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Committee divided over bill to give municipal budget committees control of SB2 default budgets
Summary
Witnesses and municipal groups clashed over HB1575 and related bills: proponents argued budget committees should calculate SB2 default budgets and that default figures have ‘‘crept up’’; municipal officials and NHMA warned the change could override local choice and create unintended consequences. The committee advanced some measures and placed others on interim study.
Multiple bills on municipal budgeting and SB2 default budgets prompted extended debate before the Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee.
Supporters including budget‑committee members and the School District Governance Association argued that when voters adopt a municipal budget committee they expect that committee — which prepares the proposed operating budget — to also calculate the default budget used if the operating budget fails on the ballot. Eric Power, president of the School District Governance Association, said the default has in some places risen close to the proposed budget and that giving budget committees authority over the default would provide consistent oversight and produce defaults that better reflect statutory intent.
Municipal representatives and the New Hampshire Municipal Association (represented by Birdie Dees) opposed mandatory reassignment, saying voters already have a local option to delegate default‑budget calculation to the budget committee and that imposing a statewide rule could create confusion—particularly in traditional town meetings, SB2 communities and cooperative school districts. Hudson officials testified their recent local petition to assign the default to the budget committee failed decisively in town votes; they argued the bill would override voter preferences in places where voters chose otherwise.
Committee members voiced mixed views. Some senators noted default budgets that are near the proposed figure frustrate the purpose of an SB2 fallback and expressed support for clearer statutory definitions of what belongs in a default budget. Others expressed concern about mandating a change that would alter long‑standing local practices. After debate, the committee recorded an "ought to pass" vote on the bill that assigns default budget authority to budget committees in some instances (HB1575) while placing related statutory‑cleanup proposals on interim study so stakeholders can refine language.
The discussion included several technical municipal governance bills (HB1526, HB1021, and a series of amendments discussed in executive session). The committee recorded multiple voice votes on amendments and dispositions, advanced HB1600 as OTP and handled motions to interim study or ITL on others. The committee adjourned after completing its calendar.
