legislative issues

Transportation affects all of our lives in myriad ways. Former Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray liked to refer to transportation as the “game board" upon which all other aspects of life are played. She made that observation because transportation affects our overall economy, our tourist industry and our education, recreation and health care systems. Without an ability to be mobile, our quality of life can diminish as our options to participate in events or to satisfy the basic needs of everyday life become limited.

The New Hampshire legislature convened for its 2007 session on January 3, and House and Senate committees have begun meeting to consider the approximately 1,200 bills that have been filed. There are many bills that have the potential to have significant impacts on municipalities, and it will be important for municipal officials to share their opinions with legislators.

The following are some of the topics that are likely to be particularly hot this year.

By Cordell A. Johnston, Esq.

November heralds the arrival of the most special time of the year: zoning amendment season! For most towns, the deadline to post notice of proposed zoning amendments is in early January, and the process of drafting the amendments necessarily begins a few months earlier.

House Bill 1645, which became Chapter 300 of the Laws of 2008, made extensive changes to the statutory provisions governing the administration of the New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS). One of the more significant changes affecting employers was the continuation of the medical subsidy via a transfer of $250 million from the special account to the corpus of the pension fund.