HB 1512-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
08/03
HOUSE BILL 1512-FN
AN ACT relative to the authority of conservation commissions.
SPONSORS: Rep. Hoelzel, Rock 2
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill:
I. Prohibits town conservation commissions from acquiring, conveying, or contracting to manage land for conservation purposes.
II. Requires the local governing body to hold a public hearing before acquiring, conveying, or contracting to manage land for conservation purposes.
III. Removes the option for a conservation fund funded by the land use change tax.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2667
08/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT relative to the authority of conservation commissions.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Conservation Commissions. Amend RSA 36-A:2 to read as follows:
36-A:2 Conservation Commission.
I. A city or town which accepts the provisions of this chapter may establish a conservation commission, hereinafter called the commission, for the proper utilization and protection of the natural resources and for the protection of watershed resources of said city or town. Such commission shall conduct researches into its local land and water areas and shall seek to coordinate the activities of unofficial bodies organized for similar purposes, and may advertise, prepare, print, and distribute books, maps, charts, plans, and pamphlets which in its judgment it deems necessary for its work. It shall keep an index of all open space and natural, aesthetic, or ecological areas within the city or town, as the case may be, with the plan of obtaining information pertinent to proper utilization of such areas, including lands owned by the state or lands owned by a town or city. It shall keep an index of all marshlands, swamps, and all other wet lands in a like manner, and may recommend to the city council or selectmen or to the department of resources and economic development a program for the protection, development or better utilization of all such areas. It shall keep accurate records of its meetings and actions and shall file an annual report which shall be printed in the annual town or municipal report. The commission may appoint such clerks and other employees or subcommittees as it may from time to time require.
II. The conservation commission shall advise the local governing body on the acquisition, conveyance, and management of property for conservation purposes. The commission shall not acquire, convey, or contract to manage any property. When the local governing body desires to acquire, convey, or contract to manage property for conservation purposes, the local governing body shall conduct a public hearing. If the town has adopted the provisions of RSA 41:14-a, the selectmen shall hold public hearings in accordance with RSA 41:14-a, I. If a town has not adopted the provisions of RSA 41:14-a, such acquisition, conveyance, or contract for management shall be the subject of a warrant article at a special or at the annual town meeting.
2 Land Use Change; Conservation Commissions. Amend RSA 79-A:25 to read as follows:
79-A:25 Disposition of Revenues.
[I. Except as provided in paragraph II,] All money received by the tax collector pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be for the use of the town or city.
[II. The legislative body of the town or city may, by majority vote, elect to place the whole or a specified percentage, amount, or any combination of percentage and amount, of the revenues of all future payments collected pursuant to this chapter in a conservation fund in accordance with RSA 36-A:5, III. The whole or specified percentage or amount, or percentage and amount, of such revenues shall be deposited in the conservation fund at the time of collection.
III. If adopted by a town or city, the provisions of RSA 79-A:25, II shall take effect in the tax year beginning on April 1 following the vote and shall remain in effect until altered or rescinded pursuant to RSA 79-A:25, IV.
IV. In any town or city that has adopted the provisions of paragraph II, the legislative body may vote to rescind its action or change the percentage or amount, or percentage and amount, of revenues to be placed in the conservation fund. Any such action to rescind or change the percentage or amount, or percentage and amount, shall not take effect before the tax year beginning April 1 following the vote.]
3 Land Use Change; Conservation Commissions. Amend RSA 79-A:25-a to read as follows:
79-A:25-a Land Use Change Tax Fund.
I. Towns and cities may, pursuant to RSA 79-A:25-b, vote to account for all revenues collected pursuant to this chapter in a land use change tax fund separate from the general fund. After a vote pursuant to RSA 79-A:25-b, no land use change tax revenue collected under this chapter shall be recognized as general fund revenue for the fiscal year in which it is received, except to the extent that such revenue is appropriated pursuant to paragraph II of this section. [Any land use change tax revenue collected pursuant to this chapter which is to be placed in a conservation fund in accordance with RSA 79-A:25, II, shall first be accounted for as revenue to the land use change tax fund before being transferred to the conservation fund at the time of collection.]
II. [After any transfer to the conservation fund required under the provisions of RSA 79-A:25, II, the surplus remaining in] The land use change tax fund shall not be deemed part of the general fund nor shall any [surplus] funds be expended for any purpose or transferred to any appropriation until such time as the legislative body shall have had the opportunity at an annual meeting to appropriate a specific amount from said fund for any purpose not prohibited by the laws or by the constitution of this state. At the end of an annual meeting, any unappropriated balance of land use change tax revenue received during the prior fiscal year shall be recognized as general fund revenue for the current fiscal year.
4 Conservation Commissions; Cross Reference Removed. Amend RSA 41:11-a, I to read as follows:
I. The selectmen shall have authority to manage all real property owned by the town and to regulate its use, unless such management and regulation is delegated to other public officers by vote of the town, or is governed by other statutes, including but not limited to RSA 31:112, RSA 35-B, [RSA 36-A:4,] and RSA 202-A:6.
5 Conservation Commissions; Cross Reference Removed. Amend RSA 231-A:5, II to read as follows:
II. A class A or B trail may be established by the local legislative body or its designee over any land previously acquired by the municipality, including [land acquired by the conservation commission pursuant to RSA 36-A:4, or] town forests established pursuant to RSA 31:110, unless the establishment of such trail would violate any right or interest reserved or retained by a prior grantor or held by a third party.
6 Conservation Funds; Cross Reference Removed. Amend RSA 41:29, I to read as follows:
I. The town treasurer shall have custody of all moneys belonging to the town, and shall pay out the same only upon orders of the selectmen, [or, in the case of a conservation fund established pursuant to RSA 36-A:5, upon the order of the conservation commission,] or in the case of a heritage commission fund established pursuant to RSA 674:44-a upon the order of the heritage commission, or in the case of fees held pursuant to RSA 673:16, II, upon the order of the local land use board or its designated agent, or in the case of a recreation revolving fund established pursuant to RSA 35-B:2, upon the order of the recreation or park commission, or in the case of fees deposited by the town clerk pursuant to RSA 41:25, upon the invoice of the town clerk, or other board or body designated by the town to expend such a fund.
7 Conservation Funds; Cross Reference Removed. Amend RSA 227-M:8, VI to read as follows:
VI. Qualifying matching funds from the applicant may include, but are not limited to, municipal appropriations, private donations, and federal funds[, and monies from a conservation fund established under RSA 36-A:5].
8 Applicability. Sections 1 and 9 of this act shall apply to all conservation commissions existing on the effective date of this act.
9 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 36-A:4, relative to powers of conservation commissions.
II. RSA 36-A:4-a, relative to optional powers of conservation commissions.
III. RSA 36-A:5, relative to moneys placed in a town conservation fund.
IV. RSA 41:14-a, II(a), relative to town land controlled by a conservation commission.
10 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
12-2667
12/02/11
HB 1512-FN - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to the authority of conservation commissions.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Revenue Administration and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill may have an indeterminable impact on local expenditures in FY 2012 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state, county, and local revenues, or state and county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Revenue Administration states this bill would remove certain powers of the conservation commission, including accepting monetary or proprietary gifts and removes the authority of the commission to purchase property or rights to property. The Department states it is unable to determine if this bill will impact local expenditures as it cannot predict the amounts conservation commissions would have expended.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill would eliminate the authority of conservation commissions to acquire and manage property and to take certain other actions. The Association states it is possible by eliminating the conservation commission’s authority to acquire property, this bill may result in an indeterminable decrease in local expenditures by certain municipalities.