1 Municipal Budget Law; Budget Committee. RSA 32:14, III is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

III. Voting shall be by official ballot unless the town has not adopted the official ballot, in which case the clerk shall cause the same question to be printed upon special ballots which shall be used to determine the vote of the town at the annual meeting.

(a) If budget committee members-at-large are to be appointed by the moderator pursuant to RSA 32:15, II, the wording of the question shall be: "To assist voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds, shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:14 to establish a budget committee consisting of (number) members-at-large who are appointed by the moderator?"

(b) If budget committee members-at-large are to be elected with initial members-at-large appointed to one year terms by the moderator pursuant to RSA 32:15, III, the wording of the question shall be: ?"To assist voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds, shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:14 to establish a budget committee consisting of (number) members-at-large who are elected, with the initial members appointed to one-year terms by the moderator?"

(c) Except for a town or district that uses an official ballot form of meeting under RSA 40:13 or under a charter adopted pursuant to RSA 49-D, if budget committee members-at-large are to be elected with initial members-at-large elected to one-year terms pursuant to RSA 32:15, III, the wording of the question shall be as follows: "To assist voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds, shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:14 to establish a budget committee consisting of (number) members-at-large who are elected, with the initial members elected to one-year terms by the meeting?"

2 Municipal Budget Law; Adoption. Amend RSA 32:14, V to read as follows:

V. A town or district which has adopted this subdivision may rescind its adoption in the manner described in paragraphs II and III .

3 Municipal Budget Law; Budget Committee Membership. Amend RSA 32:15, III-IV to read as follows:

III. if the meeting decides members-at-large are to be elected, the meeting shall either elect the initial members for one-year terms by means other than by official ballot, or shall authorize the moderator to appoint members to serve until the next annual meeting, as provided in RSA 669:17. Elections for staggered terms, as described in paragraph II, shall not begin until that next annual meeting, and shall be by official ballot if the municipality has adopted the official ballot system, as set forth in RSA 669 .

IV. A town or district which has adopted this subdivision may vote at any subsequent annual meeting to change the number or manner of selection of its members-at-large. No such change shall take effect until the annual meeting following the meeting at which the change was adopted.

4 Cooperative School Districts; Budget Committee. Amend RSA 195:12-a, I to read as follows:

I. A cooperative school district at an annual meeting, under a proper article in the warrant, may vote to establish a budget committee pursuant to RSA 32:14 and may rescind such action in a like manner. The budget committee shall have the same number of members as the cooperative district school board plus one additional member from the school board as provided in this paragraph. The terms of office and manner of election of members shall be determined in the same manner as for the cooperative school board. Whenever it is voted to establish a budget committee, the moderator in the first instance shall appoint the members of the budget committee, except for the additional member appointed from the school board, within 15 days of the vote establishing the committee. The members appointed by the moderator shall serve until the next annual meeting when the meeting shall elect their successors. No member of the cooperative school board shall be appointed or elected to the budget committee except that the chairperson of the cooperative school board shall appoint a member of the board to serve on the budget committee in an ex-officio, non-voting capacity. After appointment or election the budget committee shall promptly organize and choose a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary. The secretary shall keep records of the proceedings of the budget committee, which shall be public records open to public inspection.

5 Repeal. RSA 32:14, IV, relative to procedure if the vote is favorable, is repealed.

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

1 Municipal Budget Law; Budget Committee. RSA 32:14, III is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:

III. Voting shall be by official ballot unless the town has not adopted the official ballot, in which case the clerk shall cause the same question to be printed upon special ballots which shall be used to determine the vote of the town at the annual meeting.

(a) If budget committee members-at-large are to be appointed by the moderator pursuant to RSA 32:15, II, the wording of the question shall be: "To assist voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds, shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:14 to establish a budget committee consisting of (number) members-at-large who are appointed by the moderator?"

