HB 284-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0639
07/05
HOUSE BILL284-FN
AN ACTrequiring tax impact statements on municipal warrant articles.
SPONSORS:Rep. Bernardy, Rock. 36; Rep. Porcelli, Rock. 19; Rep. Weyler, Rock. 14; Rep. P. Brown, Rock. 14; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23
COMMITTEE:Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires that municipalities require tax impact statements on budgets and warrant articles and a total tax summary statement.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0639
07/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACTrequiring tax impact statements on municipal warrant articles.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Municipal Budget Law; Preparation of Budgets; Budget Preparation; Warrant Article Tax Summaries. Amend RSA 32:5, V-a to read as follows:
V-a. The legislative body of any town, school district, or village district [may] shall vote to require that all votes by an advisory budget committee, a town, school district, or village district budget committee, and the governing body or, in towns, school districts, or village districts without a budget committee, all votes of the governing body relative to budget items or any warrant articles shall be recorded votes and the numerical tally of any such vote shall be printed in the town, school district, or village district warrant next to the affected warrant article. [Unless the legislative body has voted otherwise, if a town or school district has not voted to require such tallies to be printed in the town or school district warrant next to the affected warrant article, the governing body or the budget committee adopted under RSA 32:14 may, on its own initiative, require that the tallies of its votes be printed next to the affected article.]
2 Municipal Budget Law; Preparation of Budgets; Budget Preparation; Warrant Article Tax Summaries. Amend RSA 32:5, V-b to read as follows:
V-b.(a) [Any town may vote to] A town shall require that the annual budget and all special warrant articles having a tax impact, as determined by the governing body, [shall] contain a notation stating the estimated tax impact of the article. Such notation shall be phrased as follows:
"If the following _____ passes, this will result in an estimated tax impact of $X.XX per $1,000 of property valuation."
The determination of the estimated tax impact shall be subject to approval by the governing body.
(b) The town shall also require that a tax-impact summary statement be placed at the end of the budget or warrant article. The tax-impact summary statement shall describe the estimated tax impact if all proposed articles having a tax impact were to pass. The determination of the estimated tax impact shall be subject to approval by the governing body.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026.
LBA
25-0639
12/27/24
HB 284-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACTrequiring tax impact statements on municipal warrant articles.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Estimated State Impact
FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028
Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Revenue Fund None
Expenditures* Indeterminable
Funding Source General Fund
Appropriations* $0 $0 $0 $0
Funding Source None
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
Estimated Political Subdivision Impact
FY 2025 FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028
County Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
County Expenditures Indeterminable
Local Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0
Local Expenditures Indeterminable
Estimated State Impact
FY 2025
FY 2026
FY 2027
FY 2028
Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
Revenue Fund
None
Expenditures*
Indeterminable
Funding Source
General Fund
Appropriations*
$0
$0
$0
$0
Funding Source
None
*Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill
Estimated Political Subdivision Impact
FY 2025
FY 2026
FY 2027
FY 2028
County Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
County Expenditures
Indeterminable
Local Revenue
$0
$0
$0
$0
Local Expenditures
Indeterminable
METHODOLOGY:
This bill adds, deletes, or modifies a criminal penalty, or changes statute to which there is a penalty for violation. Therefore, this bill may have an impact on the judicial and correctional systems, which could affect prosecution, incarceration, probation, and parole costs, for the state, as well as county and local governments. A summary of such costs can be found at: https://gencourt.state.nh.us/lba/Budget/Fiscal_Notes/JudicialCorrectionalCosts.pdf
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Judicial Branch, Judicial Council, Department of Justice, Department of Corrections, New Hampshire Association of Counties, and New Hampshire Municipal Association