Election Law and Municipal Affairs

HB 1369 amends New Hampshire law to allow towns to post the warrant for a special town meeting on their official website instead of publishing it in a newspaper of general circulation. The bill updates RSA 39:4 to require that the warrant be posted within one week of the meeting being called, maintaining the current deadline while expanding notice options. This change directly affects all New Hampshire towns holding special town meetings by providing a digital alternative to newspaper publication. The law would take effect 60 days after enactment.

HB 1184 establishes clear rules for issuing no trespass orders (NTOs) on municipal and school properties in New Hampshire. It requires most NTOs to be approved by a unanimous vote of the governing body (e.g., city council or school board) at a public meeting, and mandates written orders including the reason, property location, duration (max 90 days), and the right to request a hearing. Individuals affected can challenge an NTO through a hearing and appeal to court within 30 days, while existing NTOs over 90 days automatically expire. The bill also limits extensions beyond 90 days to court-issued restraining orders, ensuring procedural safeguards for those subject to NTOs.

HB 1044 requires that vacancies in county commissioner offices be filled by the members of the county convention (or, for Hillsborough County, convention members representing the commissioner's district) through a majority vote. This replaces the previous method described in brackets within the existing law (RSA 661:9, II(a)). The appointed commissioner serves until the next biennial election, and if the vacancy is filled for less than the remaining term, that district is added to the next election ballot. The bill applies to all counties and takes effect 60 days after passage.

HB 1300 redraws New Hampshire's two congressional districts for the U.S. House of Representatives by redefining their boundaries. The first district now includes Belknap, Rockingham, and Strafford counties, plus specific towns in Carroll, Hillsborough, and Merrimack counties. The second district covers Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, and Sullivan counties, along with additional towns in Carroll, Hillsborough, and Merrimack counties. The changes take effect immediately upon passage and do not impact current officeholders elected before the bill's enactment.

HB 1541 requires New Hampshire's Secretary of State to provide all voting precincts with secure, lockable, tamper-evident containers for storing ballots before each election. These containers must be reusable, stackable, transportable, numbered, and designed to accommodate different ballot sizes. The bill mandates annual progress reports tracking container replacements and locations, using existing Help America Vote Act (HAVA) funds without new state appropriations. It directly affects all local election offices statewide by standardizing ballot storage equipment.