(b) If budget committee members-at-large are to be elected with initial members-at-large appointed to one year terms by the moderator pursuant to RSA 32:15, III, the wording of the question shall be: ?"To assist voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds, shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:14 to establish a budget committee consisting of (number) members-at-large who are elected, with the initial members appointed to one-year terms by the moderator?"

(c) Except for a town or district that uses an official ballot form of meeting under RSA 40:13 or under a charter adopted pursuant to RSA 49-D, if budget committee members-at-large are to be elected with initial members-at-large elected to one-year terms pursuant to RSA 32:15, III, the wording of the question shall be as follows: "To assist voters in the prudent appropriation of public funds, shall we adopt the provisions of RSA 32:14 to establish a budget committee consisting of (number) members-at-large who are elected, with the initial members elected to one-year terms by the meeting?"

2 Municipal Budget Law; Adoption. Amend RSA 32:14, V to read as follows:

V. A town or district which has adopted this subdivision may rescind its adoption in the manner described in paragraphs II and III , except that the wording of the question shall be: "Shall we rescind the provisions of RSA 32:14, eliminating the budget committee so that the governing body assumes all budgetary responsibilities for the prudent appropriation of public funds?" .

3 Municipal Budget Law; Budget Committee Membership. Amend RSA 32:15, III-IV to read as follows:

III. If a town or district uses an official ballot form of meeting underRSA 40:13 or under a charter adopted pursuant to RSA 49-D, and the meeting decides members-at-large are to be elected, the meeting shall either elect the initial members-at-large for staggered terms as described in paragraph II at the next annual meeting, or shall authorize the moderator to appoint members-at-large to serve a one-year term until the next annual meeting, as provided in RSA 669:17. Otherwise, if the meeting decides members-at-large are to be elected, the meeting shall either elect the initial members for one-year terms by means other than by official ballot, or shall authorize the moderator to appoint members to serve until the next annual meeting, as provided in RSA 669:17. Elections for staggered terms, as described in paragraph II, shall not begin until that next annual meeting, and shall be by official ballot if the municipality has adopted the official ballot system, as set forth in RSA 669 orRSA 671 .

IV. A town or district which has adopted this subdivision may vote at any subsequent annual meeting to change the number or manner of selection of its members-at-large. No such change shall take effect until the annual meeting following the meeting at which the change was adopted. Currently elected or appointed members-at-large shall continue to serve until the end of their current term.

(a) To change the number of members-at-large, the wording of the question shall be: "Shall we change the number of budget committee members-at-large from (number) to (number)?"

(b) To change the manner of selection of members-at-large, the wording of the question shall be: "Shall we change the manner of selection of budget committee members-at-large from ("appointed by moderator" or "elected by voters") to ("elected by voters" or "appointed by moderator")?"

4 Cooperative School Districts; Budget Committee. Amend RSA 195:12-a, I to read as follows:

I. A cooperative school district at an annual meeting, under a proper article in the warrant, may vote to establish a budget committee pursuant to RSA 32:14 and may rescind such action in a like manner. The budget committee shall have the same number of members as the cooperative district school board plus one additional member from the school board as provided in this paragraph. The terms of office and manner of election of members shall be determined in the same manner as for the cooperative school board. Whenever it is voted to establish a budget committee, the moderator in the first instance shall appoint the members of the budget committee, except for the additional member appointed from the school board, within 30 days of the vote establishing the committee. The members appointed by the moderator shall serve until the next annual meeting when the meeting shall elect their successors. No member of the cooperative school board shall be appointed or elected to the budget committee except that the chairperson of the cooperative school board shall appoint a member of the board to serve on the budget committee in an ex-officio, non-voting capacity. After appointment or election the budget committee shall promptly organize and choose a chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary. The secretary shall keep records of the proceedings of the budget committee, which shall be public records open to public inspection.

5 Repeal. RSA 32:14, IV, relative to procedure if the vote is favorable, is repealed.

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