Sen. Kevin Avard

Maddy summarySB 62 restricts local law enforcement agencies from participating in federal immigration enforcement programs, such as the 287(g) program, which allows state officers to assist with federal immigration detainers. It directly affects municipal and county police departments by prohibiting them from cooperating with federal immigration authorities on immigration-related matters. The bill’s key provision bans state and local law enforcement from using state resources to enforce federal immigration law or share information about individuals solely based on immigration status. This law takes effect on January 1, 2026, and applies to all state and local law enforcement agencies within the jurisdiction.

Maddy summaryHB 247 allows municipalities to hold referendums on whether to permit historic horse racing betting. It directly affects local governments (which can vote on the issue) and licensed racing entities (which can operate without referendum approval in areas that haven’t voted). The bill’s key provision modifies state law to permit existing license holders to operate and renew licenses in municipalities that haven’t approved such betting, while requiring new licenses for facilities in areas without prior approval. This creates a two-tier system: current operators can continue in unapproved areas, but new operators must secure local referendum approval first. The bill focuses on procedural changes to licensing, not on expanding or restricting the activity itself.

Maddy summarySB 225 requires municipalities with a population over 10,000 that conduct annual property appraisals to hold two public hearings before authorizing the appraisal. It mandates that these municipalities provide property owners with at least 45 days' notice of changes to their assessed valuation before the final tax bill is issued. For all municipalities performing five-year property reappraisals, the bill also requires a 45-day notification period for valuation changes. Notices must be distributed through various methods, including individual mail, local newspapers, municipal websites, and public postings.

Maddy summaryHB 302 allows New Hampshire's state treasurer to invest up to 5% of public funds (including general and revenue stabilization funds) in gold, silver, or platinum bullion, coins, or digital assets with over $500 billion in average market capitalization. It requires all digital assets to be held through secure custody solutions meeting strict security standards (like private key control by the government and multi-party transaction approval) or via qualified custodians. Precious metals must be held either as exchange-traded products, in physical form with qualified custodians, or directly by the state. The bill explicitly prohibits investments exceeding the 5% cap and mandates specific custody safeguards for all assets.

Maddy summarySB 228 revises regulations for net energy metering, affecting customer-generators, community solar projects, and municipal entities. It allows customer-generators to participate as group members in net metering arrangements, provided they are not the host. The bill mandates the authorization of at least two new low-moderate income community solar projects annually per utility and triples the aggregate capacity limit for these projects to 18 megawatts. It also refines how group hosts are compensated to ensure payments do not exceed the group's total electricity costs, and expands the definition of "political subdivision" for municipal host eligibility to include nonprofit educational institutions.

Maddy summarySB 230 proposes updates to the legal definitions related to electric utility restructuring and distributed energy resources. The bill establishes a new definition for "Small modular reactors" (SMRs), specifying them as advanced nuclear reactors with a power capacity of up to 300 megawatts. It then modifies the definition of "Distributed energy resources" to explicitly include these newly defined SMRs. This change would allow SMRs to be considered among the resources used for strategies like reducing line losses or supporting voltage regulation within the electric distribution system.