N.H. Rev. Stat. § 236:130 — NH Code / Title XX / Chapter 236 / Section 130
236:130 Highway Surveillance Prohibited.
Status: in_force

I. In this subdivision, "surveillance" means the act of determining the ownership of a motor vehicle or the identity of a motor vehicle's occupants on the public ways of the state or its political subdivisions through the use of a camera or other imaging device or any other device, including but not limited to a transponder, cellular telephone, global positioning satellite, or radio frequency identification device, that by itself or in conjunction with other devices or information can be used to determine the ownership of a motor vehicle or the identity of a motor vehicle' s occupants. II. Neither the state of New Hampshire nor its political subdivisions shall engage in surveillance on any public ways of the state or its political subdivisions. III. The prohibition set forth in paragraph II shall not apply where surveillance: (a) Is specifically authorized by statute; (b) Is undertaken on a case-by-case basis in the investigation of a particular violation, misdemeanor, or felony; (c) Is undertaken to produce images or data that: (1) Are viewed only at the transportation management center of the department of transportation in connection with a particular incident occurring on a public way; and (2) Are not recorded; (d) Is incidental to the monitoring of a building or other structure under the control of the state or a political subdivision of the state; (e) Is undertaken for purposes of operation of the toll collection system; or (f) Is undertaken for the security of the following bridges and approach structures: I-95 Piscataqua River Bridge, Sarah Mildred Long Bridge, and the Memorial Bridge, all in Portsmouth, as well as the Little Bay Bridges in Dover and Newington. (g) Is undertaken for security and to facilitate law enforcement in the investigation of criminal activity at the state-owned park and ride facilities that provide regularly scheduled public transit service listed below. A video recording may only be retrieved from the department of transportation's transportation management center, subject to its availability. The storage of any video recording shall be limited by the storage capacity of the individual server at each facility. No video recording shall be stored longer than 24 days. Any video recordings requested and retrieved prior to expiration may only be used by the requesting party for a lawful purpose, including as evidence in a judicial or administrative proceeding, and shall be copied and retained by the department of transportation's transportation management center for no longer than 18 months from the date of the recording. The state-owned park and ride facilities which conduct video surveillance shall display signage indicating the presence of 24 hour video cameras. (1) I-93 Exit 2 in Salem. (2) I-93 Exit 4 in Londonderry. (3) I-93 Exit 5 in Londonderry. (4) I-93 Exit 14 in Concord. (5) I-95 Exit 3 in Portsmouth. (6) Spaulding Turnpike Exit 9 in Dover. (7) Everett Turnpike Exit 8 in Nashua. (8) I-89 Exit 12 in New London. (9) NH Route 101 Exit 7 in Epping. (10) Any future state-owned park and ride facilities that provide regularly scheduled public transit service. (h) Is undertaken for safety and security by the department of transportation to operate dash cameras in its fleet. Except as otherwise provided, no video recording shall be stored longer than 3 business days. Any video recordings requested by the department of transportation or another legal entity, and retrieved prior to expiration of the 3 business days, shall be copied and retained by the department of transportation's transportation management center. The stored recording may only be used by the requesting party for a lawful purpose, including as evidence in a judicial or administrative proceeding. (i) Is undertaken for the purpose of monitoring any covered wooden bridge that is open to vehicular traffic. Any such video recording shall be used for the sole purpose of investigating damage to the bridge, including identification of vehicles and operators responsible for such damage. The video shall, except in the case of damage by natural occurrence or disaster, be preserved until the town, city, municipality, state, or agency prosecutor determines whether they will pursue criminal or motor vehicle charges. If the prosecutor determines that they shall or may bring charges, the video shall be preserved until the case is resolved. Video not needed for investigation in accordance with this subparagraph shall be erased within 7 days of recording. The municipality shall cause notice of video monitoring to be posted on the highway leading to the bridge entrance within 100 feet of the bridge entrance. If the highway is a state highway, the department of transportation shall cause said notice to be posted upon notification by the municipality of the installation of a monitoring system. (j) Is undertaken by a private legal entity that is leasing, or otherwise operating on behalf of the department, a park and ride facility from the state pursuant to a lease or agreement for at least 5 years. The private legal entity is authorized to conduct surveillance for the safety of the premises and users of the facility as any private entity or business is legally authorized and is not limited to the surveillance parameters set forth for the department of transportation in subparagraph (g). IV. Nothing in this section shall prevent the creation, transmission, or recording of any images or data which cannot, by enhancement, manipulation, or otherwise, be used for surveillance. V. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation if a natural person, or guilty of a misdemeanor if any other person.