HB 1246 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to planning board members serving on other local boards.

HB 1246 limits conflicts of interest for planning board members who serve on other local boards. It prohibits a planning board member from voting on both a planning board and a zoning board when reviewing the same development project, requiring them to recuse from voting on matters they've already decided as a zoning board member. The bill directly affects planning board members holding dual roles on zoning boards or other boards like conservation commissions, with the key provision mandating single-board voting for overlapping matters. This change aims to clarify voting responsibilities in land use decisions under New Hampshire law.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Mar 2026
House Passage
Feb 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
Signed into Law
Apr 2026
Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Signed Apr 22, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Version adopted by both bodies CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION · 3 edits
MINOR
No substantive policy changes were made. The diff reflects only the standard chaptering process: the bill was assigned Chapter 33, sections were renumbered from 1/2 to 33:1/33:2, formatting was adjusted, and formal approval (April 22, 2026) and effective (June 21, 2026) dates were added.
TECHNICAL

Sections renumbered from '1' and '2' to '33:1' and '33:2' to reflect the assigned chapter number.

Header changed from 'VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES' to 'CHAPTER 33 / FINAL VERSION' and various spacing/alignment adjustments were made throughout.

TIMELINE

Formal approval date (April 22, 2026) and effective date (June 21, 2026) were added at the end of the document.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
5
Committee
4
Apr 22, 2026
Signed into law
Signed by Governor Ayotte 04/22/2026; Chapter 33; eff. 06/21/2026
lower
Mar 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 03/26/2026; SJ 7
upper
Mar 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 03/26/2026; Vote 5-0; CC; SC 11
upper
Feb 9, 2026
Introduced
Introduced 02/05/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 4
upper
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass: MA VV 02/05/2026 HJ 3 P. 14
lower
Jan 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass 01/20/2026 (Vote 18-0; CC) HC 5 P. 11
lower
Dec 1, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 1 P. 12
lower
1 primary · 3 co-sponsors

Sponsors