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HB1252 Requiring the department of safety to only administer tests for commercial driver's licenses in English and prohibiting the assistance of an interpreter during such tests.

Other Now Law Auto-scored

Requiring the department of safety to only administer tests for commercial driver's licenses in English and prohibiting the assistance of an interpreter during such tests.

Impact Score — How Does This Bill Affect You?

3

Overall Impact Score

Harmful

Scale: 1 (harmful) to 10 (beneficial)

5
💰

Your Wallet

Fiscal impact is less than $10,000 annually, so minimal direct cost to taxpayers.

3
🏘️

Your Community

Non-English speaking residents seeking commercial driving work face a new barrier to licensing, which may reduce workforce availability in trucking and transportation sectors.

2
⚖️

Your Freedom

The bill restricts access to a professional license pathway for non-English speakers and removes interpreter accommodations previously available, limiting economic opportunity for a specific population.

Status

Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/02/2026; Chapter 221; eff. 8/31/2026

Voted Yes

14 R

Voted No

0 R + 8 D

R Yes D Yes R No D No

Sponsor

Ted Gorski (R)

The Short Version

This bill requires commercial driver's license tests in New Hampshire to be administered only in English, with no interpreter assistance allowed (except for federally mandated exemptions). It will make it harder for non-English speakers to obtain or renew commercial driver's licenses, potentially affecting immigrants and others in the transportation industry.

Who's Behind This Bill?

Who Benefits

  • ▲ English-speaking commercial driver's license applicants (no change to their testing)

Who Pays the Price

  • ▼ Non-English speaking individuals seeking commercial driver's licenses
  • ▼ Immigrants and residents with limited English proficiency in transportation occupations
  • ▼ Employers in trucking and commercial transportation who may face reduced candidate pools

Roll Call Detail (2 votes)

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 2 recorded votes on this bill — counting each legislator's net direction and treating kill motions as opposing the bill — Republicans supported it ( 188 for , 2 against ) , and Democrats opposed it ( 6 for , 154 against ) .

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

Ought to Pass w/Amendment 2026-05-07
Passed

YES = Pass the bill. NO = Reject the bill.

14R
Voted to Pass (14)
0R + 8D
Voted Against (8)
2
Absent
0
Not voting
Show all 24 individual votes
Absent (2)

Denise Ricciardi (R) , Kevin Avard (R)

Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-03-12
Passed

YES = Pass the bill with the attached amendment. NO = Reject the bill (as amended).

188R + 6D
Voted to Pass (194)
2R + 154D
Voted Against (156)
23
Absent
19
Not voting
Show all 392 individual votes

Voted Yea (194)

Republicans (188)
Democrats (6)

Voted Nay (156)

Republicans (2)
Democrats (154)
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.