HB 71 – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
06/10
HOUSE BILL 71
AN ACT relative to increasing the dollar limit for requiring public hearings on issuance of local bonds.
SPONSORS: Rep. Patten, Carr 4; Rep. Theberge, Coos 4
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill raises the amount of certain proposed municipal bonds or notes requiring a public hearing from $100,000 to $1,000,000.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0242
06/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to increasing the dollar limit for requiring public hearings on issuance of local bonds.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Budget Preparation. Amend RSA 32:5, I to read as follows:
I. The governing body, or the budget committee if there is one, shall hold at least one public hearing on each budget, not later than 25 days before each annual or special meeting, public notice of which shall be given at least 7 days in advance, and after the conclusion of public testimony shall finalize the budget to be submitted to the legislative body. Public hearings on bonds and notes in excess of [$100,000] $1,000,000 shall be held in accordance with RSA 33:8-a, I. Days shall be counted in accordance with RSA 21:35.
2 Procedure for Authorizing Bonds or Notes in Excess of $100,000. Amend RSA 33:8-a, I-II to read as follows:
I. There shall be at least one public hearing concerning any proposed municipal bond or note issue in excess of [$100,000] $1,000,000 held before the governing board of any municipality. Said hearing shall be held at least 15 days, but not more than 60 days prior to the meeting, or adjourned session thereof, at which the bond or note issued is to be voted upon. Notice of the time, place and subject of such hearing shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least 7 days before it is held. Whenever possible the governing board shall determine the form of the warrant article after the public hearing.
II. All articles appearing in the warrant which propose a bond or note issue exceeding [$100,000] $1,000,000 shall appear in consecutive numerical order and shall be acted upon prior to other business except the election of officers and zoning matters or as otherwise determined by the voters at the meeting. Polls shall remain open and ballots shall be accepted by the moderator on each such article, for a period of not less than one hour following the completion of discussion on each respective article. A separate ballot box shall be provided for each bond article to be voted upon pursuant to this section.
3 Municipal Electric Revenue Bonds; Authorization and Issuance of Bonds. Amend RSA 374-B:2, I to read as follows:
I. Any municipality, when authorized by a 2/3 vote as defined in RSA 33:8 for bonds or notes not in excess of [$100,000] $1,000,000, or in RSA 33:8-a for other bonds or notes for towns and village districts or in RSA 33:9 for cities, may, subject to the approval of the commission under RSA 369:1, borrow money through the issue of revenue bonds to finance project costs, or its share of project costs, of electric power facilities. The commission in rendering its decision shall, in addition to the other requirements of said RSA 369:1, approve only such issue as the commission finds, after notice and opportunity for hearing, is appropriate to finance an electric power facility which is both consistent with the power needs of the state and necessary to supply the load plus reserve requirements created by the municipality’s retail customers, and by such wholesale customers as may have existed on the day of the vote of the municipality, said load plus reserve requirements to be forecast by the municipality at a time 3 years beyond the scheduled date for commencement of commercial operation of the facility; in evaluating the ability of the municipality to supply its load plus reserve requirements at said time, the commission shall deduct from these requirements all capacity in other generating units to which the municipality will then be entitled by ownership or contract, including any contracts for the purchase of electricity to be in force at said time. The project costs to be financed may include finance charges, interest prior to and during the carrying out of any project and for a reasonable period thereafter, prepayments under contracts made pursuant to RSA 374-A:2, the funding of notes issued for project costs as hereinafter provided, such reserves for debt service (including a common reserve for debt service established pursuant to an agreement for consolidation of indebtedness under paragraph VI) or other capital or current expenses as may be required by a trust agreement or resolution securing notes or bonds, and all other expenses incidental to the determination of the feasibility of any project or to carrying out the project or to placing the project in operation.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.