SB486 (2016) Detail

Relative to election assistance for cities and towns.


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SB 486-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

2016 SESSION

\t16-2876

\t03/09

 

SENATE BILL\t486-FN

 

AN ACT\trelative to election assistance for cities and towns.

 

SPONSORS:\tSen. Pierce, Dist 5; Sen. Lasky, Dist 13; Sen. Stiles, Dist 24

 

COMMITTEE:\tPublic and Municipal Affairs

 

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ANALYSIS

 

\tThis bill requires the secretary of state to assist cities and towns in conducting local elections and establishes a municipal grant program to fund innovative election procedures and voter registration expansion.

 

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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\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

\t16-2876

\t03/09

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen

 

AN ACT\trelative to election assistance for cities and towns.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

\t1  Election Fund.  Amend RSA 5:6-d, III to read as follows:

\t\tIII.  The secretary of state is authorized to accept, budget, and, subject to the limitations of this paragraph, expend monies in the election fund received from any party for the purposes of conducting elections, voter and election official education, funding the municipal grant program under paragraph VIII, the purchase or lease of equipment that complies with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, or with RSA 659:13, V, reimbursing the department of safety for the actual cost of voter identification cards, election law enforcement, and improvements to related information technology, including acquisition and operation of an automated election management system.  The secretary of state shall not expend any monies in the election fund unless the balance in the fund following such expenditures shall be at least 12 times the estimated annual cost of maintaining the programs established to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.

\t2  New Paragraph; Election Fund; Municipal Grant Program.  Amend RSA 5:6-d by inserting after paragraph VII the following new paragraph:

\t\tVIII.  The secretary of state shall develop and administer a municipal grant program to enable cities and towns to receive funds received by the state pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, for purposes of implementing innovative election procedures and expanding voter registration.

\t3  Chief Election Officer; Duties.  Amend RSA 652:23 to read as follows:

\t652:23  Chief Election Officer.

\t\tI.  The secretary of state shall be the chief election officer for the state.

\t\tII. The secretary of state shall provide information regarding voter registration procedures and absentee ballot procedures for all voters, including absent uniformed services voters, absent voters temporarily residing outside the United States, and federal ballot only voters domiciled outside the United States.  Instructional and informational materials published by the secretary of state for clerks to provide such voters shall include information on how to communicate electronically with election officials.

\t\tIII.  The secretary of state shall maintain an Internet website that includes complete, current, and accurate election procedures to educate voters of their rights and responsibilities while voting.

\t\tIV.  The secretary of state shall confer with local election officials to prepare and then publish voter registration requirements in languages other than English in order to ensure equal access for all qualified voters.

\t\tV.  The secretary of state shall assist cities and towns in the conduct of local elections.  Such assistance shall include, but not be limited to:

\t\t\t(a)  Providing cities and towns with accessible voting systems, as defined in RSA 652:16-d.

\t\t\t(b)  Providing signs or posters that explain election laws and procedures for local elections.

\t\t\t(c)  Providing additional assistance upon the request of  local officials.

\t4  Town Elections; Forms.  Amend RSA 669:27 to read as follows:

\t669:27  Forms.

\t\tI.  Prior to each such election, the clerk shall prepare in such quantities as he or she may deem necessary the following forms:

\t\t\t[I.] (a) Official absentee voting ballots, with the words "absentee ballot'' printed on them, similar in form to the official ballot to be used at said election, and similarly endorsed and printed on paper of the same color as that used for official ballots[;].

\t\t\t[II.] (b)  Blank forms of application for absentee ballots worded similar in form to those required by RSA 657:4.

\t\t[III.] II.  Prior to each such election, the secretary of state shall prepare, in such quantities as he or she may deem necessary, envelopes of sufficient size to contain the ballots specified in paragraph I, on which shall be printed an affidavit similar in form to that required by RSA 657:7 or 657:8, as applicable.

\t5  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2876

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t1/5/16

 

SB 486-FN- FISCAL NOTE

 

AN ACT\trelative to election assistance for cities and towns.

 

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Department of State and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill, as introduced, may increase state and local expenditures and local revenue by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter.  There will be no fiscal impact to state and county revenue or county expenditures.  

 

METHODOLOGY:

The Department of State states this bill establishes the municipal grant program to fund innovative election procedures and voter registration expansion.  The Department is responsible to administer the program which includes maintaining an internet website with educational information, publishing voter registration requirements in languages other than english, and assisting municipalities with local elections.  The program is to be paid from the Election Fund which consists of federal monies given to the State to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA).  The Department states this bill requires it to assist municipalities in conducting local elections.  The Department states this bill may create the need for it to develop a new municipal services division at a cost yet to be determined.  This bill requires the Department to purchase envelopes to be used for absentee ballots in local elections which would result in an unknown cost.

 

The New Hampshire Municipal Association states that any municipality taking advantage of the program would experience an indeterminable increase in revenue in the form of a grant and an equivalent increase in expenditures for the purpose for which the grant was received.