HB 1657 - AS INTRODUCED
2026 SESSION
26-3025
05/06
HOUSE BILL 1657
AN ACT relative to the reporting and elimination of prolonged vacancies in state government.
SPONSORS: Rep. Layon, Rock. 13; Rep. Popovici-Muller, Rock. 17; Rep. Sabourin dit Choiniere, Rock. 30
COMMITTEE: Executive Departments and Administration
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ANALYSIS
This bill directs state agencies to identify vacant positions and provide such information to the joint committee on employee classification, and following review by the joint committee, legislation to abolish the position may be proposed by the joint committee.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-3025
05/06
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT relative to the reporting and elimination of prolonged vacancies in state government.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Paragraph; Joint Committee on Employee Classification; Policy Regarding Vacant Positions. Amend RSA 14:14-c by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph:
V. The acting administrative head of each state agency shall identify, on a rolling basis, all full and part-time classified and unclassified positions in the agency that have been vacant for at least 90 days and report such information to the joint committee on employee classification, the governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the fiscal committee of the general court, the chairmen of the house and senate executive departments and administration committees, and the executive council. The report shall include a spreadsheet including the agency; classified or unclassified status; pay grade; position code; funded or unfunded status; allocation of funding for the position between state general funds, federal funds, or specific state funds; date the position became vacant; days vacant as of the report and the accounting unit description. Any full or part-time classified or unclassified position in an agency that has been vacant for at least 90 days shall not be filled without express approval of the governor and the executive council.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Dec. 12, 2025: Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Executive Departments and Administration HJ 1