New Hampshire HB 1386: enabling citizens in a municipality to vote to require that a financial audit of the local school district take place.

Bill Text

HB 1386 - AS INTRODUCED

2026 SESSION

 26-3183

 07/08

HOUSE BILL 1386

AN ACT enabling citizens in a municipality to vote to require that a financial audit of the local school district take place.

SPONSORS: Rep. Andrus, Merr. 5; Rep. Cambrils, Merr. 4; Rep. Comtois, Belk. 7; Rep. Perez, Rock. 16; Rep. See, Merr. 26; Rep. Tripp, Rock. 13; Rep. Turcotte, Straf. 4; Rep. Wood, Merr. 13; Sen. Pearl, Dist 17

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

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ANALYSIS

 This bill empowers persons domiciled in school district to present their local school boards with a qualifying petition that would require the school board to conduct a financial audit of the local school district.

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 Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

 26-3183

 07/08

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six

AN ACT enabling citizens in a municipality to vote to require that a financial audit of the local school district take place.

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

 1 New Section; Towns, Cities, Village Districts, and Unincorporated Places; Preparation of Budgets; School District Audits. Amend RSA 32 by inserting after section 5-h the following new section: 

 32:5-i School District Audits. 

 I. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, persons domiciled in local school districts shall be empowered to present a qualifying petition to their local school board to conduct a forensic audit of their local school district upon a deficit in their local school district's budget. 

 II. A qualifying petition shall contain the names, addresses, and signatures of one percent of the registered voters within a local school district. 

 III. A qualifying petition request may be presented to the school board of the local school district. The school board shall be required to hold a vote to require that such audit take place upon being presented with a qualifying petition. 

 IV. Upon a vote to conduct a forensic audit, an audit shall be conducted within 90 days and the results shall be presented at the first possible school board meeting. The audit shall determine the reason or reasons for the deficit in the budget. 

 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.