HB 1309 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to town meeting warrants.

HB 1309 requires New Hampshire towns to clearly state the "intent and effect" of every item on town meeting warrants, eliminating deceptive or ambiguous language. This directly affects all towns holding meetings by mandating that each warrant article explicitly explains what the proposal does and its expected outcome. The bill amends RSA 39:2 to require that "the intent and effect of each warrant article shall be stated without deception or deliberate ambiguity," ensuring voters understand what they are voting on. It applies to all town meeting business, including budget items, though it allows towns to adjust specific funding amounts within existing budget constraints. This change aims to improve transparency in local governance without altering voting procedures or creating new financial obligations.

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

Jun 2026

Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Signed Jun 1, 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 version adopted by both bodies and the final chaptered version. The only changes are technical: the bill was assigned Chapter 92, section numbers were updated from 1 and 2 to 92:1 and 92:2, formatting was adjusted, and the official approval date (May 28, 2026) and effective date (July 27, 2026) were added at the end.

TECHNICAL

Section numbers changed from '1' and '2' to '92:1' and '92:2' to reflect the bill's assignment as Chapter 92 of the 2026 session laws.

TIMELINE

Official approval date (May 28, 2026) and effective date (July 27, 2026) were added at the end of the document, confirming the 60-day effective period specified in the bill's text.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 1, 2026

Signed into law

Signed by Governor Ayotte 05/28/2026; Chapter 92; eff. 07/27/2026

lower

Apr 10, 2026

Upper · Passed

Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/16/2026; SJ 9

upper

Apr 7, 2026

Upper · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 04/16/2026; Vote 4-1; CC; SC 14

upper

Mar 6, 2026

Introduced

Introduced 03/05/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 6

upper

Mar 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0411h: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 27

lower

Mar 5, 2026

Introduced

Amendment # 2026-0411h: AA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 27

lower

Feb 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0411h 02/17/2026 (Vote 17-0; CC) HC 9 P. 22

lower

Dec 1, 2025

Introduced

Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 1 P. 15

lower

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors