Legislative proposal would expand elderly and disabled property-tax relief and require CPI indexing; assessors warn about local autonomy

House Bill 782, introduced to the committee on Feb. 4, proposes a package of changes that would raise optional asset limits for local elderly and disabled exemptions, require municipalities to post information about tax‑relief programs, index certain thresholds to the Consumer Price Index for the Northeast region and direct a study of New Hampshire’s low- and moderate-income homeowner relief program.

Representative Jim Majorie presented the bill and said it would expand eligibility and increase awareness of existing state and local credits and exemptions. The proposal suggested indexing asset thresholds to the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI for the Northeast to keep limits current with inflation.

Jim Michaud, chief assessor for Hudson, noted municipalities already post notices on tax bills per RSA 76:11 and many communities have optional elderly and disabled exemptions with varying asset limits; he cautioned that automatic CPI adjustments could remove local governing bodies’ authority to set limits in a Dillon-rule state and that the logistics of implementing an automatic index need clearer definition (for example, which CPI reference period to use). Michaud gave state data showing current asset-limit ranges and adoption counts: approximately 111 communities have a disabled exemption, with median and average asset limits well below a proposed $750,000 figure.

Committee members asked whether a warrant-article approach could achieve the same result and whether indexing would bind future selectboards. Michaud said current municipal practice already permits local adjustments and urged careful drafting to preserve municipal discretion. The committee took testimony and did not vote on the bill at the hearing.