Bill would require towns to post 10 years of tax rates and estimated tax impacts of proposed projects

CONCORD, N.H. — The House Municipal and County Government Committee heard testimony April 7 on Senate Bill 217, which would require every New Hampshire town to post the prior 10 years of tax rates and estimated tax impacts of proposed taxpayer‑funded building projects on the front page of the town’s official website and on any social media pages the municipality uses.

Declan Donahue, legislative aide for Sen. Victoria Sullivan (the bill’s prime sponsor), told the committee that the proposal would require postings of county, local and state education, town/municipal and precinct taxes and that historical tax data “are available to municipalities on the Department of Treasury website.” Senator Sullivan said the requirement is intended as a low‑burden transparency step so taxpayers can better understand how property taxes are broken down. “People didn’t understand the structure of their property taxes,” Sullivan said. “Having this in one place where our citizens … can look at it and have an understanding of where their money is going.”

Multiple representatives asked practical questions about placement, timing, accuracy and potential unintended consequences. Representative Fracht and others said mandating placement on a homepage risks “cluttering” pages and suggested a prominent link could satisfy the intent; Sullivan said she wanted the information to be immediately visible and believed links and buried pages reduced accessibility. Representative Davis raised concerns about whether publishing estimated tax impacts constituted impermissible electioneering; Sullivan responded that providing taxpayers with estimates “is important information” and not electioneering because it informs voters.

Testimony from Eric Power (Brookline) supported the bill but urged posting a tax‑effort metric (taxes raised per dollar of valuation) or appropriations trend in addition to or instead of tax rates, arguing tax effort is a more stable measure than rates that fluctuate with revaluations. Power also recommended timing rules for posting project impacts and coordination with school districts on school projects.

Committee member Representative Gilman reported the remote sign‑in results: nine in support, 41 opposed, two neutral; written blue sheets showed one opposed and two in support. The chair closed public testimony on SB 217; the committee did not take a vote at the hearing.

The bill leaves several implementation details unspecified in testimony: timing for posting estimated project impacts, how municipalities should display reappraisal events or bond/lease financing assumptions, and which social media uses would trigger posting obligations. Proponents said the underlying data are public on the Department of the Treasury website; opponents warned the 10‑year historical window could be misleading without contextual notes about revaluations and temporary federal funding.

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