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Bill to let towns prohibit games of chance shifts to three-year licenses; implementation delayed to June 1, 2027
Summary
Conference committee discussion on HB 737 expanded local authority to bar games of chance, moved license terms to three years, and delayed Keynote implementation to June 1, 2027; the committee accepted the Senate position with that date change and retained existing petition signature rules (RSA 39:3).
A Committee of Conference on House Bill 737 agreed to Senate amendments that change how municipalities govern games of chance licenses, move certain license terms to three years, and delay implementation of a change to Keynote rules until June 1, 2027, to give towns additional time to act.
Under the revised language the committee discussed, towns will be able to vote to prohibit games of chance licenses in their jurisdictions. Committee members said prohibiting the underlying games-of-chance license would, by design, make associated licenses such as HHR (historical horse racing) irrelevant because those licenses cannot be issued without the foundational games-of-chance authorization. The bill also switches certain license terms to a three-year cycle and adjusts license fees accordingly.
The committee agreed to delay the Keynote change — which the transcript characterizes as shifting Keynote from an opt-in to a prohibit-by-vote standard — to June 1, 2027, rather than the Senate’s earlier proposed date. The later date was intended to allow municipalities two municipal-ballot cycles to decide whether to prohibit games of chance.
Committee members debated the signature threshold for placing a prohibition on the ballot. The House version had proposed a 25-signature threshold for citizen petitions; the Senate referenced RSA 39:3 (the town petition statute), which the transcript indicates requires 50 signatures in towns of 10,000 or fewer. Several members argued for consistency with existing RSA 39:3; others said 50 signatures could be burdensome in smaller towns. The committee decided to follow the existing RSA process rather than create a new, separate signature threshold.
After discussion and a proposed amendment to change the implementation date to June 1, 2027, members of the House present agreed to accede to the Senate position with that single modification; the amended language will be sent to the Office of Legislative Services for final drafting and the conference report circulated for signatures. The transcript did not record a roll-call tally in the excerpted segment.
