HB 412-LOCAL - AS INTRODUCED
2025 SESSION
25-0800
05/08
HOUSE BILL 412-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to elections and appointments to fill vacancies of local cooperative school boards.
SPONSORS: Rep. Spilsbury, Sull. 3
COMMITTEE: Election Law
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ANALYSIS
This bill requires cooperative school boards to elect representatives from pre-existing districts only from voters within the district. The bill also requires that appointments to fill vacancies for members of cooperative school boards with at large elections shall be domiciled in the same municipality as the outgoing member.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
25-0800
05/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Five
AN ACT relative to elections and appointments to fill vacancies of local cooperative school boards.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Composition of Cooperative School Boards. Amend RSA 195:19-a to read as follows:
195:19-a Composition of Cooperative School Boards. The number, composition, method of selection, and terms of members of cooperative school boards shall be as provided in the bylaws or articles of agreement of the cooperative school district, as the case may be; provided, however, that such bylaws and articles of agreement shall be limited to the alternatives contained herein where applicable; and provided further that no cooperative school district in existence on August 22, 1971 shall be required to conform hereto unless it is so voted pursuant to RSA 671:9.
I. All members of the cooperative school board shall be elected at large; or
II. The cooperative school district shall be divided into single board member districts according to population with as nearly equal population in each district as possible; or
III. The cooperative school district shall be divided into multi-board member districts or a combination of single member or multi-member districts so that proportional representation will be most nearly achieved; or
IV. The members of the cooperative school board shall each be domiciled in and represent a pre-existing district with each pre-existing district having at least one such resident representative [but all members of the cooperative school board shall be elected at large] who shall be elected within their own district; or
V. Such other method of selection of cooperative school board members compatible with proportional representation, one-man one-vote principle as may be approved by the state board of education.
VI. The terms of the members of the cooperative school board shall be as provided in the bylaws or articles of agreement provided that in no case shall such terms exceed 3 years.
VII. Whenever the bylaws or articles of agreement provide for the election of cooperative school board members pursuant to this chapter, said election shall be with the use of the non-partisan ballot system under RSA 669.
VIII. When a vacancy occurs in any cooperative school board seat that is elected at large, any successor appointed to fill the vacancy shall be domiciled in the same municipality as the outgoing member was at the time of their election.
2 School District Elections; Vacancies. Amend RSA 671:33, II(b) to read as follows:
(b) In a cooperative school district, the remaining school board members representing the same town or towns as the departed member shall fill a vacancy on the school board, provided that there are at least 2 such members. A member-at-large shall also be included as a representative of the same town. If there are less than 2 remaining members on the cooperative school board representing the same town or towns as the departed member, or if the remaining members are unable, by majority vote, to agree upon an appointment, the selectmen of the town or towns involved shall fill the vacancy by majority vote in convention. If the selectmen are unable to fill the vacancy then the cooperative school district moderator shall make the appointment. A member appointed to fill a vacancy under this subparagraph shall satisfy the requirements under RSA 195:19-a, VIII and shall serve until the next district election when the voters of the district shall elect a replacement for the unexpired term.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
| Date | Body | Type |
|---|---|---|
| March 5, 2025 | House | Hearing |
| March 4, 2025 | House | Exec Session |
| March 18, 2025 | House | Exec Session |
March 12, 2025: ==CONTINUED== Executive Session: 03/18/2025 10:00 am LOB 306-308
Feb. 27, 2025: ==RECESSED== Executive Session: 03/04/2025 01:00 pm LOB 306-308
Feb. 20, 2025: Public Hearing: 02/25/2025 01:30 pm LOB 306-308
Jan. 10, 2025: Introduced (in recess of) 01/09/2025 and referred to Election Law HJ 3 P. 8