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Bill would allow municipal websites to be used to post special-meeting warrants
Summary
HB1369 would permit towns to meet the special-meeting public-notice requirement by posting the warrant on a municipal website (or in a newspaper of general circulation and public places), aiming to prevent delays that occur when only weekly papers are available for notice.
Representative Barton offered HB1369 as a short change to RSA 394 to allow municipal special-meeting warrants to be published either in a newspaper of general circulation or posted on the municipality’s official website, with municipal clerks also able to post in public places for residents who lack internet access. The bill was prompted by a local example in which a weekly paper’s publication schedule forced a delay for a special meeting.
The committee discussed the need for multiple posting channels to protect residents without web access. Brody Dees of the NH Municipal Association supported giving towns flexibility to post on websites while noting other statutory posting requirements still apply for place-of-meeting postings and access for non-internet residents.
Members asked about safeguards and whether towns should be required to use multiple outlets; the sponsor was amenable to committee language ensuring alternative postings for those without internet access.
