SB 713-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2020 SESSION
20-2899
08/03
SENATE BILL 713-FN
AN ACT relative to the municipal winter maintenance certification program.
SPONSORS: Sen. Morse, Dist 22; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Bradley, Dist 3
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
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ANALYSIS
This bill allows municipalities to have municipal winter maintenance programs to be certified by the department of environmental services.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
20-2899
08/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty
AN ACT relative to the municipal winter maintenance certification program.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Municipal Winter Maintenance Certification Program. Amend RSA 489-C:1 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
IV-a. "Municipal winter maintenance certification program" means a program implemented by a governmental unit as defined in RSA 507-B:1, I to maintain public roads, parking areas, and walkways in the winter months to be safe for public passage.
2 Commercial Applicators; Certification Option. Amend RSA 489-C:2 to read as follows:
489-C:2 Commercial Applicator Certification Option.
I. Commercial applicators may elect to be [annually] certified by the department. Applicator certificates shall be issued by the department and may be renewed annually.
II. Any business that employs multiple commercial applicators may obtain a master certificate for the owner or chief supervisor, and commercial applicators employed by the business may obtain [certificates] either an individual certificate or a subordinate certificate to qualify under the master certificate. Any business holding a master certificate shall ensure that all commercial applicators operating with a subordinate certificate under its master certificate receive the required training and shall provide the required recordkeeping on behalf of all commercial applicators working under the master certificate.
III. The department shall charge an annual fee for master, individual, and subordinate certificates. Annual fees for [certificates] a subordinate certificate obtained under a master certificate shall be significantly less than the fees for a master certificate. Annual fees for individual certificates shall be higher than the fee for a subordinate certificate but less than the fee for a master certificate.
3 New Section; Municipal Winter Maintenance Certification Program Option. Amend RSA 489-C by inserting after section 2 the following new section:
489-C:2-a Municipal Winter Maintenance Certification Program Option.
I. Any governmental unit that has a municipal winter maintenance program may elect to have the program certified by the department. Municipal winter maintenance certification program certificates shall be issued by the department and may be renewed annually.
II. Any governmental unit holding a municipal winter maintenance program certificate shall ensure that each applicator operating under its certificate receives the required training approved by the department and shall provide record keeping on behalf of all applicators working under the municipal winter maintenance certificate. A governmental unit may meet the training requirement by requiring its employees to obtain commercial applicator individual certificates.
III. The department may create more than one class of certificate to recognize different complexity levels of municipal winter maintenance programs. If such classes are created, the department shall, through rules adopted pursuant to RSA 541-A, identify the criteria, required record keeping, and other requirements as may apply to each level.
IV. The department shall charge an annual fee for a winter maintenance program certificate.
4 Rulemaking; Salt Applicator Certification. Amend RSA 489-C:3, V to read as follows:
V. Recordkeeping [required for commercial applicators to maintain certification] and reporting requirements for certificate holders.
5 New Paragraph; Rulemaking; Salt Applicator Licenses. Amend RSA 489-C:3 by inserting after paragraph VI the following new paragraph:
VII. Procedures for governmental units to obtain certification for their municipal winter maintenance programs.
6 Snow, Ice, and Other Weather Hazards. Amend RSA 507-B:2-b to read as follows:
507-B:2-b Snow, Ice, and Other Weather Hazards. Notwithstanding RSA 507-B:2, a governmental unit shall not be liable for damage arising from insufficiencies or hazards on any premises owned, occupied, maintained, or operated by it, even if it has actual notice of them, when such hazards are caused solely by snow, ice, or other inclement weather, and the governmental unit's failure or delay in removing or mitigating such hazards is the result of its implementation, absent gross negligence or reckless disregard of the hazard, of a winter or inclement weather maintenance policy or set of priorities with respect to such premises, adopted in good faith by the official responsible for such policy. All governmental units, officials, and agents shall be presumed to be acting pursuant to such a policy or set of priorities in the absence of proof to the contrary. Municipal winter maintenance programs certified under RSA 489-C:2-a shall be presumed to meet the standards herein for all public roads, parking areas, and walkways in the absence of proof to the contrary.
7 Effective Date. This act shall take effect July 1, 2020.
20-2899
1/9/20
SB 713-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the municipal winter maintenance certification program.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ X ] Other - Salt Application Fund, RSA 489-C:5, IV | |||
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METHODOLOGY:
This bill allows municipalities to have municipal winter maintenance programs certified by the Department of Environmental Services. The Department of Environmental Services indicates it is unknown how many municipalities would volunteer for the program or what the cost would be to administer the program. The existing program is currently administered by a part-time program coordinator. The Department assumes the new program would add enough work to require the position be converted to full-time. If 30 municipalities, similar in size to a medium sized business, choose to participate, between $10,500 and $15,000 of additional certification fee revenue would be collected. The Department estimates the additional annual cost to convert the Program Coordinator to full-time would exceed this amount of annual fee revenue by $35,000. Training for participants in the program would have a cost to the municipalities that choose to participate. Currently, some municipalities send employees to the UNH Technology Transfer Center for training at a cost of $100 per person. In addition, the Department would charge a fee for certification. The certification fee would be established through rulemaking and is unknown at this time. The Department currently certifies individual commercial applicators for a fee of $250 per master certificate holder and $25 for each subordinate.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Environmental Services
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 28, 2020 | Senate | Hearing |
| March 5, 2020 | Senate | Floor Vote |
: Died on Table
June 30, 2020: Vacated and Laid on Table MA VV 06/30/2020 HJ 10 P. 4
March 12, 2020: Introduced 03/12/2020 and referred to Resources, Recreation and Development HJ 8 P. 227
March 5, 2020: Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 03/05/2020; SJ 5
March 5, 2020: Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 03/05/2020; SC 9
Jan. 28, 2020: Hearing: 01/28/2020, Room 103, SH, 10:15 am; SC 4
Jan. 8, 2020: Introduced 01/08/2020 and Referred to Energy and Natural Resources; SJ 2