HB 1477 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

relative to the permitting and regulation of anchored seasonal floating platforms on public waters.

HB 1477 regulates seasonal floating platforms on New Hampshire's public waters by requiring permits for most users. It limits installation to adjacent shorefront property owners (with exceptions for government agencies and conservation groups conducting non-recreational work), mandates a $50 permit fee ($25 to the Navigation Safety Fund and $25 to the Cyanobacteria Mitigation Fund), and imposes a $100 fine plus 20% penalty for noncompliance. The bill directly affects recreational users of public waterways who currently place such platforms without permits. Key provisions include standardized identification requirements for platforms and exemptions for permitted conservation and government activities.
Bill status failed 2 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Apr 2026
House Failed
Mar 2026
Governor
Introduced Dec 4, 2025 Last action Apr 23, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

Introduced As Amended by the House · 1 edit
MINOR
The House amendment expands the exemption from anchored seasonal platform permitting to include aquaculture operations, specifically commercial shellfish storage. Previously, only government agencies, their sub-contractors, and conservation groups engaged in non-recreational activities were exempted from the permit requirement. This matters because it allows aquaculture businesses to install floating platforms on public waters without obtaining a permit, provided they meet minimum requirements under RSA 270:72-d.
Scope change
The bill's scope broadened to cover aquaculture businesses (including commercial shellfish storage) as a new category of exempt users who can install seasonal floating platforms on public waters without a permit.
ELIGIBILITY

Aquaculture operations, including commercial storage of shellfish, are now added to the list of entities exempted from the anchored seasonal platform permit requirement (paragraph II). Previously only government agencies, their sub-contractors, and conservation groups engaged in non-recreational activities qualified for this exemption.

Floor votes · House Mar 26, 2026

How they voted

94110
Failed · 19 other
Total votes 223
Mar 26, 2026
D Democratic108
1 Yea 100 Nay 7
92% Nay
I Independent2
1 Yea 1
50% Yea
R Republican113
92 Yea 10 Nay 11
81% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
19
Key actions
4
Committee
7
Amendments
1
Apr 15, 2026
Committee
Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate, 04/23/2026, Vote 3-1; SC 15
upper
Mar 30, 2026
Introduced
Introduced 03/26/2026 and Referred to Ways and Means; SJ 7
upper
Mar 26, 2026
Vote failed
House Vote: fail (94-110-19)
house
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass: MA VV 03/26/2026 HJ 9 P. 17
lower
Mar 18, 2026
Lower · Passed
Minority Committee Report: Ought to Pass
lower
Mar 18, 2026
Committee
Majority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 03/17/2026 (Vote 14-11; RC)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Lower · Passed
Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0067h: MA DV 284-47 02/05/2026 HJ 3 P. 55
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Introduced
Amendment # 2026-0067h: AA VV 02/05/2026 HJ 3 P. 55
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Finance 02/05/2026 HJ 3 P. 55
lower
Jan 27, 2026
Lower · Passed
Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0067h 01/14/2026 (Vote 11-0; RC) HC 5 P. 27
lower
Dec 4, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Resources, Recreation and Development HJ 1 P. 22
lower
1 primary · 6 co-sponsors

Sponsors