HB 1113 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

enabling towns to establish a 3-year term for town moderators.

HB 1113 allows New Hampshire towns to vote on extending the term of town moderators from two years to three years. If approved by a majority of voters at a town meeting, the next moderator elected would serve a three-year term. Towns can also later vote to return to two-year terms by a similar majority vote. The bill specifies the exact ballot language for these votes and applies to all towns that choose to adopt the change. It does not require any town to implement this change, only provides the option for local voters to decide.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Dec 2025

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

Mar 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Signed May 19, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

Version adopted by both bodies → CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION · 2 edits

MINOR

No substantive policy changes were made between the adopted version and the final chaptered version. The only meaningful changes are administrative: the bill was assigned Chapter 70 (sections renumbered from 1-4 to 70:1 through 70:4), and the approval date (May 18, 2026) and effective date (July 17, 2026) were added. All other differences are formatting and line-wrapping adjustments.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers changed from generic sequential numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) to chapter-specific numbers (70:1, 70:2, 70:3, 70:4) upon enactment as Chapter 70.

TIMELINE

Approval date of May 18, 2026 and effective date of July 17, 2026 were added at the end of the document.

Introduced → As Amended by the House · 6 edits

MODERATE

The House amendment significantly restructured the bill from a simple add-on provision to a broader reform that amends existing moderator election law (RSA 40:1), relocates the new optional term section to RSA 41, simplifies the voter choice mechanism to allow switching between 2-year and 3-year terms in a single vote, removes the governing body's role in selecting ballot type, and extends the optional term concept to school district elections under RSA 671:6-a.

Scope change

Expanded from a town-meeting-only provision allowing adoption of 3-year moderator terms, to a broader framework that amends core election law, allows switching between 2-year and 3-year terms via a single vote, removes local discretion over ballot type, and extends optional term lengths to school district officer elections.

SCOPE

The bill now amends existing RSA 40:1 (the general moderator election statute) to recognize that moderators may serve 2-year or 3-year terms, rather than only adding a new standalone section. This integrates the optional term into the core election framework.

The new section was moved from RSA 40:1-a to RSA 41:1-a, placing it alongside other town governance provisions rather than in the general town meeting chapter.

A new provision amends RSA 671:6-a, III (school district elections) to allow school district clerk, moderator, and treasurer terms to be 1, 2, or 3 years, extending the optional term concept beyond town meetings to school districts.

REQUIREMENT

The governing body no longer decides whether the vote is by official ballot or special ballot. The amended version simply uses the official ballot if the town has one, otherwise special ballots are used. This removes a layer of local discretion.

ELIGIBILITY

The voter question now allows choosing between 2-year or 3-year terms (not just adopting a 3-year term). The separate Section II process for reverting from 3-year back to 2-year was eliminated and folded into the same single-vote mechanism.

TIMELINE

The timing of when a new term length takes effect changed from 'at the next annual meeting after the vote of approval' to 'at the next annual meeting when the current moderator's term expires,' ensuring the change aligns with the natural end of the sitting moderator's term.

Floor votes

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No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 19, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor Ayotte 05/18/2026; Chapter 70; eff.07/17/2026

lower

Apr 3, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/09/2026; SJ 8

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 04/09/2026; Vote 4-0; CC; SC 13

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Introduced

Introduced 03/12/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 7

upper

Mar 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0806h: MA DV 196-144 03/12/2026 HJ 8 P. 28

lower

Mar 12, 2026

Introduced

Amendment # 2026-0806h: AA VV 03/12/2026 HJ 8 P. 28

lower

Mar 4, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0806h 03/03/2026 (Vote 12-6; RC) HC 10 P. 63

lower

Dec 1, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 1 P. 6

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors