HB 1526-FN-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2156
\t10/09
HOUSE BILL\t1526-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT\tproviding for the election of members of the county convention as a separate county office.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Buco, Carr. 2; Rep. Chandler, Carr. 1; Rep. Beaulieu, Hills. 45
COMMITTEE:\tMunicipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill establishes the election of county convention members in each county to be the legislative body for county government, and removes the duties imposed on elected state representative for county business.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2156
\t10/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\tproviding for the election of members of the county convention as a separate county office.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 County Convention; Election. Amend RSA 24:1 to read as follows:
\t24:1 Members. The county convention consists of [the state representatives of the representative districts of the] persons elected in each county in the same manner and ratio as members of the New Hampshire house of representatives.
\t2 Compensation; County Convention; Reference to Attendance at State House Removed. Amend RSA 24:9-ee to read as follows:
\t24:9-ee Compensation for County Conventions. Members of each county convention shall receive from the county treasury a sum not to exceed $25 per day for actual attendance at meetings of their respective conventions and an allowance for travel expenses to and from the place of meeting at a rate per mile not in excess of the rate allowed by the United States Internal Revenue Service to be set by a vote of the respective county convention. [They are not entitled to receive any compensation or mileage for attending such meetings when such meetings are held at the state house in Concord on a legislative day.]
\t3 First Meeting; Notice. Amend RSA 24:9-a to read as follows:
\t24:9-a First Meeting. The [chair] chairperson of the county [delegation] convention shall set the time and place for the first meeting of the county convention to be held during the week of the second Wednesday of December of each even-numbered year and shall notify the [clerk of the house of representatives] county convention members prior to the first Wednesday of December. The time and place of the meeting shall be announced [by the clerk of the house of representatives] on the first Wednesday of December of each even-numbered year.
\t4 Meetings. Amend RSA 24:9-c to read as follows:
\t24:9-c Further Meetings. The chairperson of the convention or a majority of the members of the convention may, and the chairperson of the convention upon the written request of the county commissioners shall, call a further meeting or meetings of the county convention. [On a day on which there is a meeting of the house of representatives] Such meetings may be held [only in the city or town in which such meeting of the house of representatives is held. On days when there is no meeting of the house of representatives such meetings may be held] at any place in the county.
\t5 Notice of Meetings. Amend RSA 24:9-d to read as follows:
\t24:9-d Notice. The clerk of the convention, or his or her designee, shall mail to each member of the convention a notice stating the time, place, and purpose of further meetings at least 7 days before the day of the meeting and shall cause to be published a like notice at least 7 days before the day of the meeting in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. [Mailing such notice is not required during any session of the general court, if the notice is printed for 2 legislative days in the journal of the house of representatives.]
\t6 Place of Meetings. Amend RSA 24:9-f to read as follows:
\t24:9-f Meetings of Committees. Either the chairperson of the convention or the chairperson of the executive committee may call meetings of the executive committee to be held at any time [either at the state house in Concord or] at any place within the respective county. The members of the executive committee shall be entitled to the same compensation and travel expenses for actual attendance at such meetings as is provided for attendance at meetings of the convention of said county; members of subcommittees, study committees, and committees of investigation may receive such compensation as determined by their respective county conventions for the discharge of their official business plus an allowance for travel expenses at the rate set for attendance at meetings of the convention of said county for travel to and from the place of meetings; said sums to be paid from the county treasury[, provided that no such compensation and expenses shall be allowed when such meeting is held at the state house in Concord].
\t7 Hillsborough and Rockingham; Reference to Delegation. Amend RSA 24:12-a to read as follows:
\t24:12-a [Delegation] Coordinators for Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties. The county conventions for Hillsborough and Rockingham counties shall each have the authority to employ a [delegation] coordinator and other employees who shall perform duties as required by the executive committee, subcommittees, and the [legislative delegation] county convention.
\t8 Taxes. Amend RSA 24:20 to read as follows:
\t24:20 Taxes. The county convention shall, during each [biennial session of the legislature] state biennium, grant county taxes for its county for 2 years; but the tax for each year shall be voted separately and collected in the year for which it was voted.
\t9 Yield Tax Distribution. Amend RSA 79:14, II to read as follows:
\t\tII. To the division of forests and lands, department of resources and economic development, any normal yield tax revenues remaining in the county treasury after the above distribution has been made in such amounts as may be determined by the appropriate county [legislative delegation] convention after consultation with the county commissioners and the director of the division of forests and lands. The funds shall be maintained in a nonlapsing account known as the ''unincorporated towns and unorganized places forest conservation fund.'' The funds shall only be used by the director of forests and lands in or for the benefit of the towns and places from which the tax has been collected. The funds allocated for the use of the director of the division of forests and lands shall be paid over to the state treasurer by the county treasurer no later than October 1 of the state fiscal year in which the allocation takes place by the appropriate county [legislative delegation] convention. The unincorporated towns and unorganized places forest conservation fund shall be used for land use regulation purposes and for forest conservation purposes, including, but not limited to, the construction and maintenance of forest protection facilities and equipment, fire protection and detection, fire suppression supplies, fire access roads and bridges, fire prevention patrols, fire trails, and forest insects and disease control. The unincorporated towns and unorganized places forest conservation fund shall not, for each county, exceed 2 times the average budget for the previous 2 years as approved by each respective county [legislative delegation] convention; and
\t10 New Paragraph; County Officers; Elected for 2-Year Term. Amend RSA 653:1 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:
\t\tVII. The members of the county convention by the voters in each county, in accordance with RSA 24:1.
\t11 County Officers. Amend RSA 655:9 to read as follows:
\t 655:9 County Officers. To hold the office of county commissioner, county convention member, sheriff, county attorney, county treasurer, register of deeds, or register of probate, a person must have a domicile in the county for which he or she is chosen. In addition, to hold the office of county commissioner or county convention member in the counties of Rockingham, Belknap, Grafton, Merrimack, Hillsborough, Cheshire, Sullivan, Coos, and Carroll, a person must have a domicile in the district from which he or she is elected at the time of his or her election.
\t12 Incompatible Offices. Amend RSA 655:10, I to read as follows:
\t\tI. No person shall file declaration of candidacy or primary petitions for nomination at the primary for incompatible offices. For the purposes of this section, incompatible offices shall include the offices of governor, United States senator, United States representative, representative to the general court, state senator, councilor, county sheriff, county attorney, county treasurer, register of deeds, and register of probate. If any person shall file for incompatible offices, the secretary of state shall advise the person of the provisions hereof and said person shall then advise the secretary of state which of said offices he or she wishes to retain in order to seek said nomination. No person shall seek or hold the position of county convention member at the same time as seeking or holding a position of councilor, county sheriff, county attorney, county treasurer, register of deeds, or register of probate.
\t13 New Paragraph; Vacancy. Amend RSA 661:9 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
\t\tV. If a vacancy occurs in the county convention, the vacancy shall not be filled.
\t14 Candidate for State Representative. Amend RSA 655:29, IV to read as follows:
\t\tIV. (For use by candidate for state representative): I, ____________________, candidate for the office of representative from district no. __________ of __________ county, hereby swear (or affirm) that I have been domiciled in the state of New Hampshire for at least 2 years immediately preceding the election for which I am a candidate, that I am now domiciled in district no. ____________ of ___________ county, the district I seek to represent, that I will be at least 18 years of age on the day of said election, that I am not a candidate for incompatible offices as defined in RSA 655:10, that I am not a federal employee, and that I am not a convicted felon who has not yet received a final discharge from sentencing. [I further recognize that, if elected, I will serve as a delegate to the county convention.]
\t15 Gifts and Honoraria; Definition of Elected Official. Amend RSA 15-B:2, III to read as follows:
\t\tIII. ''Elected official'' means the governor, members of the executive council, members of the general court, county commissioners, members of the county convention, county sheriffs, county treasurers, county attorneys, registers of deeds, and registers of probate.
\t16 Federal Lands; County Funds. Amend RSA 227-H:23 to read as follows:
\t 227-H:23 Use of Funds by Unincorporated Towns and Unorganized Places. All sums so apportioned to unincorporated towns and unorganized places shall be expended for the benefit of public schools in the counties in which such places are located, in such manner as the appropriate county [legislative delegation] convention shall prescribe giving due consideration to the expenditure of a portion of such sum as part payment towards the costs of the education of any children residing in such unincorporated towns and unorganized places. Such payment shall be made by the department of education, within 90 days after receipt, directly to financially and politically independent school districts. If there are no students residing within the unincorporated towns and unorganized places in a county, the funds shall be disbursed to the school districts within the same county as the unincorporated towns and unorganized places in a manner as the appropriate county [legislative delegation] convention shall prescribe.
\t17 References to County Delegation Changed to County Convention. Amend the following RSA provisions by replacing “county delegation” with “county convention:” 7:33; 24:2-b; 24:13, II; 24:13-c, VII and VIII; 35:3; 35:6; 35:15, II(a); 35:16; 104:3-f; 104:30; 673:2, IV; 673:13, IV.
\t18 Applicability. The changes in county convention membership established by this act shall not affect constituencies or terms of office of any person presently in office. The election of county convention members established by this act shall be in effect for the purpose of electing such officers at the 2016 state general election. No provision of this act shall affect in any manner any of the proceedings of the membership of the house of representatives of the general court that assembled for a biennial session in January 2014.
\t19 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2156
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/20/15
HB 1526-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\tproviding for the election of members of the county convention as a separate county office.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of State and New Hampshire Association of Counties state this bill, as introduced, may have an indeterminable impact on state and county expenditures in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact to state, county, and local revenue or local expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of State states this bill creates a new elective office of county commission members elected in the same manner and ratio as the office of state representative that appear on the ballot. The Department would be required to print the candidates names for the new office on the state election ballots and would be responsible for any related election expenses including recounts and appeals. The additional paper and printing costs of the ballots and additional part-time staff necessary to conduct recounts may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on county expenditures.
The Legislative Branch and Department of Resources and Economic Development state this bill will have no fiscal impact on their respective operations.