Title I, The State and Its Government

I. Fiscal impact notes shall be prepared by the legislative budget assistant with such assistance and data as he may require from any state agency, political subdivision, or any other source of data which he deems reliable, including but not limited to private individuals, corpor…

The fiscal note shall accompany the bill throughout its course of passage through the general court and to the governor for action and shall be amended as necessary to correct errors or to agree with substantive amendments to the bill.

The word "LOCAL" shall be placed after each house and senate bill number of all legislation and all proposed amendments which may impact local expenditures or which require the state to forward all or part of any designated revenues to the cities or towns. The office of legislati…

I. (a) For the purpose of this paragraph, "study committee" shall mean a committee, commission, task force, council, or any other similar entity established by the general court in chapter law to study or otherwise address a specified issue, and shall not include any similar enti…

The committee shall adopt, publish, and make available to the public rules governing its procedures as well as guidelines referred to in RSA 14-B:3, II consistent with the procedures set forth in RSA 541-A.

The clerks of the senate and house shall act as clerks of the next succeeding senate and house respectively until clerks thereof are chosen and sworn.

The secretary of state shall establish a form for reporting of receipt of an honorarium or expense reimbursement, or other such report required by this chapter, which may be in paper or electronic form. I. The report shall include at a minimum the following information, which sha…

The president of the senate may appoint a legal counsel who shall be an attorney. The compensation of the legal counsel shall be set at a rate to be determined by the senate subcommittee of the legislative facilities committee established under RSA 17-E:5. The legal counsel shall…

I. The sworn members of the legislative security staff while on official duty shall have the authority of an ex officio constable including the power to detain persons who are creating a disturbance or who they have reasonable grounds to believe have committed any offense under t…

I. The legislature may enter into a memorandum of understanding with a private entity to implement a program that will allow the state house to be open to the public. The memorandum of understanding shall consider: (a) Guided tours of the state house provided by volunteer tour gu…

I. There shall be a general court administrative office in the state house under a director of the administrative office. The director may employ and contract for such additional professional, technical, clerical, or other employees necessary to perform the functions and duties o…

The secretary of state shall furnish all forms required under this chapter. All persons filing a report under this chapter shall file with the secretary of state. The reports shall be held in the original form for 6 years from the date of filing, after which time they may be dest…

All records required to be filed or placed on file with the secretary of state under the provisions of this chapter, or with the clerk of the senate or the clerk of the house of representatives under the rules or guidelines adopted in accordance with RSA 14-B:5, shall be made ava…

I. Members of the general court may participate at their own expense in a group health and dental insurance arrangement for members of the general court during their tenure in office. Such group health and dental insurance arrangement shall be the state employees group insurance …

The clerk of the house of representatives shall prepare a roll of members elected, for use in its organization, and shall place upon it only the names of those who present certificates of election issued in conformity to law; and if certificates are presented for more representat…

As soon as possible after every final adjournment of a session of the general court, and in any case consistently with the schedule of performance set forth in contracts for printing and binding of the journals of the general court, the clerks of each house shall file with the pr…

Any person who knowingly fails to comply with the provisions of this chapter or knowingly files a false report shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. It shall be an absolute defense in any prosecution under this chapter that the person acted in reliance upon an advisory opinion on the…

It shall be the duty of the attorney general to examine the reports which are made under this chapter to the secretary of state and to compel such returns be made to comply with the law.

Every representative, senator, and officer of the house of representatives and the senate, shall file with the legislative ethics committee a financial disclosure form no later than the third Friday of January in the first legislative session of the biennium. If the legislator's …

All bills and resolutions which have passed both branches of the legislature shall be forwarded to the office of legislative services to be there enrolled and prepared for submission to the governor. After such enrollment the bill or resolution shall be forwarded by the secretary…

This chapter shall not be construed to: I. Prevent receptions, breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, dances, or picnics or like events from being held for the sole purpose of raising political contributions, provided such contributions comply with and are reported as required by RSA 66…

All forms filed under RSA 14-B:8 shall be on file with the secretary of state on or before February 15 in the first legislative session of the biennium.

