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Committee backs bill modernizing New Hampshire state plane coordinate system
Summary
Lawmakers advanced SB 560 to align state statute with the National Geodetic Survey 2022 modernization: a satellite‑based datum and adoption of the international foot. DOT, surveyors and land‑survey professionals said coordinates will be transformed mathematically but monuments will not move.
The committee voted unanimously in executive session to report Senate Bill 560FN as ought to pass after a short public hearing. Representative Tom Corman introduced the bill, which adopts the National Geodetic Survey’s 2022 modernization for New Hampshire’s state plane coordinate system and standardizes use of the international foot for mapping.
Department of Transportation survey staff and the New Hampshire Land Surveyors Association explained the change is primarily technical and necessary to align state law with federal surveying and mapping practices. They emphasized that the update will not physically move monuments or property corners; instead, coordinates will be transformed into the modern datum using mathematical transformations. Surveyors said software and common tools already perform these transformations and no new GPS hardware is required.
The DOT said the change will improve geodetic accuracy, reflect satellite‑based reference frames and simplify future federal compliance. The committee placed SB 560 on the consent calendar with a unanimous 14–0 vote in favor of an ought‑to‑pass report, noting the measure imposes no new costs on property owners or municipalities and serves as housekeeping to modernize mapping statutes.
