Revision: Feb. 13, 2009, midnight
HB 239-LOCAL – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
12Feb2009… 0183h
2009 SESSION
06/10
HOUSE BILL 239-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to establishing a municipal bond rescission process.
SPONSORS: Rep. Laliberte, Graf 10; Rep. Patten, Carr 4
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill establishes a municipal bond rescission process for bonds and notes.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12Feb2009… 0183h
09-0742
06/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to establishing a municipal bond rescission process.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Town or District Bonds or Notes. 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. 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. Bonding authority under this section may be limited or rescinded as provided in RSA 33:8-f.
2 New Paragraph; Procedure for Authorizing Bonds or Notes in Excess of $100,000. Amend RSA 33:8-a by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. Bonding authority under this section may be limited or rescinded as provided in RSA 33:8-f.
3 New Section; Procedures to Limit or Rescind Bonding Authority for Bonds or Notes. Amend RSA 33 by inserting after section 8-e the following new section:
33:8-f Procedures to Limit or Rescind Bonding Authority for Bonds or Notes.
I. In any vote to approve bonding authority, a town may limit the length of time the bond authorization remains valid. If, after the expiration of any such period, no bond or note has been issued, the bonding authority shall be considered for all purposes as rescinded.
II. A town may vote at an annual meeting to rescind an authorized but unissued bond or note following the same procedures as would be required to adopt such bond or note, provided that:
(a) A vote to rescind shall not take place less than 5 years after the vote to authorize the bond or note;
(b) The vote to rescind must pass by the same majority required, at the time of the rescission vote, to adopt a bond or note; and
(c) Notwithstanding RSA 33:8-a, II, a warrant article proposing the rescission of a bond or note in excess of $100,000 need not be acted upon prior to other business.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2010.