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HB 1427 · 2026 · House · Municipal and County Government Committee

Limits on municipal and school bonding

AI-generated

limiting the authority of a municipality, county, or school district to issue bonds.

Limits the authority of municipalities, counties, and school districts to issue bonds to cases involving declared emergencies, essential infrastructure at risk, securing matching funds, or express voter approval.AI-generated

Status

Killed in the House — Inexpedient to Legislate · February 19, 2026
  1. ✓Introduced
  2. ✕House
  3. Senate
  4. Governor
  5. Law

Analysis

This bill limits the authority of municipalities, counties, and school districts to issue bonds to only circumstances of declared emergencies, where essential infrastructure is at risk, for securement of substantial matching funds, or where directed by the express will of the voters.

From the bill's official ANALYSIS section.

Official record

Bill page — docket & status

gc.nh.gov · the authoritative source

Sponsors

Rep. Donald McFarlaneRPrime
  • Rep. Ross BerryRChair· Election Law
  • Rep. Dan McGuireRVice Chair· Finance
  • Rep. Marie Louise BjelobrkRClerk· Municipal and County Government

Also: Rep. Travis CorcoranR, Rep. Mary MurphyR, Rep. Diane KelleyR, Rep. Linda McGrathR

Public testimony

10 signed in online · 3 wrote testimony

30% support70% oppose0% neutral

In their wordsVerbatim, exactly as submitted

“Some municipality administrations have shown the incompetence to issue in-debt themselves for decades into the future on short-term items and labor (which should always be ANNUAL budgeting). They keep piling on debt service until a huge portion of budget is absorbed by obligations.…”
— Daniel Richardson, Nashuasupports
“On behalf of the City Council for the City of Rochester, we write to express opposition to HB 1427. Bonds are essential for municipalities, counties, and schools to provide the services and infrastructure our citizens rely on in their daily lives.…”
— Katie Ambrose, Rochester · Rochester City Councilopposes
“I have represented my school, my city and my county over the past 20 years. In each entity, they use capital reserves for mid-priced expenditures such as snow plows and project under $500,000. For high-priced expenditures such as building projects, they use long-term bonding.…”
— Terry Clark, Keeneopposes

Verbatim excerpts of submitted testimony, quoted from the testimony tool.

Read the testimony · as of Aug 12, 2026

Hearings

  • 2026-01-239:00 amHouse Municipal and County GovernmentGP 154Public hearing
  • 2026-02-031:00 pmHouse Municipal and County GovernmentGP 154Public hearing
  • 2026-02-109:00 amHouse Municipal and County GovernmentGP 154Public hearing

Legislative history

  1. Jan 7, 2026HouseIntroduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government HJ 1 P. 20
  2. Jan 23, 2026HousePublic Hearing: 01/23/2026 10:00 am GP 154
  3. Feb 3, 2026House==RECESSED== Executive Session: 02/03/2026 01:00 pm GP 154
  4. Feb 10, 2026House==CONTINUED== Executive Session: 02/10/2026 09:00 am GP 154
  5. Feb 10, 2026House: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/10/2026 (Vote 13-5; RC) HC 7 P. 36
  6. Feb 19, 2026HouseInexpedient to Legislate: MA RC 234-112 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 95

Coverage

No reporting linked yet.

Documents (PDF)

Bill text & amendments link direct to gc.nh.gov; committee reports stream from the state record.