This law expands food assistance programs by ensuring eligible families receive summer benefits on EBT cards and simplifying the application process for elderly SNAP recipients. To support these efforts, the state allocates specific funds for administrative, technology, and outreach costs related to the summer programs. Additionally, the bill establishes a new emergency recovery fund to help municipalities quickly access cash after natural disasters, allowing them to secure federal aid and repair infrastructure. The governor is also granted the authority to declare disasters in affected municipalities to trigger these relief measures.
This law requires schools with grades 4 through 12 to create detailed emergency plans for handling serious sports injuries. These plans must list trained staff, identify locations of medical equipment like automated external defibrillators, and outline steps for treating heat stroke and other specific health conditions. Schools must also share these plans with local emergency services and keep medical records for student athletes on file while protecting their privacy. The new rules for having CPR-trained supervisors on the field for older students begin in August 2025, while other requirements start in August 2024.
This bill reestablishes a commission to study how power generation assets should be taxed. The law directs the commission to propose a method for assessing these assets based on their market value as commercial properties, aiming to create a single, consistent valuation point. This change directly impacts the state's approach to taxing energy infrastructure and seeks to align the assessment process with current market standards. The legislation was signed into law and will take effect on November 1, 2024.
This bill updates New Hampshire's education laws to standardize how the Department of Education administers statewide student assessments in math, English, and science. It requires schools to use a mix of question types, including written responses and open-ended tasks, to measure student learning while protecting privacy by limiting data disclosure to necessary sample sizes. The legislation allows districts to opt for locally developed tests if approved, permits home-schooled and private school students to participate voluntarily, and ensures that assessment results cannot be penalized against students or schools. Additionally, the bill mandates that individual student scores remain anonymous in state records unless parents provide written consent and guarantees that exempted students receive alternative educational activities.
This law requires the state to raise Medicaid payment rates for prosthetic and orthotic devices so they are at least 90% of the rates paid by Medicare, starting July 1, 2024. To achieve this, the state will use $620,000 in funding to adjust payments and must report its progress to a health oversight committee by November 1, 2024. An annual review will also be conducted to ensure these rates remain adequate compared to typical market costs and to close any remaining gaps between Medicaid and Medicare payments. The changes directly affect patients who need braces, hearing aids, or other medical devices and the providers who supply them.
This law allows non-profit organizations in the state to hire outside individuals to run charity auctions without requiring those individuals to hold a professional auctioneer's license. To qualify, the hired person must sign a written contract that clearly defines their duties, compensation, and identifies where the auction money will be held, while strictly prohibiting them from taking a commission or percentage of the sales revenue. Political advocacy groups are explicitly excluded from these rules and must continue to follow standard licensing requirements if they hold auctions. The changes take effect on October 1, 2024.
This bill establishes a financial incentive program for the New Hampshire National Guard to encourage enlistment and reenlistment. Under the new rules, current or former Guard members can receive cash bonuses of up to $1,000 for recruiting new recruits and up to $6,000 for their own reenlistment if they do not qualify for a federal bonus. The legislation also creates a dedicated fund to cover these payments and requires the Adjutant General to manage the program. Additionally, the bill allows the Department of Transportation to continue offering recruitment and retention bonuses to its winter maintenance staff, including referral fees for employees who recommend new hires. These transportation incentives are designed to reduce turnover and ensure adequate staffing for critical safety services, with all expenditures subject to approval by the state's fiscal committee.
This law requires the Department of Safety to create and maintain a statewide database of maps showing where government radio towers and equipment are located. Municipalities, counties, and state agencies must submit their own radio system maps to this repository and keep the information up to date. The resulting database will be available for emergency services and public safety officials to use for planning and to find areas with poor radio coverage. The law takes effect on October 1, 2024.
HB 1059 updates the New Hampshire state building code by officially adopting the 2021 editions of seven major international codes, such as those for plumbing and energy conservation, along with the 2020 National Electrical Code. This change directly affects construction professionals, building owners, and inspectors who must now follow these new standards for new and existing structures. The bill also establishes that any future updates to these codes will only become part of the state law if they are reviewed by the state board and approved by the legislature before taking effect. These updated rules will officially go into force on July 1, 2024.
This bill updates the rules for school districts and public academies regarding the submission of state-required expenditure reports. It allows the state education commissioner to grant extensions for late reporting when justified by unusual circumstances and mandates that all state education funding be withheld until accurate reports are filed. Additionally, the law introduces a new calculation method for education grants in municipalities where schools operate by paying tuition to outside institutions, ensuring grant amounts reflect actual current expenses. The legislation also specifies that a public academy's charter could be revoked if it fails to meet reporting deadlines for two consecutive years.
Signed by Governor Sununu 08/02/2024; Chapter 319; 07/01/2025 HJ 16
This law establishes tax limits for towns and school districts that choose to adopt them, restricting how much they can raise in property taxes compared to the previous year. Local governments can set a fixed dollar amount or percentage cap, with automatic adjustments allowed for inflation and changes in population or student attendance. Towns and school boards can override these limits during annual meetings, but doing so requires a specific voting process where a supermajority of those voting must approve the increase. The rules apply only to communities that voluntarily enact the cap, giving them control over their budget constraints while providing a structured way to exceed them if necessary.
