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N.H. Lawmakers Consider Lowering Drinking Age to 20

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Lawmakers are again considering lowering the drinking age in New Hampshire.

The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee is holding a public hearing Tuesday on a bill that would lower the legal age for alcohol possession from 21 to 20.

In 2016, the House rejected a bill that would have allowed residents as young as 18 who were accompanied by adults to drink beer or wine, but not liquor. Similar bills have failed in other states over the years, in part because states that lower the drinking age below 21 would lose federal highway money.

New Hampshire is among only a handful of states that has no exceptions to its prohibition. Other states allow minors to consume alcohol under parental supervision, during religious ceremonies and other circumstances.

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