House Bill 348 allows — but does not require — municipalities to implement a residency requirement for long-term services. Accepted proof includes a lease, utility bill, car registration, or government-issued document from within the previous 60 days. A compromise amendment also allows a letter from a police officer, firefighter, EMT, or social services worker to serve as proof — a provision designed to ensure unhoused individuals sleeping outdoors can still demonstrate residency.
Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, the Winchester Republican who sponsored the bill, said current law places an unfair burden on small towns. “Under existing law, a town must assist anyone physically present regardless of where they actually live,” she said. “This means small towns may be forced to provide large amounts of welfare assistance to people who do not live in the town.”
The bill also creates a formal dispute resolution system between municipalities and requires towns to update welfare policies to reflect current market-rate costs — a provision even critics acknowledge as a genuine improvement.
Safeguards are built in. Towns must provide up to six days of emergency services to anyone regardless of residency status while the question is being sorted out. Victims of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, and human trafficking cannot be turned away under any circumstances.
Critics, including Stephen Tower of New Hampshire Legal Assistance, warn the requirements could harm those least able to advocate for themselves. “It puts added barriers and burdens on the most vulnerable people in society to prove their residency before accessing that assistance,” he said, noting that homeless individuals often lose documents during evictions or camp clearings.
Todd Marsh, municipal welfare director for Rochester and president of the NH Local Welfare Administrators’ Association, expressed support, saying the bill would be a useful but rarely invoked tool. “I don’t believe it will be used often,” he said. “It’s a good tool to have, if two municipalities truly believe that a person is a resident of the other municipality, but I believe the vast majority of the time, it’ll be worked out by a phone call.”
