CHAPTER 267
SB 414 – FINAL VERSION
03/20/08 0985s
30Apr2008… 1377h
2008 SESSION
03/10
SENATE BILL 414
AN ACT authorizing special elections to fill vacancies in elective town offices.
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill authorizes towns to hold special elections to fill vacancies in elective town offices when: (1) the town has adopted the special election procedure; (2) the person or body authorized to fill the vacancy does not do so within 45 days of a person applying for appointment to the vacant office; and (3) a sufficient number of voters petition the selectmen for a special election.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/20/08 0985s
30Apr2008… 1377h
08-2760
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT authorizing special elections to fill vacancies in elective town offices.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
267:1 New Paragraph; Vacancies in Town Offices. Amend RSA 669:61 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. The legislative body of a town may adopt or rescind the optional procedure in this paragraph for filling vacancies in elective town offices. If the authorized person or body does not make an appointment to fill the vacancy pursuant to paragraph I within 45 days after at least one legally-qualified person has applied in writing for such appointment, then upon the filing of a petition with the selectmen signed by the number of voters required under RSA 39:3 for the warning of a special town meeting, presented not less than 90 days before the next annual town meeting, the selectmen shall call a special election to fill the vacancy. The special election shall be subject to the provisions of RSA 39:3 and other applicable provisions governing town elections. The person elected at the special election shall serve for a term ending upon the election and qualification of his or her successor. Unless otherwise provided, at the next annual town election, the voters of the town shall elect an officer for the full term provided by law or the balance of an unexpired term provided by law, as the case may be. If the town then refuses or neglects to fill the office, a vacancy shall be deemed again to exist.
267:2 Filling of Vacancies; Selectmen. Amend RSA 669:63 to read as follows:
669:63 Selectmen. Vacancies in the board of selectmen shall be filled by appointment made by the remaining selectmen. Whenever the selectmen fail to make such appointment, the superior court or any justice thereof, on petition of any citizen of the town, and after such notice as the court shall deem reasonable, may appoint a suitable person to fill the vacancy; provided, however, that if the town has adopted the provisions of RSA 669:61, IV, and a petition thereunder is submitted before the submission of a petition under this section, the provisions of RSA 669:61, IV shall apply.
267:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved; June 26, 2008
Effective Date: August 25, 2008