hampshire and creates a medical exemption process for similar tinting. It represents a relaxation of current tinting restrictions, effective January 1, 2027.

Who's Behind This Bill?

Who Benefits

  • ▲ Vehicle owners who want darker window tinting for privacy or comfort
  • ▲ Individuals with medical conditions requiring light-sensitive accommodations (photosensitivity, lupus, etc.) who can now apply for medical exemptions

Who Pays the Price

  • ▼ Law enforcement, who may face reduced visibility into vehicles during traffic stops
  • ▼ Other road users whose ability to see into tinted vehicles is diminished

Roll Call Detail (1 vote)

Every recorded floor vote on this bill, with each legislator's individual vote. Click a name to see that rep's full record.

Who actually supports this bill?

Across the 1 recorded vote on this bill — counting each legislator's net direction and treating kill motions as opposing the bill — Republicans supported it ( 133 for , 55 against ) , and Democrats opposed it ( 10 for , 149 against ) .

"Supporting" means voting for passage OR voting against a kill motion. "Opposing" is the inverse. Concurs and amendment-only votes don't count.

Inexpedient to Legislate (kill motion) 2026-03-12
Passed

YES = Kill the bill. NO = Keep the bill alive.

55R + 149D
Voted to Kill the Bill (204)
133R + 10D
Voted to Keep It Alive (143)
23
Absent
22
Not voting
Show all 392 individual votes

Voted Yea (204)

Republicans (55)
Democrats (149)

Voted Nay (143)

Republicans (133)
Democrats (10)
Absent (23)

Dale Swanson (D) , Donald McFarlane (R) , Gaby Grossman (D) , Geoff Smith (D) , Jaci Grote (D) , James Spillane (R) , Jay Markell (R) , Jeanine Notter (R) , Jennifer Rhodes (R) , Jim Fedolfi (R) , John Janigian (R) , Jonathan Smith (R) , Joseph Hamblen (R) , Kimberly Rice (R) , Linda Haskins (D) , Mark Warden (R) , Mary Ford (R) , Matthew Hicks (D) , Peter Lovett (D) , Peter Varney (R) , Robert Harb (R) , Russell Muirhead (D) , Thomas Buco (D)

Read the Actual Bill → See All Bills

Bill statuses as of October 7, 2026. Check LegiScan or NH General Court for the latest.

This bill was auto-scored using AI analysis of the bill text and legislative data. Scores may be refined as we review more bills.