Rep. Wayne Hemingway

Maddy summaryHB 1654 requires property owners to pay all back taxes and other charges on their property before being issued certain building or occupancy permits. The bill amends state law to allow building inspectors, with local legislative authorization, to withhold these permits until all outstanding financial obligations are settled. This directly affects property owners with unpaid taxes who seek to build or occupy a property. The key mechanism is that permit issuance is contingent on full payment of all taxes and charges due on the property.

Maddy summaryHB 1220 allows New Hampshire school districts to vote on whether their local city council or municipal government can review and approve school budgets instead of direct voter approval. If approved by a majority of voters at an annual school meeting, the local governing body gains authority to approve budgets, replacing the standard process where school budgets are directly voted on by residents. School districts can also later vote to rescind this change and return to the traditional voter approval process. This bill directly affects school districts and their local municipal governments by altering the budget approval mechanism through a voter referendum.