Tracy Walbridge

To the Honorable Members of the House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee: I submit this testimony in support of HB 1337. The New Hampshire Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders was established to advise state agencies, coordinate stakeholders, and produce recommendations to improve services and outcomes for individuals with autism. In practice, the council has not functioned as an active system body. There is little evidence of consistent recent meetings, publicly available reports, ongoing initiatives, or measurable policy contributions attributable to the council. A statutory entity that does not regularly convene or produce work creates the appearance of oversight without delivering meaningful coordination or accountability. When a council exists in law but not in operation, it fragments responsibility and obscures where decision-making authority actually resides. New Hampshire already has existing structures within DHHS and other advisory and quality councils addressing developmental services, provider oversight, and stakeholder input. Maintaining an inactive autism-specific council does not strengthen the system; it adds a nominal layer that is not performing the coordination or advisory role envisioned in statute. HB 1337 does not reduce services, eligibility, or legal protections for individuals with autism. It removes a dormant statutory body and clarifies that responsibility for policy development, service oversight, and system improvement rests with the agencies and councils that are actively functioning. Eliminating inactive entities is responsible governance and supports transparency about where work is truly occurring. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the committee to recommend HB 1337 as Ought to Pass. Respectfully submitted, Tracy Walbridge Rochester, NH