CHAPTER 191
SB 197 – FINAL VERSION
03/21/13 0894s
8May2013… 1448h
2013 SESSION
06/09
SENATE BILL 197
AN ACT relative to the inclusion of a default budget in separate warrant articles submitted by sewer and water commissions.
SPONSORS: Sen. Reagan, Dist 17; Rep. C. McGuire, Merr 29; Rep. D. McGuire, Merr 21
COMMITTEE: Public and Municipal Affairs
This bill permits water and sewer commissions to submit separate warrant articles, which include default budgets, for approval by the legislative body of towns.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/21/13 0894s
8May2013… 1448h
13-1011
06/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Thirteen
AN ACT relative to the inclusion of a default budget in separate warrant articles submitted by sewer and water commissions.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
191:1 Sewer Funds; Separate Warrant Article; Default Budget. Amend RSA 149-I:10, II and III to read as follows:
II. Except when a capital reserve fund is established pursuant to paragraph III, all sewer funds shall be held in the custody of the municipal treasurer. Estimates of anticipated sewer rental revenues and anticipated expenditures from the sewer fund shall be submitted to the governing body as set forth in RSA [32:6] 32:4 if applicable, and shall be included either as part of the municipal operating budget or as a separate warrant article submitted to the local legislative body for approval. In a town or district that has adopted the official ballot referendum form of meeting, any such separate warrant article shall include a default amount as provided in RSA 40:13, XI-a. If the municipality has a properly-established board of sewer commissioners, then notwithstanding RSA 41:29 or RSA 48:16, the treasurer shall pay out amounts from the sewer fund only upon order of the board of sewer commissioners. Expenditures shall be within amounts appropriated by the local legislative body. The sewer commission shall also remit to the municipality those costs incurred by the municipality in support of sewer operations, including but not limited to financial audit, facility insurance, treasurer compensation, and office support.
III. At the option of the local governing body, or of the board of sewer commissioners if any, all or part of any surplus in the sewer fund may be placed in one or more capital reserve funds and [placed] held in the custody of the trustees of trust funds pursuant to RSA 35:7. If such a reserve fund is created, then the governing body, or board of sewer commissioners if any, may expend such funds pursuant to RSA 35:15 without prior approval or appropriation by the local legislative body, but all such expenditures shall be reported to the municipality pursuant to RSA 149-I:25. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the establishment of other capital reserve funds for any lawful purpose relating to municipal water systems.
191:2 New Paragraph; Use of Official Ballot; Default Amount for Water and Sewer Funds. Amend RSA 40:13 by inserting after paragraph XI the following new paragraph:
XI-a. If a political subdivision maintains a separate fund for the revenues and expenditures related to the operation, maintenance, and improvement of a water or sewer system, and if any appropriation for such fund is to be raised through user fees or charges and is included in a warrant article separate from the operating budget, the warrant article may include a default amount for such appropriation, which shall be deemed to have been approved if the proposed appropriation is not approved. The default amount shall be determined by the governing body, or by the budget committee if the political subdivision has adopted the provisions of RSA 40:14-b, and shall equal the amount of the same appropriation for the preceding fiscal year, reduced and increased, as the case may be, by debt service, contracts, and other obligations previously incurred or mandated by law, and reduced by one-time expenditures contained in the previous year’s appropriation. The warrant article shall state the default amount for the appropriation and shall state that if the appropriation proposed in the article is not approved, the default amount shall be deemed to have been approved.
191:3 Water Funds; Separate Warrant Article; Default Budget. Amend RSA 38:29, II and III to read as follows:
II. Except when a capital reserve fund is established pursuant to paragraph III, all water funds shall be held in the custody of the municipal treasurer. Estimates of anticipated water rate revenues and anticipated expenditures from the water fund shall be prepared and submitted to the governing body as set forth in RSA [32:3] 32:4, if applicable, and shall be included either as part of the municipal operating budget or as a separate warrant article submitted to the local legislative body for approval. In a town or district that has adopted the official ballot referendum form of meeting, any such separate warrant article shall include a default amount as provided in RSA 40:13, XI-a. If the municipality has a properly established board of water commissioners, then notwithstanding RSA 41:29 or RSA 48:16, the treasurer shall pay out amounts from the water fund only upon order of the board of water commissioners. Expenditures shall be within amounts appropriated by the local legislative body. The water commission shall also remit to the municipality those costs incurred by the municipality in support of water operations, including but not limited to financial audit, facility insurance, treasurer compensation, and office support.
III. At the option of the local governing body, or of the board of water commissioners, if any, all or part of any surplus in the water fund may be placed in one or more capital reserve funds held in the custody of the trustees of trust funds pursuant to RSA 35:7. If such a reserve fund is created, then the governing body, or board of water commissioners, if any, may expend such funds pursuant to RSA 35:15 without prior approval or appropriation by the local legislative body, but all such expenditures shall be reported to the municipality pursuant to RSA 38:21. This [paragraph] section shall not be construed to prohibit the establishment of other capital reserve funds for any lawful purpose relating to municipal water systems.
191:4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 2, 2013 Effective Date: August 31, 2013