HB 1838 New Hampshire House · 2026 Regular Session

establishing a voter-owned elections fund and commission and raising vehicle registration fees.

HB 1838 creates a "voter-owned elections fund" and commission to provide public funding for qualifying candidates, while raising vehicle registration fees to fund it. The bill increases vanity plate fees from $60 to $65 and adds a $1 annual fee for all private passenger vehicles. The new commission will manage the fund and provide financial support to candidates who file a registration affidavit and meet specific spending thresholds during election cycles. This directly affects vehicle owners through higher registration costs and candidates who qualify under the new public financing rules.
Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Dec 18, 2025 Last action Feb 19, 2026
Floor votes

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
7
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Feb 11, 2026
Lower · Passed
Minority Committee Report: Ought to Pass
lower
Feb 11, 2026
Committee
Majority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/03/2026 (Vote 10-7; RC) HC 7 P. 32
lower
Dec 18, 2025
Introduced
Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Election Law HJ 1 P. 38
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Russ Muirhead
Russ Muirhead
DDemocratic
NH
Grafton 12