Thomas Ryan

Chair Pauer, Vice Chair MacDonald, Clerk Bjelobrk, and Members of the House Municipal & County Government Committee, I’m writing to urge you to support HB 1659 (2026) — an enabling, local-option bill that would allow municipalities to adopt a Disabled Veteran Homestead Property Tax Credit for eligible 100% permanently service-connected disabled veterans (including permanent and total IU), so they can remain in the homes they fought to retain. () At a minimum: please allow towns to decide locally New Hampshire towns have already shown strong support for this concept when given the choice. For example, in Londonderry’s March 11, 2025 town election, a citizen-petition warrant article titled “100% Property Tax Exemption – 100% Permanent & Totally Disabled Veterans” passed with 2,186 YES to 1,379 NO. HB 1659 respects New Hampshire’s tradition of local control. It does not mandate a statewide exemption — it simply gives towns the legal authority to act where voters and local officials want to protect severely disabled veterans from being taxed out of their homes. () Why the current system is falling behind (property tax increases vs. stagnant credits) New Hampshire is consistently among the states with the highest effective property tax burdens (Tax Foundation lists NH at ~1.41% of owner-occupied housing value in 2023, among the highest nationally). () Meanwhile, the disabled-veteran property tax credit framework has not kept pace with inflation or real housing/property-tax pressures: The “standard” disabled veteran credit under RSA 72:35 is $700. () Inflation has substantially eroded the value of fixed-dollar credits: CPI rose from roughly the mid-230s (2015) to the low-320s (2025), a large increase over the decade. () Even where towns adopt higher optional amounts, a major 2025 statutory change (HB 99 / Chapter 15, Laws of 2025) changed how credits interact, including limiting “stacking” in ways that can dilute the total relief some veterans previously received. () When credits don’t grow with costs, the impact is predictable: the most severely disabled veterans (often on fixed incomes) are put at risk of losing housing stability — especially in a high-property-tax state. Why SAH grants are the wrong gatekeeper for broad relief New Hampshire’s existing 100% homestead exemption pathway is tied to “specially adapted housing” (SAH) / VA funding mechanisms for a narrow subset of disabilities, as reflected in RSA 72:36-a and related case law summaries. () That approach is too limited because SAH is a home-modification program with specific eligibility criteria, not a general measure of disability-related financial burden. Using SAH as the main filter excludes many veterans who are 100% P&T (or P&T IU) but do not fit the SAH pathway — even though they face the same property-tax risk. HB 1659 is better because it aligns eligibility with VA disability determinations and then leaves adoption to local voters and officials. () Other states provide full homestead exemptions for 100% disabled veterans without SAH conditions Many states provide full (or effectively full) homestead relief based on 100% service-connected disability (often P&T/IU) without requiring a specially adapted housing grant. A well-known example is Texas, which exempts the residence homestead of qualifying 100% disabled veterans from taxation under Texas Tax Code § 11.131. (States vary in structure, but the key point is that other jurisdictions do not require an SAH grant as the primary gateway to meaningful relief.) Request Please support HB 1659 as an Ought to Pass measure — or, at the very least, preserve New Hampshire’s local-option tradition by allowing each town to decide whether it will protect 100% disabled veterans from being taxed out of their homes. Local voters have already demonstrated they will support this when asked. Finally, I’d be remiss not to note that this is an election year, and New Hampshire’s State Primary Election is scheduled for September 8, 2026. Veterans, their families, and supporters are paying close attention to whether lawmakers will defend the ability of disabled veterans to remain housed in the communities they served. () For background reporting on this issue, the Concord Monitor has covered how New Hampshire’s high property tax burden intersects with disabled-veteran relief efforts. () Thank you for your time and consideration. Respectfully, Moira Ryan