HB1297 (2024) Detail

Relative to the authority of municipalities to enforce ordinances related to health and safety.


HB 1297-FN - AS INTRODUCED

 

 

2024 SESSION

24-2212

12/08

 

HOUSE BILL 1297-FN

 

AN ACT relative to the authority of municipalities to enforce ordinances related to health and safety.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Read, Rock. 10; Rep. Wheeler, Hills. 33; Rep. T. Mannion, Hills. 1; Rep. Phillips, Rock. 7; Rep. Gallager, Merr. 20; Rep. Phinney, Straf. 9

 

COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires zoning ordinances to be directly related to the promotion of the residents health and safety.

 

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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

24-2212

12/08

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Four

 

AN ACT relative to the authority of municipalities to enforce ordinances related to health and safety.

 

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

 

1  New Subdivision; Direct Benefit to Community.  Amend RSA 674 by inserting after section 76 the following new subdivision:

Direct Benefit to Community

674:76  Direct Benefit to Community Required.  

I.  No local legislative body shall adopt any ordinance that prohibits, regulates, or restricts the use of residential land or structures therein unless the ordinance directly conserves and promotes the health or safety, or general welfare of the community and residents.  The ordinance must provide specific written findings of fact citing the best current scientific evidence relied upon by the legislative body.

II.  No ordinance shall prohibit, regulate, or restrict the use or types of housing; home sizes; building, energy, water, or septic technologies; lot sizes; or residential structures if these uses, sizes, sites, technologies, lots, and or locations meet federal and state standards for health and safety for both inhabitants and other residents of that community and environmental impacts.  This prohibition on zoning ordinances does not apply to commercial structures in commercial zones, multifamily structures of 5 or more units, or subdivisions.

III.  Municipalities may adopt rights-based ordinances as that term is defined in other jurisdictions to restrict specific commercial practices in their jurisdiction, provided such ordinances are for the interest of the health and safety of the residents, including protection of the natural resources and ecosystem of the region, based on best scientific understanding of the direct effects of such practices on such.  Nothing here shall be construed to allow a municipality to infringe on an individual's federal or state constitutional rights.

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

 

LBA

24-2212

11/30/23

 

HB 1297-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT relative to the authority of municipalities to enforce ordinances related to health and safety.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:      [    ] State              [    ] County               [ X ] Local              [    ] None

 

Estimated Political Subdivision Impact - Increase / (Decrease)

 

FY 2024

FY 2025

FY 2026

FY 2027

County Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

County Expenditures

$0

$0

$0

$0

Local Revenue

$0

$0

$0

$0

Local Expenditures

$0

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

Indeterminable Increase

 

METHODOLOGY:

This bill requires zoning ordinances to be directly related to the promotion of the residents health and safety.

 

The New Hampshire Municipal Association states the changes in local zoning laws will demand extensive revisions to existing ordinances, incurring unknown municipal costs for drafting amendments and educating voters.  The interconnection between residential regulations and statutes like septic/sewer restrictions might significantly affect public sewer systems, impacting municipal finances by increasing local expenditures by an indeterminable amount.

 

It is assumed this fiscal impact will not occur until FY 2025.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

New Hampshire Municipal Association

 

Links


Date Body Type
Jan. 24, 2024 House Hearing
Feb. 7, 2024 House Exec Session
Feb. 7, 2024 House Floor Vote

Bill Text Revisions

HB1297 Revision: 39805 Date: Dec. 6, 2023, 12:44 p.m.
HB1297 Revision: 44205 Date: Nov. 17, 2023, 2:12 p.m.
HB1297 Revision: 44206 Date: Nov. 7, 2023, 4:27 p.m.

Docket


March 7, 2024: Lay HB1297 on Table (Rep. L. Turcotte): MA DV 285-65 03/07/2024 HJ 7 P. 85


Feb. 13, 2024: Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/07/2024 (Vote 16-3; RC) HC 9 P. 27


Jan. 31, 2024: Executive Session: 02/07/2024 09:30 am LOB 301-303


Jan. 16, 2024: Public Hearing: 01/24/2024 02:10 pm LOB 301-303


Dec. 6, 2023: Introduced 01/03/2024 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 1 P. 15