HB 1655 establishes annual fees on properties with waterfront access or deeded water rights to state-owned dams to fund dam maintenance. Property owners with waterfront access pay $100 yearly, while those with deeded water rights pay $50 yearly, with both fees deposited into a dedicated dam maintenance fund. Working farms and properties in current use are exempt from these fees. Municipalities collect the fees, report to the state, and may retain $5 per property for administrative costs, with unpaid fees subject to interest and liens.
HB 1701 reestablishes New Hampshire's College Graduate Retention Incentive Partnership (NH GRIP) program, which provides financial incentives to college graduates who work for participating employers in the state. The bill requires participating employers to pay graduates a minimum of $1,000 annually for up to four years of employment, with priority given to New Hampshire-based small businesses and employers in sectors facing workforce shortages (like healthcare and technology). Employers must post qualifying positions online and sign agreements with graduates, while the Department of Business and Economic Affairs administers the program and publishes annual reports on participation and outcomes. This directly affects recent New Hampshire college graduates seeking employment and participating employers who choose to join the program.
HB 1176 removes New Hampshire's requirement for vehicles to display a front license plate, affecting all registered vehicles in the state. The bill amends RSA 261:75, II to eliminate the language requiring plates to be displayed "on the rear of the vehicle" (previously mandating both front and rear plates). This change directly impacts approximately 194,000 vehicles registered annually with new plate types, reducing state revenue by about $776,000 and expenditures by $679,000 yearly based on current plate production costs. The law takes effect 60 days after passage.
HB 1616 prohibits New Hampshire state agencies and local governments (like cities and towns) from using public funds to advertise vaccines. It bans both direct advertising by these entities and payments to contractors for vaccine promotion. The law specifically targets spending from state or local budgets on vaccine-related advertising, including through federal immunization grants. This bill does not affect vaccine access, safety, or public health programs - only the use of public funds for promotional activities.
HB 1834 sets a fixed enrollment cap of 10,000 students for New Hampshire's Education Freedom Account (EFA) program for the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years, instead of allowing the cap to increase to 12,500 under current law. This directly affects families applying for EFA funds to cover private school costs and participating private schools. The bill freezes the cap until 2028, requiring any future increase only if enrollment exceeds 90% of the prior year's cap. The fiscal note estimates this change would save approximately $6.3 million in state spending for fiscal year 2027 by limiting enrollment to 11,250 students instead of 12,500. The bill does not alter eligibility rules or funding per student.
SB 439 allows municipalities to regulate data centers within commercial and industrial zoning districts. It defines "data center" as facilities primarily for digital data storage, processing, and transmission (excluding small, owner-occupied facilities under 25% of building space). Municipalities can establish local rules for these centers through their planning boards, with approval from the local legislative body. The bill takes effect 60 days after passage.
This New Hampshire resolution requests Congress to call a constitutional convention under Article V of the U.S. Constitution to propose term limits for members of both the House of Representatives and Senate. It specifically aims to establish a limit on the number of terms a person may serve in either chamber. The resolution is part of a state-level effort to gather support from two-thirds of states, as required by the Constitution, to trigger such a convention. It does not create term limits itself but seeks to initiate the process for proposing them through a constitutional amendment.
HB 1322 reestablishes a Judicial Conduct Commission to investigate complaints about judges and clerks (including court staff like clerks of court and registrars) and recommend to the legislature whether impeachment or removal actions are warranted. The commission will operate concurrently with the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s existing disciplinary authority, meaning it does not replace the court’s power to discipline judges but provides a structured process for handling complaints. Key provisions include defining "judge" and "clerk" broadly, establishing an executive director to manage operations, and ensuring recommendations align with constitutional separation of powers. This bill restores a mechanism for judicial accountability that was lost after the previous commission was repealed in 2024.
HB 1607 prohibits storing road salt and de-icing chemicals (like sodium chloride) in ways that risk contaminating groundwater or surface water. It requires the Department of Environmental Services to create storage regulations, with stricter rules for areas already affected by chemical contamination. This directly affects local public works departments that store these chemicals for winter road maintenance. The bill establishes a regulatory framework but does not specify exact storage methods, leaving implementation to the department's future rules.
HB 1752 requires commercial timber harvesters and mills to use a standardized tracking ticket that follows forest products (like logs, chips, or biomass) from the harvest site through processing. This ticket system establishes a verifiable chain of custody for all timber sold or processed, directly affecting harvesters, landowners, and forest product mills. Key provisions include mandating the ticket’s use for all commercial harvesting, requiring signatures on notices of intent to cut, and posting approved notices at harvest sites. The bill updates existing forestry regulations to create uniform tracking, replacing previous inconsistent documentation methods.
HB 1046 modifies New Hampshire law to allow a person to carry a loaded firearm on a snowmobile operated on private property when the operator has the landowner's permission (express or implied). It specifically excludes public trails, corridors, or rights-of-way. The bill maintains existing definitions for "unloaded" firearms but removes the prior prohibition on carrying loaded firearms on snowmobiles in permitted private settings. The law takes effect January 1, 2027, with no estimated state or local fiscal impact.
HB 1454 makes it a crime to possess a firearm after a court orders you to surrender all firearms and ammunition you owned or controlled. For a first offense, this is a class A misdemeanor; repeat violations are class B felonies. The bill also specifies that violating this court order counts as a qualifying offense for bail denial if the original court order was a domestic violence protection order (under RSA 173-B) or if the person faces separate domestic violence charges. It directly affects individuals subject to such court orders, particularly in domestic violence cases. The law applies to all firearms and ammunition subject to the court’s surrender requirement.
