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SB501 Relative to authorization of seclusion or restraint during a personal safety emergency by a physician, physician associate, or advanced practice registered nurse.

Healthcare Active Auto-scored

Relative to authorization of seclusion or restraint during a personal safety emergency by a physician, physician associate, or advanced practice registered nurse.

Impact Score — How Does This Bill Affect You?

5

Overall Impact Score

Concerning

Scale: 1 (harmful) to 10 (beneficial)

5
💰

Your Wallet

Minimal direct financial impact. Could reduce costs associated with delays in crisis response when a physician is not immediately available.

6
🏘️

Your Community

Allows more types of qualified medical professionals to authorize safety interventions during emergencies, improving crisis response in facilities with staffing challenges.

4
⚖️

Your Freedom

Seclusion and restraint are serious restrictions on personal liberty. While this bill may be needed for safety, expanding who can authorize these measures raises civil liberties concerns for patients.

Status

Lay SB501 on Table (Rep. W. MacDonald): Motion Adopted Regular Calendar 188-154 05/07/2026 House Journal 12

Voted Yes

0 R

Voted No

0 R

R Yes D Yes R No D No

Sponsor

Suzanne Prentiss (D)

The Short Version

Clarifies which medical professionals can authorize seclusion or restraint during personal safety emergencies. Expands authorization to physician associates and advanced practice nurses, addressing staffing gaps in crisis situations.

Who's Behind This Bill?

Who Benefits

  • ▲ Healthcare facilities with limited physician availability
  • ▲ Staff and patients in personal safety emergencies
  • ▲ Physician associates and APRNs gaining clear authority

Who Pays the Price

  • ▼ Patients who may face restraint or seclusion authorized by more types of providers
  • ▼ Civil liberties advocates concerned about expanding restraint authority

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 opposed it ( 5 for , 184 against ) , and Democrats supported it ( 149 for , 4 against ) .

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

Table 2026-05-07
Passed

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

184R + 4D
Voted to Kill the Bill (188)
5R + 149D
Voted to Keep It Alive (154)
29
Absent
22
Not voting
Show all 393 individual votes

Voted Yea (188)

Republicans (184)
Democrats (4)

Voted Nay (154)

Republicans (5)
Democrats (149)
Absent (29)

Alicia Gregg (D) , Amy Malone (D) , Arnold Davis (R) , Buzz Scherr (D) , Catherine Sofikitis (D) , Christal Lloyd (D) , Cindy Bennett (R) , Donald McFarlane (R) , Ellen Read (D) , Gaby Grossman (D) , Gregory Hill (R) , Jim Fedolfi (R) , John Janigian (R) , John Leavitt (R) , John MacDonald (R) , John Sellers (R) , Juliet Harvey-Bolia (R) , Kevin Scully (R) , Kimberly Rice (R) , Mark MacKenzie (D) , Mark Vallone (D) , Matthew Wilhelm (D) , Merryl Gibbs (D) , Ned Raynolds (D) , Paul Berch (D) , Peter Varney (R) , Sean Durkin (R) , Thomas Buco (D) , Vanessa Sheehan (R)

Read the Actual Bill → See All Bills

Bill statuses as of May 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.