I. There is hereby established the New Hampshire rare disease advisory council.
II. (a) The advisory council shall consist of the following members:

Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 126-A:79

  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of these laws, shall mean the section next preceding or following that in which such reference is made, unless some other is expressly designated. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:13
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies corporate and politic as well as to individuals. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:9
  • state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
  • United States: shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4

(1) Two members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(2) One member of the senate, appointed by the senate president.
(3) The commissioner of the department of health and human services, or designee.
(4) A physician licensed under RSA 329, appointed by the New Hampshire Medical Society.
(5) An APRN, appointed by the New Hampshire Nurse Practitioner Association.
(6) A representative of the New Hampshire Hospital Association, appointed by the association.
(7) A representative from a health insurer issuing policies in New Hampshire, appointed by the governor.
(8) One parent or guardian of a youth with a rare disease, appointed by the governor.
(9) Two adult persons living with a rare disease that is distinct from each other’s and from that of the person appointed in subparagraph (8), appointed by the governor.
(10) A physician or medical researcher specializing in a rare disease who for the first 3-year term shall be a medical expert in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, appointed by the New Hampshire Medical Society.
(b) The council may solicit information from any person or entity the advisory council deems relevant to its quest.
III. Terms of office shall be for 3 years, except that legislative members shall serve the terms coterminous with their terms of office. No member shall serve more than 2 full consecutive terms.
IV. Members shall elect annually from among their number a chairperson and such other officers as they may determine necessary.
V. Legislative members of the advisory council shall receive mileage at the legislative rate.
VI. The advisory council shall:
(a) Advise the legislature and the department of health and human services on rare diseases in New Hampshire.
(b) Coordinate with other states’ rare disease advisory bodies, community-based organizations, and other public and private organizations for the purpose of ensuring greater cooperation between state and federal activities encouraging research, diagnosis, and treatment of rare diseases. Federal agencies may include, but are not limited to, the National Institutes of Health, and the United States Food and Drug Administration.
(c) Explore existing data on rare diseases in New Hampshire collected by the department of health and human services.
(d) Encourage public awareness regarding rare diseases in New Hampshire.
VII. The advisory council shall submit an annual report detailing its findings, including recommendations for legislation, commencing on or before December 1, 2020, to the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the commissioner of the department of health and human services, and the oversight committee on health and human services, established in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 126-A:13.