Support for New Hampshire HB 1124, Relative to the Right to Compute

TO: Members of the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee

Chairman Gannon, Vice Chair Abbas, and Members of the Judiciary Committee:

ALEC Action, the 501(c)(4) affiliate of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), writes to encourage strong support for HB 1124, relative to the right to compute, which passed 15-0 in the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee and was approved unanimously by the House earlier this year.

As transformative emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and algorithms become increasingly integrated into the lives of the American people, state legislatures are considering how to regulate on this topic in a way that supports private sector innovation, protects children and consumers from clear risks, and cements American leadership on the global stage. With a thoughtful and measured approach to regulation, AI will support and enhance American livelihoods and entrepreneurs across sectors, not replace American workers entirely, all while expanding economic prosperity nationwide.

ALEC research found that over 2,000 unique bills regulating AI and related technologies have been considered across all 50 states, including over 100 state laws that were enacted in 2025 alone. Unfortunately, many of these new laws will only expand the role of government through micromanagement of AI developers and end users, jeopardize freedom of expression and fundamental property rights, and cede our nation’s competitive edge to international rivals such as the Chinese Communist Party and the United Arab Emirates.

New Hampshire has a golden opportunity to lead the nation by enshrining the Right to Compute into state law. If enacted, HB 1124 would make the Granite State second in the nation after Montana by recognizing an individual’s right to “own and make use of technological tools, including computational resources,” is protected under the New Hampshire Constitution. Instead of requiring citizens to petition agency bureaucrats that a certain technology is lawful, the Right to Compute flips that burden onto the government by requiring any new regulations to be demonstrably necessary and narrowly tailored to fulfill a compelling government interest. This forces government to remain focused on tangible, evidence-based threats and address underlying illegal conduct, not regulation of the technological tool itself.

HB 1124 builds on the framework laid out in the ALEC model Right to Compute Act, which was featured as one of the ALEC Essential Policy Solutions for 2026 and highlighted as a top policy recommendation in the State AI Policy Toolkit: The ALEC Guide to a Golden Age of AI Innovation.

Importantly, the Right to Compute is not a carveout to allow AI companies or bad actors to get away with harmful conduct. HB 1124’s definitions explicitly permit legislative and regulatory efforts to protect children and adults from scams and fraud, stop threats from illegal deepfake media and synthetic content, and address common law nuisances created by data center infrastructure. The Right to Compute is also squarely in line with President Trump’s AI Action Plan and the recently announced National Policy Framework for AI.

For these reasons, ALEC Action encourages strong support for HB 1124.