New Hampshire HB 1131: relative to the official ballot referendum form of town meetings.

Bill Text

HB 1131 - AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

05/07/2026 1595s

2026 SESSION

 26-2284

 08/07

HOUSE BILL 1131

AN ACT relative to the official ballot referendum form of town meetings.

SPONSORS: Rep. Pauer, Hills. 36; Rep. Aylward, Merr. 5; Rep. Bernardy, Rock. 36; Rep. R. Brown, Carr. 8; Rep. Cambrils, Merr. 4; Rep. Harvey-Bolia, Belk. 3; Rep. Kofalt, Hills. 32; Rep. Qualey, Ches. 18; Rep. Terry, Belk. 7; Rep. Sellers, Graf. 10; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23; Sen. Innis, Dist 7; Sen. McGough, Dist 11; Sen. Avard, Dist 12

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

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AMENDED ANALYSIS

 This bill requires that questions proposing to adopt an official ballot referendum form of meeting be placed first on annual meeting warrants.

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

 Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

05/07/2026 1595s 26-2284

 08/07

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT relative to the official ballot referendum form of town meetings.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 1 Government of Town Meeting; Optional Form of Meeting-Official Ballot Referenda; Method of Adopting Official Ballot Referendum Form of Meeting. Amend RSA 40:14, III to read as follows: 

 III. The local political subdivision shall place the question on the warrant of the annual meeting under the procedures set out in RSA 39:3 or RSA 197:6. The question shall be placed first on the warrant. Voting on the question shall be by ballot, but the question shall not be placed on the official ballot used to elect officers. Polls shall remain open and ballots shall be accepted by the moderator for a period of not less than one hour following the completion of discussion on the question.

 2 Municipal Finance Act; Procedure for Authorizing Bonds or Notes in Excess of $100,000. Amend RSA 33:8-a, II to read as follows: 

 II. All articles appearing in the warrant which propose a bond or note issue exceeding $100,000 shall appear in consecutive numerical order and shall be acted upon prior to other business except the election of officers, action on the adoption, revision, or amendment of a municipal charter, adoption of the official ballot referendum form of town meeting, and zoning matters or as otherwise determined by the voters at the meeting. Polls shall remain open and ballots shall be accepted by the moderator on each such article, for a period of not less than one hour following the completion of discussion on each respective article. A separate ballot box shall be provided for each bond article to be voted upon pursuant to this section. 

 3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.