Committee advances bill to remove year‑long vacancies from default budgets; chair says it will be tabled on floor

The Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee voted in executive session to advance House Bill 475, which would limit inclusion of salaries and benefits for positions that have been vacant for more than a year from default budgets used in official‑ballot (SB2) jurisdictions. Sponsor testimony said the change would force municipalities and districts to either fill needed positions or remove them from the default budget so voters can see what they are approving.

Representative Christine Perez, who presented the bill on behalf of Representative Robert Dunn, said the bill would prevent departments from leaving salary and benefit amounts for perpetually vacant positions on the default budget. “If that is not filled, then they cannot have it on the default budget for next year,” she said, summarizing the text.

The New Hampshire School Boards Association (Barrett Christina) opposed the bill, arguing that school districts face persistent staffing shortages for paraprofessionals, cafeteria staff and other support workers. Barrett Christina told senators that paraprofessional positions turn over frequently and that reconstructing a default budget that excluded positions vacant during the prior year would be administratively impractical; business offices could not reliably determine which vacancies to exclude given rolling hiring and variable benefits.

Supporters including Aubrey Friedman of Bridgewater said default budgets tend to grow and that the proposal would prevent “padding” that allows shifting funds without voter approval. In executive session the committee voted to advance the bill; the transcript records that the motion carried 3–2. The committee initially placed the bill on the consent calendar, but later the chair stated he would remove the bill from consent because senators plan to make a tabling motion on the Senate floor.

Committee debate ranged from concerns about workforce shortages that make it difficult to maintain filled positions, to practical questions about whether a district that fills a position with multiple paraprofessionals should be treated as having filled a certified teacher vacancy. Witnesses warned the bill could create unintended fiscal or operational problems for districts that must meet students’ legal service needs.

The committee’s action advances the measure to the Senate calendar, but the chair’s announcement that it will be removed from consent and likely tabled on the floor means its ultimate status will be decided at the full Senate.