After any bill or joint resolution has been enrolled and approved, as provided by RSA 14:8, and signed by the speaker of the house, or his designee, and by the president of the senate, or his designee, it shall be presented by the secretary of state to the governor for his approv…

I. Except as provided in paragraphs II and III, and except for resolutions, which shall take effect upon their passage, each law passed by the general court shall take effect 60 calendar days following passage, excluding the date on which it is signed by the governor, or the last…

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that the performance of official duties does not give rise to a conflict of interest, by prohibiting certain gifts and by requiring certain persons to file with the secretary of state a report of any honorariums or expense reimbursements r…

[Paragraph I effective until January 1, 2027; see also paragraph I set out below.] I. Any person who is employed for a consideration by any other person, except the state of New Hampshire, in a representative capacity for the purposes specified in paragraph II of this section sha…

The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that the performance of official duties does not give rise to a conflict of interest, by requiring the following persons to file a statement of financial interests with the secretary of state. This chapter shall be liberally construed to e…

It shall be the duty of the attorney general to examine the reports which are made under this chapter to the secretary of state and to compel such returns be made to comply with the law.

No person shall be excused from testifying in a proceeding instituted against another person under the foregoing sections for the reason that he might thereby incriminate himself; but no testimony so given by him shall be used directly or indirectly as evidence against him in any…

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the…

This chapter shall not be construed to: I. Prevent receptions, breakfasts, luncheons, dinners, dances, or picnics or like events from being held for the sole purpose of raising political contributions, provided such contributions comply with and are reported as required by RSA 66…

If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the…

For the purposes of this chapter: I. "Agency" means the executive branch and any department, division, board, commission, or equivalent entity of the executive branch. II. "Constitutional official" means the secretary of state, the state treasurer, their deputies, assistants, and…

I. Any person who is required to register as a lobbyist under RSA 15:1 shall wear on his or her outer garment a clearly visible name tag when lobbying in the state house or the legislative office building, or before the governor, governor and council, or a state agency. Such name…

In this chapter: I. "Agency" means the executive branch and any department, division, board, commission, or equivalent entity of the executive branch. II. "Agency head" means the commissioner or equivalent leader of any department, and the highest ranking member of any commission…

I. It shall be unlawful to knowingly give any gift as defined in this chapter, directly or indirectly, to any elected official, public official, public employee, or constitutional official. II. It shall be unlawful to knowingly give any gift as defined in this chapter, directly o…

I. The lobbyist registration shall be on a form prescribed by the secretary of state that shall at a minimum include: (a) The full name of the person registering, if that person is affiliated with a partnership, firm, or corporation, the name of that partnership, firm, or corpora…

I. The following persons shall file a statement of financial interests as required by this chapter: (a) All candidates who file for state or county office. (b) All persons filing an acceptance of nomination form for state or county office. (c) Every person appointed by the govern…

The governor shall file with the secretary of state an organizational chart identifying the names and titles of all persons who are acting on behalf of the governor and who are required to file a statement of financial interests. Each agency head shall file with the secretary of …

No public official or public employee shall accept an honorarium from a person who is subject to or likely to become subject to or interested in any matter or action pending before, or contemplated by, the public official, public employee, or the governmental body with which that…

The fee for registration as a lobbyist under RSA 15:1 for any one year shall be $50 for each person lobbying for each reported client or employer. A fee shall be paid for each individual who acts as a lobbyist for each client or employer regardless of his or her affiliation with …

I. Except as provided in paragraph II, no recipient of a grant or appropriation of state funds may use the state funds to lobby or attempt to influence legislation, participate in political activity, or contribute funds to any entity engaged in these activities. II. Any recipient…

The secretary of state shall establish a uniform statement of financial interests, which may be in paper or electronic form. I. The statement of financial interest shall include: (a) The full text of RSA 15-A. (b) The full name, work address, work phone number, primary occupation…

An elected official, public official, public employee, or constitutional official may accept expense reimbursement for the reasonable expenses for attendance, registration, travel, meals, and lodging for a bona fide conference, meeting, seminar, or educational or informational pr…

I. Each lobbyist shall file with the secretary of state itemized statements under oath of: (a) All fees received from any lobbying client that are related, directly or indirectly, to lobbying, such as public advocacy, government relations, or public relations services including r…

All persons subject to this chapter shall file a statement of financial interests annually no later than the third Friday in January. All persons subject to this chapter, except those who are elected, shall file a statement of financial interests within 14 days of assuming the of…