Terry Roy

Early life, military service and professional career

Roy was born on December 28, 1968, in Gardner, Massachusetts.

Before entering politics, Roy worked for several decades in law enforcement, security, regulatory compliance, and investigations. Vote Smart lists his professional experience as including work as an international security agent for American Airlines, a police officer in Gardner, a corporate compliance manager, and an investigations manager for the Massachusetts Department of Education.

He was reelected in 2020, defeating Democratic candidate Hal Rafter by 6,928 votes to 4,727.

Following the 2022 redistricting of the New Hampshire House, Roy ran in the two-member Rockingham District 31. He and fellow Republican Jess Edwards won the district's two seats, with Roy receiving 5,899 votes.

Roy has served multiple terms on Deerfield's municipal budget committee. He has served as chairman of the committee and currently serves as its vice chairman.

In 2025, Roy sponsored House Bill 777, which codified the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission in state law. The measure became law as Chapter 51.

In March 2025, Governor Kelly Ayotte appointed Roy to the Governor's Highway Safety Task Force, established to examine traffic fatalities, speeding, impaired and distracted driving, wrong-way driving, and other highway-safety issues.

Legislative activity

Criminal justice and policing

Laurie List

Roy co-authored 2021 legislation concerning New Hampshire's exculpatory evidence schedule, commonly known as the Laurie List. The list identifies law-enforcement officers with potential credibility issues that may need to be disclosed to criminal defendants and existed before Roy entered the legislature.

House Bill 471 established procedures governing the maintenance and disclosure of the exculpatory evidence schedule and created a process through which officers could challenge their inclusion.

Governor Chris Sununu signed the legislation in August 2021.

The state publicly released the list in 2022. New Hampshire Public Radio described Roy as a co-author of the legislation that paved the way for its release.

Bail reform

Roy played a leading role in the House's consideration of changes to New Hampshire's bail laws. In 2024, Roy and Democratic committee clerk Alissandra Murray worked on a bipartisan compromise contained in House Bill 318. The legislation addressed detention of defendants accused of certain violent crimes, created judicial magistrate positions, funded a statewide bail-tracking system, expanded victim-notification provisions, and made other changes to the state's bail system.

Roy served as a House conferee on the final version. Sununu signed House Bill 318 on August 1, 2024, as Chapter 317.

In 2025, Roy supported House Bill 592, a further overhaul that lowered the legal standard for detaining certain defendants before trial and gave judges greater discretion in pretrial detention decisions.

Roy offered a floor amendment that was adopted by the House. Ayotte signed the bill on March 25, 2025, as Chapter 3.

Death penalty

In 2026, Roy opposed legislation that would have reinstated the death penalty in New Hampshire. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee unanimously recommended rejection of the legislation.

In the committee report, Roy cited testimony opposing reinstatement and concerns about the possibility of wrongful convictions. The House subsequently rejected the proposal.

Doxing legislation

Roy was the prime sponsor of House Bill 1367 in 2026, which would have created criminal penalties for certain forms of doxing.

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee recommended passage by a 12–0 vote. The House later laid the bill on the table, and it died on the table at the end of the 2026 session.

Veterans and military families

Veterans and military-family issues have been a recurring focus of Roy's legislative work.

In 2020, Roy and Representative Judy Aron sponsored House Bill 1582, which was introduced as legislation establishing free tuition at New Hampshire public colleges and universities for children of veterans who are totally and permanently disabled. The Senate expanded the measure into an omnibus veterans bill addressing employment, housing, health care, higher education, National Guard educational assistance, and other veterans-related matters. Sununu signed the legislation on July 28, 2020, as Chapter 34.

In 2022, Roy sponsored House Bill 1575, which expanded the tuition-waiver program to qualifying children of deceased veterans who had been totally and permanently disabled as a result of a service-connected disability. The measure passed both chambers without opposition and was signed by Sununu on April 18, 2022.

Roy also sponsored House Bill 1653 in 2022, an omnibus measure concerning educational and employment protections for military families. Among its provisions were protections involving school enrollment for military-connected children, temporary occupational licensing for qualifying service members and spouses, and continuation of in-state tuition status in specified circumstances. The bill became law as Chapter 310.

In 2025, Roy was the prime sponsor of House Bill 64, which extended certain state hiring and purchasing preferences to military spouses and active-duty military personnel. Ayotte signed the measure on June 23, 2025, as Chapter 107.

In 2026, Roy sponsored House Bill 1366 concerning military protective orders. The measure requires law-enforcement officers who have probable cause to believe a member of the armed forces has violated a military protective order to notify the appropriate military or law-enforcement authority. The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee recommended the bill 13–0, and Ayotte signed it on May 22, 2026, as Chapter 85.

Firearms policy

Roy has been described in New Hampshire news coverage as a Second Amendment and gun-rights advocate.

Following the November 2023 shooting at New Hampshire Hospital, in which security officer Bradley Haas was killed, Roy was the prime sponsor of House Bill 1711. The legislation would have authorized New Hampshire to report records involving certain court-ordered mental-health commitments for use in federal firearm background checks and created procedures relating to firearm possession following certain mental-health court proceedings.

The bill passed the House 204–149, with 25 Republican representatives joining Democrats in support.

In 2025, Roy proposed requiring one hour of age-appropriate firearm-safety education each year for students in New Hampshire public schools. The proposal called for younger students to be taught to avoid firearms and report them to adults, while older students would receive additional firearm-safety instruction. It prohibited the use of live firearms or ammunition in classrooms and allowed parents to opt their children out.

Roy introduced the proposal as House Bill 1830 in 2026. The House Education Policy and Administration Committee unanimously recommended that the bill be considered inexpedient to legislate by a 17–0 vote, and the House rejected the bill by voice vote on February 12, 2026.

Gender-affirming care legislation

Roy was the lead sponsor of House Bill 619, introduced in 2023. As introduced, the legislation proposed restrictions concerning gender-affirming medical treatment for minors and included provisions relating to conversion therapy, student names and pronouns, bathrooms, and school athletics.

The proposal drew opposition from medical providers, LGBTQ advocacy organizations, and members of the public.

Impaired driving

Roy was the prime sponsor of House Bill 776 in 2025. The legislation made wrong-way driving an aggravating factor in certain aggravated-driving-while-intoxicated cases. The legislature passed the measure and Ayotte signed it into law as Chapter 290.

Electoral history

+ New Hampshire House of Representatives general elections Year District Candidate Party Votes % Result 2018 Rockingham 32 Terry Roy Republican 4,613 54.3% Elected Tom Chase Democratic 3,883 45.7% Defeated 2020 Rockingham 32 Terry Roy Republican 6,928 59.4% Reelected Hal Rafter Democratic 4,727 40.5% Defeated 2022 Rockingham 31(two seats) Jess Edwards Republican 6,087 31.0% Elected Terry Roy Republican 5,899 30.1% Elected Charlotte Lister Democratic 3,884 19.8% Defeated William A. Thomas Democratic 3,759 19.1% Defeated 2024 Rockingham 31(two seats) Jess Edwards Republican 8,166 33.1% Reelected Terry Roy Republican 7,397 30.0% Reelected Charlotte Lister Democratic 4,641 18.8% Defeated David DePuy Democratic 4,425 18.0% Defeated