HB 149 · 2025 · House · Municipal and County Government Committee
Voting on amended warrant articles
AI-generatedrelative to warrant article approvals at ballot referenda form of town meeting.
Allows both the original and any amended version of a warrant article to be voted on by voters at ballot referenda forms of town meeting.AI-generated
Status
Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · March 13, 2025- ✓Introduced
- ✕House
- Senate
- Governor
- Law
Analysis
This bill allows both the original and amended warrant article to be voted on by voters at ballot referenda forms of town meeting.
From the bill's official ANALYSIS section.
In the bill's words
Quoted verbatim from the bill as introduced. Passages chosen from the operative text.Computed by this site
“For warrant articles that are amended, both the original warrant article and amended warrant article shall be placed consecutively on the official ballot for a final vote [on the main motion, as amended].”
“Approval of all warrant articles shall be by simple majority except for questions which require a 2/3 or 3/5 vote by law, contract, or written agreement.”
“In the case of a warrant article amended by the first session per paragraph IV, if the original and amended versions of the warrant article are both approved, only the version with the higher percentage of "yes" votes shall be adopted.”
“Immediately preceding the original warrant article on the official ballot, the following statement shall appear:”
Official record
gc.nh.gov · the authoritative source
Sponsors
- Rep. Diane PauerRChair· Municipal and County Government
- Rep. Robert WherryRChair· Special Committee on COVID Response Efficacy
- Rep. James CreightonRChair· Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
- Sen. Kevin AvardRDeputy Majority Whip
Also: Rep. Richard LascellesR
Public testimony
14 signed in online · 2 wrote testimony
7% support93% oppose0% neutral
In their wordsVerbatim, exactly as submitted
“New Hampshire City and Town Clerks are opposed to this bill. It could make the ballots very confusing to the voters. It could also make the ballots extremely long. What if the amendment is just clerical, would we be required to still put both on the ballot?”
“I urge you to reject this bill, as it would create enormous confusion for voters. Especially those voters who would not have been in attendance at deliberative session.…”
Verbatim excerpts of submitted testimony, quoted from the testimony tool.
Read the testimony · as of Aug 12, 2026
Votes
yeanay- Feb 10, 2025HouseCommittee report· regular calendar: Inexpedient to Legislate16–2Overall89% yea
- Mar 13, 2025HouseDivisionInexpedient to LegislateAdopted244–112Overall69% yea
Hearings and debates
- Jan 30, 2025Public hearingHouse Municipal and County Government42:31–1:02:2619m 55slocated in the stream transcriptPublic Hearing
- Feb 10, 2025Public hearingHouse Municipal and County Government5:31:28–5:40:078m 39slocated in the stream transcriptMajority Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate — roll call; Executive Session
- Mar 13, 2025Floor debateHouse floor6:24:26–6:28:113m 45slocated in the stream transcriptInexpedient to Legislate — adopted, division 244-112
Timestamps locate where this bill is taken up in the chamber's YouTube stream.
Legislative history
- Jan 8, 2025HouseIntroduced 01/08/2025 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 2 P. 8
- Jan 30, 2025HousePublic Hearing: 01/30/2025 10:10 am LOB 301-303
- Feb 10, 2025HouseExecutive Session: 02/10/2025 02:00 pm LOB 301-303
- Feb 10, 2025HouseMajority : Inexpedient to Legislate 02/10/2025 (Vote 16-2; RC)
- Feb 12, 2025HouseMinority : Ought to Pass
- Mar 13, 2025HouseInexpedient to Legislate: MA DV 244-112 03/13/2025 HJ 8 P. 82
Coverage
No reporting linked yet.
Background reading
Evergreen reading on the policy area — spanning perspectives — not coverage of this specific bill.
- Warrant Article 101: The Basics of Warrant Article Origin, Content, Legality and AmendmentNH context — explainer
New Hampshire Municipal Association — The state municipal association explains how town meeting warrant articles are created, worded, and placed on the warrant.AI-generated
New Hampshire Municipal Association — A legal Q&A on town officials' duties to notify and inform voters ahead of annual town meeting.AI-generated
- Public Notice Resource CenterSupporters — print notice
Public Notice Resource Center — A nonprofit that argues published newspaper notices keep government transparency independent and verifiable.AI-generated
- Safety Isn't an Issue in Going PaperlessModernization
R Street Institute — A think-tank commentary making the case that moving official notices online can be reliable and lower-cost.AI-generated
Documents (PDF)
Bill text & amendments link direct to gc.nh.gov; committee reports stream from the state record.