Revision: April 9, 2021, 11:54 a.m.
HB 243 - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
9Apr2021... 0546h
2021 SESSION
21-0241
06/11
HOUSE BILL 243
SPONSORS: Rep. Piemonte, Rock. 4; Rep. Yakubovich, Merr. 24; Rep. Weyler, Rock. 13; Rep. J. Osborne, Rock. 4; Rep. Edwards, Rock. 4; Rep. True, Rock. 4; Rep. Torosian, Rock. 14; Rep. Sylvia, Belk. 6; Rep. Verville, Rock. 2; Sen. Gannon, Dist 23
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill requires:
I. Municipal, district, and administrative unit budgets to use full line item detail.
II. Governing bodies to publish statements of estimated expenditures and revenues for the next fiscal year in full line item detail.
III. Governing bodies to submit to the budget committee information necessary for the preparation of the annual budget in whatever detail the budget committee requires.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
9Apr2021... 0546h 21-0241
06/11
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty One
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Budget Preparation; Line Item Detail. Amend RSA 32:5, I to read as follows:
I. The governing body, or the budget committee if there is one, shall hold at least one public hearing on each budget, not later than 25 days before each annual or special meeting, public notice of which shall be given at least 7 days in advance, and after the conclusion of public testimony shall finalize the budget to be submitted to the legislative body. All municipal, district, and school administrative unit budgets shall use a full line item detail in industry-standard electronic spreadsheet format, which shall include all the budget lines used to comprise the complete budget. One or more supplemental public hearings may be held at any time before the annual or special meeting, subject to the 7-day notice requirement. If the first hearing or any supplemental hearing is recessed to a later date or time, additional notice shall not be required for a supplemental session if the date, time, and place of the supplemental session are made known at the original hearing. Public hearings on bonds and notes in excess of $100,000 shall be held in accordance with RSA 33:8-a, I. Days shall be counted in accordance with RSA 21:35.
2 Budget Preparation; Estimate of Expenditures and Revenues. Amend RSA 32:4 to read as follows:
32:4 Estimate of Expenditures and Revenues. All municipal officers, administrative officials, and department heads, including officers of such self-sustaining departments as water, sewer, and electric departments, shall prepare statements of estimated expenditures and revenues for the ensuing fiscal year, and shall submit such statements to their respective governing bodies, at such times and in such detail as the governing body may require, but no fewer than 30 days prior to the public hearing for its budget. The governing body shall publish the draft budget and revised versions, after making any updates to the budget, within 5 days. Budgets shall be published in full line item detail, and made available in CSV and PDF formats for easy viewing and use by common spreadsheet programs.
3 Duties of Governing Bodies; Budget Committee Requirements. Amend RSA 32:17 to read as follows:
32:17 Duties of Governing Body and Other Officials. The governing bodies of municipalities adopting this subdivision, or of districts which are wholly within towns adopting this subdivision, shall review the statements submitted to them under RSA 32:4 and shall submit their own recommendations to the budget committee, together with all information necessary for the preparation of the annual budget, including each purpose for which an appropriation is sought and each item of anticipated revenue, at such [time] times and in such detail as the budget committee shall fix. In the case of a special meeting calling for the appropriation of money, the governing body shall submit such information not later than 5 days prior to the required public hearing. Department heads and other officers shall submit their departmental statements of estimated expenditures and receipts to the budget committee, if requested.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.