Bill Text: NH SB261 | 2012 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relative to requirements for warrant articles.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)
Status: (Failed) 2012-05-09 - House Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Voice Vote; House Journal 40, PG.2234 [SB261 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2012-SB261-Introduced.html
SB 261 – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
06/09
SENATE BILL 261
AN ACT relative to requirements for warrant articles.
SPONSORS: Sen. Stiles, Dist 24; Sen. Barnes, Jr., Dist 17; Sen. Lambert, Dist 13; Rep. Hoelzel, Rock 2; Rep. F. Rice, Rock 15; Rep. Waddell, Rock 15; Rep. Nevins, Rock 15; Rep. Renzullo, Hills 27
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill changes certain requirements for presenting and amending warrant articles.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2970
06/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to requirements for warrant articles.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Municipal Budget Law; Budget Preparation. Amend RSA 32:5, V(a) and (b) to read as follows:
(a) The article shall contain a notation of whether or not that appropriation is recommended by the governing body, and, if there is a budget committee, a notation of whether or not it is recommended by the budget committee; and may include a projection of the effect of such appropriation on the tax rate of the proposed budget;
(b) If the article is amended at the first session of the meeting in an official ballot referendum municipality, the governing body and the budget committee, if one exists, may revise its recommendation on the amended version of the special warrant article and include a projection of the effect of such revised appropriation on the tax rate of the proposed budget, and the revised recommendation shall appear on the ballot for the second session of the meeting provided, however, that the 10 percent limitation on expenditures provided for in RSA 32:18 shall be calculated based upon the initial recommendations of the budget committee;
2 Warrant. Amend RSA 39:2 and 39:3 to read as follows:
39:2 Warrant. The warrant for any town meeting shall be under the hands of the selectmen, and shall prescribe the place, day, and hour of the meeting, and, if there is an election at said meeting, in which an official printed ballot containing more than one name is used, the warrant therefor shall prescribe the time the polls are to open and also an hour before which the polls may not close. A town meeting may vote to keep the polls open to a later hour but may not vote to close the polls at an earlier hour than that prescribed by the selectmen hereunder. The subject matter of all business to be acted upon at the town meeting shall be distinctly and affirmatively stated in the warrant, and nothing done at any meeting, except the election of any town officer required by law to be made at such meeting, shall be valid unless the subject thereof is so stated. Provided that in a case where the article in the warrant calls for the appropriation of a specific sum of money, the sum of money appropriated thereunder may be decreased or increased by the vote of the town, provided further that in a town under the municipal budget act no increase shall be valid which would violate the provisions of RSA 32:18, except as provided in RSA 32:18-a.
39:3 Articles. Upon the written application of 25 or more registered voters or 2 percent of the registered voters in town, whichever is less, although in no event shall fewer than 10 registered voters be sufficient, presented to the selectmen or one of them not later than the fifth Tuesday before the day prescribed for an annual meeting, the selectmen shall insert in their warrant for such meeting the petitioned article with only such minor textual changes as may be required. When an article in the warrant calls for the appropriation of a specific sum of money, the warrant may include a projection of the effect of such appropriation on the tax rate of the proposed budget. For the purposes of this section, the number of registered voters in a town shall be the number of voters registered prior to the last state general election. The right to have an article inserted in the warrant conferred by this section shall not be invalidated by the provisions of RSA 32. In towns with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants upon the written application of 50 or more voters or 1/4 of the voters in town, whichever is fewer, and in towns with 10,000 or more inhabitants upon the written application of 5 percent of the registered voters in the town, so presented not less than 60 days before the next annual meeting, the selectmen shall warn a special meeting to act upon any question specified in such application. The checklist for an annual or special town meeting shall be corrected by the supervisors of the checklist as provided in RSA 654:25-31. Those persons qualified to vote whose names are on the corrected checklist shall be entitled to vote at the meeting. The same checklist used at a recessed town meeting shall be used at any reconvened session of the same town meeting. In no event shall a special town meeting be held on the biennial election day.
3 Official Ballot Referenda; Use of Official Ballot. Amend RSA 40:13, II to read as follows:
II. The warrant for any annual meeting shall prescribe the place, day and hour for each of 2 separate sessions of the meeting, and notice shall be given as otherwise provided in this section. Final budgets and ballot questions shall be printed in the annual report made available to the legislative body at least one week before the date of the second session of the annual meeting. Final budget articles may include a projection of the effect of such articles on the tax rate of the proposed budget.
