HB 548-FN-LOCAL – AS INTRODUCED
2009 SESSION
03/10
HOUSE BILL 548-FN-LOCAL
AN ACT requiring municipalities to have dedicated post office boxes for receipt of absentee ballots.
SPONSORS: Rep. Nord, Rock 1; Rep. Mann, Rock 1
This bill requires municipalities to have dedicated post office boxes for receipt of absentee ballots.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
09-0717
03/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT requiring municipalities to have dedicated post office boxes for receipt of absentee ballots.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 New Section; Post Office Box for Receipt of Absentee Ballots. Amend RSA 657 by inserting after section 17 the following new section:
657:17-a Post Office Box for Receipt of Absentee Ballots. Every municipality shall have a United States Postal Service post office box that is reserved exclusively for receiving absentee ballots. The clerk shall instruct all absentee voters that, if they mail their absentee ballots, they shall send the ballots to the dedicated post office box. No person other than the town or city clerk shall be permitted to retrieve mail from the dedicated post office box. The clerk shall assure that he or she has access to the post office box outside of regular business hours in order that time requirements for receiving, delivering, and processing absentee ballots established by law may be met.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
09-0717
01/14/09
HB 548-FN-LOCAL - FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT requiring municipalities to have dedicated post office boxes for receipt of absentee ballots.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill will increase local exependitures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2009 and each year thereafter. There will be no fiscal impact on state and county expenditures or state, county, and local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill requires municipalities to reserve a post office box exclusively for receipt of absentee ballots. The Association states the average cost of the smallest post office box in the 13 cities is $71 per year, and the average cost of the smallest post office box in a sample of 15 towns is $52 per year. There is an additional cost of $2 for the issuance of two post office box keys. The Association notes it may not be possible to accommodate all absentee ballots in the smallest size post office box, so costs may be higher. Because the exact cost of post office boxes and volume of ballots is unknown, it is not possible to estimate the increase in local expenditures at this time.
The Department of State states there will be no fiscal impact on state revenues or expenditures.