Revision: March 4, 2026, 4:48 p.m.
Rep. See, Merr. 26
Rep. Berry, Hills. 44
Rep. Qualey, Ches. 18
Rep. Wherry, Hills. 13
Rep. Wood, Merr. 13
Rep. Prudhomme-O'Brien, Rock. 13
Rep. Aures, Merr. 13
Rep. Guzofski, Rock. 1
Rep. Burnham, Straf. 2
March 3, 2026
2026-0984h
09/08
Amendment to HB 1396
Amend the bill by replacing all after the enacting clause with the following:
1 Vacancies Among Public Officers. Amend RSA 661:8 to read as follows:
661:8 Executive Councilor; State Senator[; State Representative].
I. If a vacancy occurs in the office of executive councilor or state senator, it shall be filled as provided in Part II, Articles 34 and 62 of the state constitution.
II. [If a vacancy occurs in the office of state representative from a single town or ward district, the vacancy may be filled following the provisions of RSA 655:81 and RSA 655:82 in the same manner as a state general election is held. In a multi-town or multi-ward district, a vacancy in the office of state representative shall be filled following the provisions of RSA 655:81 and RSA 655:82 by a special election if the selectmen of any town or the city for any ward in said district so request of the governor or council.
III. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph II, if a vacancy occurs in the office of state representative in a district comprised of a city ward or wards, a request to hold the primary and special elections on the same dates as the city's biennial primary and regular elections may be submitted to the governor and council by the governing body of the city. If so requested, the governor and council shall declare the vacancy not less than 56 days prior to the date of the city's primary election. The filing period shall start on the Monday following the date on which the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election and shall end at 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of that week. The provisions of RSA 655:81, III, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, and XI shall apply to elections held pursuant to this paragraph.
IV.] Within 21 days after proof of a vacancy or a request that a vacancy be filled, the governor, in the case of an executive council vacancy, or the governor and council, in the case of [any other] a senate vacancy, shall declare that there shall be a special election which shall be held as provided in RSA 655:81 and 82 or as provided in RSA 661:8, III.
[V.] III. No special election shall be held after March 15 of the second year of the biennium, as determined by RSA 655:81, I.
2 New Section; Vacancies Among Public Officers. Amend RSA 661 by inserting after section 8 the following new section:
661:8-a State Representative.
Within 21 days after the speaker of the house declares a vacancy exists, the governor with the consent of the council shall appoint a replacement subject to the following:
I. The candidate shall be:
(a) Qualified as provided in RSA 655:8; and
(b) If the vacancy was from a person who was registered in a political party when elected, the replacement shall be registered in the same party as of the date of the previous state general election; or
(c) If the vacancy was from a person who was registered as undeclared or of a minor party affiliation when elected, the replacement shall be registered as undeclared as of the date of the previous state general election.
II. Any vacancies occurring after May 10 of the second year of the biennium shall not be filled;
III. Where a party is indicated in paragraph I(b) above, that party shall nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy. The governor and council shall approve this candidate unless a statutory or constitutional conflict is deemed to exist.
3 Nomination for Special Elections. Amend RSA 655:81 to read as follows:
655:81 Nomination of U.S. Representative, Executive Councilor, and State Senator [and Representative to the General Court].
The nomination of candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives or for the executive council or for the state senate [or for representative to the general court] for special elections shall be accomplished through the holding of special election primaries. The filing of candidates for such primaries and all other matters connected with such primaries shall be the same as for primaries before a state general election except that:
I. The special election shall be held on a Tuesday not less than 110 nor more than 124 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election; [provided, however, that if one or more municipalities where a special election for state representative will be held have a regularly-scheduled election occurring between 80 and 180 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election, the governor and council shall set the date of the election to coincide with the regularly-scheduled election if a majority of the towns or wards, as represented by the city, jointly request that day; if towns or wards, as represented by the city, request that the special election coincide with regularly-scheduled elections occurring on different dates, the election shall be held on a Tuesday not less than 110 nor more than 124 days following the day that the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election;] and
II. The filing period shall start on the Monday following the date on which the governor and council declare that there shall be a special election and shall end at 5:00 p.m. on the Friday of that week; and
III. [Under RSA 655:15, the official with whom state representative candidates shall file shall be the secretary of state, except that a state representative candidate may file with the appropriate town or city clerk under RSA 655:15 or with the secretary of state during the Monday and Tuesday only of the filing period in towns and cities in which the clerk's office is open on one or both of those days, in which case the town or city clerk shall forward each declaration of candidacy to the secretary of state on the same day on which the declaration is filed; and
IV.] The primary shall be held 49 days prior to the special election; and
[V.] IV. Supplementary primary petitions may be filed as needed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the last day of the filing period; and
[VI.] V. The deadline for filing nomination papers shall be no later than 5:00 p.m. on the day set for the primary; and
[VII.] VI. The notice of the primary in RSA 655:11 shall be prepared by the secretary of state and distributed to the town and city clerks as soon as practicable after the setting of the date for the special election; and
[VIII.] VII. Under RSA 655:12, clerks shall post notices of special election primaries as soon as possible after they are received; and
[IX.] VIII. The names of all candidates for a party nomination at a special election primary shall be printed in alphabetical order on the ballot according to the alphabetization procedure established in RSA 656:5-a; and
[X.] IX. The publication of the result provided in RSA 659:89 shall not be required; and
[XI.] X. The deadline for any candidate to request a recount pursuant to RSA 660:7 shall be 5:00 p.m. on the day after the election. A candidate having requested a recount pursuant to this paragraph may, no later than 5:00 p.m. on the Monday after the primary election, withdraw the request and receive a refund of any fees paid.
4 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
2026-0984h
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill allows a vacancy in a state representative seat to be filled by appointment rather than special election.