4 Use of Official Ballot. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 40:13, IV to read as follows:
IV. Except as provided in paragraph IV-a, the first session of the meeting, governed by the provisions of RSA 40:4, 40:4-a, 40:4-b, 40:4-f, and 40:6-40:10, shall consist of explanation, discussion, and debate of each warrant article. A vote to restrict reconsideration shall be deemed to prohibit any further action on the restricted article until the second session, and RSA 40:10, II shall not apply. Warrant articles may be amended at the first session, subject to the following limitations:
5 New Subparagraphs; Use of Official Ballot; Warrant Article Amendments. Amend RSA 40:13, IV by inserting after subparagraph (c) the following new subparagraphs:
(d) No warrant article shall be amended to add the word “not” before the subject, thereby reversing the intent of the article.
(e) Warrant articles may be amended to change the implementation date only by a variable of 90 days.
(f) In towns that have elected the municipal budget law, justification shall be required in order for appropriations to be increased or decreased by 10 percent under RSA 32:18.
6 New Paragraph; Town Ordinance Articles. Amend RSA 40:13 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
IV-a.(a) No town ordinance shall be established or amended at a meeting until after the governing body holds at least one public hearing on the proposed ordinance.
(b) Notice shall be given for the time and place of each public hearing held under subparagraph (a) at least 10 calendar days before the hearing. The notice required under this section shall not include the day notice is posted or the day of the public hearing. Notice of each public hearing shall be published in a paper of general circulation in the municipality and shall be posted in at least 2 public places. The full text of the proposed ordinance need not be included in the notice if an adequate statement describing the proposal and designating the place where the proposal is on file for public inspection is stated in the notice.
(c) After the public hearing, the governing body shall, by vote, determine the final form of the ordinance to be presented to the town meeting.
(d) An additional public hearing shall be held if the proposal is substantively altered by the governing body after public hearing. Subsequent public hearings shall be held at least 14 days after the prior public hearing and with the notice provided in subparagraph (b).
(e) Official copies of the final proposal to adopt or amend the town ordinance shall be placed on file and made available to the public at the town clerk’s office not later than the fifth Tuesday prior to the date of the town meeting. An official copy of the proposal shall be on display for the voters at the meeting place on the date of the meeting.
(f) The issue as to the adoption of the proposed ordinance shall be presented to the voters of the town by having the town clerk prepare an official ballot separate from the official ballot used to elect town officers which shall include the following question, or by including the following question on the official ballot as prepared by the town clerk:
“Are you in favor of the adoption of the town ordinance as proposed by the governing body?” In the event that there shall be more than a single proposed amendment to be submitted to the voters at any given meeting, the issue as to the several amendments shall be put in the following manner: “Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. ___ as proposed by the governing body for the town ordinance as follows: (Here insert topical description of substance of the ordinance)?” If such action is to be taken at a meeting other than the one at which officers are to be elected, the clerk shall prepare a special ballot containing the question or questions above stated, and the meeting shall open not later than noon and shall remain open at least 8 hours. When submitting any question to the voters under this section, there shall be 2 squares printed after the question, one with the word “yes” beside it and another with the word “no” beside it.
7 Method of Enactment in Certain Towns and Village Districts. Amend RSA 675:3, VIII to read as follows:
VIII. If an amendment is submitted by the selectmen or village district commissioners, the ballot shall so indicate. A notation on the ballot stating the planning board’s approval or disapproval shall immediately follow the question’s description. The ballot may include a projection of the effect of any revised appropriation on the tax rate of the proposed budget.
8 Planning and Zoning; Method of Enactment by Petition. Amend RSA 675:4, III to read as follows:
III. Each petitioned amendment shall be placed on a ballot which may be separate from the ballot used to elect town or village district officers. A notation on the ballot stating the planning board’s approval or disapproval shall immediately follow the question’s description. When an appropriation of a specific sum of money is amended, the ballot may include a projection of the effect of the amendment on the tax rate of the proposed budget. Any petitioned question receiving an affirmative vote of a majority of the legal voters present and voting shall be adopted, except as provided in RSA 675:5. The planning board shall forward to the town or village district clerk all proposed amendments to a zoning ordinance, historic district ordinance, or building code under this section not later than the fifth Tuesday prior to the date for electing town or village district officers.
9 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
