HB 1444-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2008 SESSION
03/09
HOUSE BILL 1444-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT relative to vacancies in county offices.
SPONSORS: Rep. Nedeau, Belk 3; Rep. J. Thomas, Belk 5
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
This bill requires a special election to fill vacancies in certain county offices.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
08-2211
03/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eight
AN ACT relative to vacancies in county offices.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Nominations for Special State Elections; County Officers Added. Amend the section heading and introductory paragraph of RSA 655:81 to read as follows:
655:81 Nomination of [U.S.] United States Representative, Executive Councilor, State Senator, [and] Representative to the General Court, and County Officer. The nomination of candidates for the [U.S.] United States House of Representatives or for the executive council or for the state senate or for representative to the general court or for county officer for special elections shall be accomplished through the holding of special election primaries. The filing of candidates for such primaries and all other matters connected with such primaries shall be the same as for primaries before a state general election except that:
2 Vacancies; County Officers. Amend RSA 661:9, I to read as follows:
I. If a vacancy occurs in the office of county sheriff, county attorney, register of deeds, or county treasurer, the members of the county convention shall [fill the vacancy for the unexpired term by majority vote] request the governor and council to declare that there shall be a special election to fill the vacancy following the provisions of RSA 655:81 and RSA 655:82.
3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
08-2211
11/28/07
HB 1444-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT relative to vacancies in county offices.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Secretary of State and the New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill may increase state and local expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill may decrease county expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2008 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Secretary of State, the New Hampshire Municipal Association, and the New Hampshire Association of Counties indicate this bill will require a special election be held when a vacancy occurs in a county office instead of the county convention holding an election. The Secretary of State is not able to determine the number of vacancies that would occur during a term, thus not able to determine the increase in expenditures associated with a special election. For each special election, state expenditures related to the cost of printing ballots for a countywide special election could range from thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states conducting a special election will increase local expenditures. Municipalities within a county having to hold a special election would incur costs associated with running an election, such as voting booth rentals, room rentals, and paying voting officials.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states the change from filling a vacant elected county position using a special election under state election laws versus an election by the county convention may reduce county expenditures for those few times an elected county seat is vacated and needs to be filled.