Senate Bill 28 would change workers’‑comp procedure by treating acute stress disorder and post‑traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as occupational conditions whose date of injury is the last injurious exposure or the date the employee first became aware of the condition, rather than the date of first exposure.

Sponsor Senator Regina Burtzel said the bill targets situations in which first responders accumulate traumatic exposures over many years; using the last exposure or first awareness date would prevent claims from being time‑barred when symptoms emerge later in a long career. John McAllister, secretary‑treasurer of Professional Firefighters of New Hampshire, told the committee that cumulative trauma can reach a breaking point after years of repeated exposure and that the change would help firefighters access timely care and compensation. McAllister described peer‑support programs and partnerships the fire service uses to encourage early treatment and reduce stigma.

Jared O’Connor, an attorney who serves on the governor’s commission studying PTSD in first responders, said the bill implements recommendations from that commission and would align the labor department’s handling of PTSD cases with how occupational diseases are treated in workers’‑comp: date of last exposure or date of first treatment/reporting.

Committee action: The committee closed the public hearing after testimony. Sponsors and witnesses described the bill as intended to expand timely access to care, not to create a flood of claims; legal witnesses told senators the change would clarify treatment of disease‑style occupational injuries and help avoid procedural denials based on an earlier date of first exposure.