SB 643 New Hampshire Senate · 2026 Regular Session

requiring municipalities, towns, and cities to submit documentation to the department of revenue administration proving they are in compliance with local budget and tax caps and requiring municipalities to hold a public hearing and conduct a roll call vote when seeking to override a tax or spending cap.

SB 643 requires cities and towns to hold a public hearing with at least 30 days' notice and a 60-minute public comment period before voting to override a local tax or spending cap. It mandates a roll call vote for the override, recording each council member's vote, and requires publishing the results (including each member's name and vote) on the next property tax bill. This bill does not change existing requirements for supermajority votes or voter approval to override caps but adds transparency measures to inform taxpayers about how officials vote on tax increases. The law directly affects municipalities seeking to raise taxes or spending above locally adopted limits.
Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Nov 2025
Committee Review
May 2026
Senate Passage
Mar 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Governor
Introduced Nov 25, 2025 Last action May 21, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

As Amended by the Senate As Amended by the House · 3 edits
MINOR
The House amended the bill to expand its scope by explicitly including towns and cities in the title and summary, requiring them to submit compliance documentation to the Department of Revenue Administration. Additionally, the House version significantly broadened the list of town government types exempt from the new override procedures, adding specific categories like budgetary and representative town meetings to the list of exclusions.
Scope change
The bill's scope was expanded to explicitly include towns and cities in the title and summary, and the list of town government forms exempt from the new override requirements was expanded to include budgetary, official ballot, and representative town meetings.
REQUIREMENT

Added a new requirement for municipalities, towns, and cities to submit documentation to the Department of Revenue Administration proving compliance with local budget and tax caps.

ELIGIBILITY

Modified the list of municipalities subject to the new override procedures by adding specific exclusions for towns operating under budgetary, official ballot, and representative town meeting forms of government.

DEFINITION

Clarified the definitions of eligible cities and towns in the statutory text to reference specific RSA sections regarding their organization and governing bodies.

Floor votes · House May 14, 2026

How they voted

8591
Passed · 46 other
Total votes 222
May 14, 2026
D Democratic108
89 Nay 19
82% Nay
I Independent2
1 Yea 1
50% Yea
R Republican112
84 Yea 2 Nay 26
75% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
16
Key actions
7
Committee
6
Amendments
3
May 21, 2026
Introduced
Sen. Gray Moved Nonconcur with the House Amendment, MA, VV; 05/21/2026; SJ 13
upper
May 14, 2026
House · Passed
House Vote: pass (85-91-46)
house
May 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-1812h: MA RC 164-150 05/14/2026 HJ 13 P. 118
lower
May 14, 2026
Introduced
Amendment # 2026-1812h (NT): AA VV 05/14/2026 HJ 13 P. 115
lower
May 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Minority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate
lower
May 6, 2026
Lower · Passed
Majority Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1812h 05/05/2026 (Vote 11-9; RC) HC 19 P. 28
lower
Mar 16, 2026
Introduced
Introduced (in recess of) 03/12/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 8 P. 114
lower
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment #2026-0958s, RC 16Y-8N, MA; OT3rdg; 03/05/2026; SJ 5
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Introduced
Sen. Lang Floor Amendment # 2026-0958s, AA, VV; 03/05/2026; SJ 5
upper
Mar 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Amendment # 2026-0781s, AF, VV; 03/05/2026; SJ 5
upper
Feb 17, 2026
Upper · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0781s, 03/05/2026; Vote 3-2; CC; SC 8
upper
Nov 25, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 1
upper
1 primary · 5 co-sponsors

Sponsors