HB1163 (2008) Detail

Relative to town or district bonds or notes.


HB 1163 – AS INTRODUCED

2008 SESSION

08-2234

06/03

HOUSE BILL 1163

AN ACT relative to town or district bonds or notes.

SPONSORS: Rep. Bettencourt, Rock 4

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

ANALYSIS

This bill changes the majority vote required for an official ballot town council or official ballot town meeting to authorize the issuance of town or district bonds or notes when the charter does not specify which majority vote is required.

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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

08-2234

06/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight

AN ACT relative to town or district bonds or notes.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Vote Authorizing the Issuance of Notes or Bonds. Amend RSA 33:8 to read as follows:

33:8 Town or District Bonds or Notes. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the issue of bonds or notes by any municipal corporation, except a city or a town which has adopted a charter pursuant to RSA 49-B, without a budgetary town meeting, and except a school district or municipality which has adopted official ballot voting procedures pursuant to RSA 40:13 shall be authorized by a vote by ballot of 2/3, and the issue of tax anticipation notes, by a vote of a majority, of all the voters present and voting at an annual or special meeting of such corporation, called for the purpose. The issue of notes or bonds by a school district or municipality which has adopted official ballot voting procedures pursuant to RSA 40:13 shall be authorized by a vote of 3/5. The issue of notes or bonds by a municipality that has adopted an optional form of legislative body under RSA 49-D:3, I-a or RSA 49-D:3, II-a shall be authorized by either a 2/3 or 3/5 vote as adopted and provided for in the charter. If such charter does not specify which majority vote is required, then the required majority vote shall be [2/3] 3/5. Only votes in the affirmative or negative shall be included in the calculation of any majority. No such action taken at any special meeting shall be valid unless a majority of all the legal voters are present and vote at such special meeting, unless the governing board of any municipality shall petition the superior court for permission to hold an emergency special meeting, which, if granted, shall give said special meeting the same authority as an annual meeting. The warrant for a special meeting shall be published once in a newspaper having a general circulation in the municipality within one week after the posting of such special meeting. The warrant for any such annual or special meeting shall be served or posted at least 14 days before the date of such special meeting. Every warrant shall be deemed to have been duly served or posted, if the return on the warrant shall so state, and it shall be certified by the officer or officers required to serve or post the same. All bonds or notes, authorized in accordance with this chapter, shall be signed by the governing board, or a majority of the governing board, and countersigned by the treasurer of the municipality, and shall have the corporate seal, if any, affixed to it. The discretion of fixing the date, maturities, denominations, the interest rate, or discount rate in the case of notes, the place of payment, the form, and other details of said bonds or notes and of providing for the sale of such bonds or notes, may be delegated to the governing board or to the treasurer and shall, to the extent provision therefor shall not have been made in the vote authorizing the same, be deemed to have been delegated to the governing board.

2 Vote Authorizing the Issuance of Notes of Bonds. Amend RSA 49-D:3, I-a to read as follows:

I-a. Official ballot town council shall be a variation of the town council which provides for voting on some or all matters that general law requires to be addressed at the annual or a special meeting of a town, by official ballot. In such event, the town council shall be vested only with the limited authority to vote on all matters not voted on by official ballot. When an official ballot town council is included in any charter, the provisions of RSA 49-D:3, I, relative to town councils, shall apply in all respects, except with respect to those matters to be voted on by official ballot. When a charter provides for an official ballot town council it shall also specify with precision the budgetary items to be included on the official ballot, a finalization process for the annual budget, the process for public hearings, debate, discussion, and amendment of questions to be placed on the official ballot, the procedures for the transfer of funds among various departments, funds, accounts, and agencies as may be necessary during the year, and the applicability of the official ballot procedure to special elections. The majority vote required to approve bonds or notes shall be either 2/3 or 3/5 as adopted and provided for in the charter. If a charter does not specify which majority vote is required, than the required majority vote shall be [2/3] 3/5. All voting by official ballot shall be in accordance with the procedures established in RSA 669:19-29, RSA 670:5-7, and RSA 671:20-30, including all requirements pertaining to absentee voting, polling places, and polling hours. Nonbudgetary items may be placed on the official ballot pursuant to this section notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 40:4-e and RSA 39:3-d.

3 Vote Authorizing the Issuance of Notes or Bonds. Amend RSA 49-D:3, II-a to read as follows:

II-a. Official ballot town meeting shall be a variation of the open town meeting which provides for voting on some or all warrant articles, including part or all of the annual town operating budget, by official ballot. In such event, the open town meeting shall be vested only with the limited authority to vote on all matters not voted on by official ballot. When an official ballot town meeting is included in any charter, the provisions of general law relative to town meetings, their warning, the right for petitioned articles at such meetings, and the conduct of such meetings shall apply to the official ballot and open town meeting in all respects. The majority vote required to approve bonds or notes shall be either 2/3 3/5 or 3/5 as adopted and provided for in the charter. If a charter is silent with regard to such required majority, then the majority vote shall be [2/3] 3/5. When a charter provides for an official ballot town meeting it shall also specify with precision the budgetary items to be included on the official ballot, a finalization process for the annual budget, the process for public hearings, debate, discussion, and amendment of questions to be placed on the official ballot, the procedures for the transfer of funds among various departments, funds, accounts, and agencies as may be necessary during the year, and the applicability of the official ballot procedure to special meetings. All voting by official ballot shall be in accordance with the procedures established in RSA 669:19-29, RSA 670:5-7, and RSA 671:20-30, including all requirements pertaining to absentee voting, polling places, and polling hours Nonbudgetary items may be placed on the official ballot pursuant to this section notwithstanding the provisions of RSA 40:4-e and RSA 39:3-d.

4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.