N.H. Rev. Stat. § 49-B:4 — NH Code / Title III / Chapter 49-B / Section 4
49-B:4 Charter Commission; Membership; Procedure; Preliminary Report.
Status: in_force

I. The charter commission shall consist of 9 members, all of whom shall be registered voters of the municipality and elected as hereinafter provided. (a) Within 5 days after the deadline for requesting a recount of a vote confirming the establishment of a charter commission, or within 5 days after the recount if a recount is requested, the municipal officers shall meet to order a special election to be held on a Tuesday not less than 35 days or more than 60 days after such meeting for the purpose of electing charter commission members provided, however, that in a municipality with biennial elections, the special election shall be held on a Tuesday not less than 25 days or more than 133 days after such meeting. For purposes of this subparagraph, the provisions of RSA 40:4-c relative to recounts shall apply, except that a recount must be requested no later than the first Friday following the vote. (b) Members shall be elected in the same manner as the municipal officers except that they shall be elected at large and without party designation. The names of the candidates shall be arranged on the ballot in an order determined by lot, publicly selected by the city or town clerk. Declarations of candidacy for the commission shall be filed as provided in RSA 669:19, except that the filing period shall begin on the fourth Wednesday before the election and end on the Friday of the following week. II. Within 5 days after the deadline under RSA 669:30 for requesting a recount, the municipal clerk shall notify those elected to the charter commission of the date, time, and place of the organizational meeting of the charter commission. However, if a recount is requested, such notice shall be given within 5 days after the last recount is completed. The date, time, and place of the organizational meeting shall be fixed by the clerk. The date shall be at least 7 days and not more than 14 days after the date of the notice. The charter commission shall organize by electing from its members a chairperson, a vice chairperson and a secretary and shall file notice thereof with the municipal clerk. Vacancies occurring on the commission shall be filled by vote of the commission from the voters of the municipality. Members shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed from the commission's account for expenses lawfully incurred by them in the performance of their duties. III. The charter commission may adopt rules and regulations governing the conduct of its meetings and proceedings and may employ such legal, research, clerical, or other employees and consultants as are deemed necessary within the limits of its budget. IV. (a) A municipality shall provide its charter commission, free of charge, with suitable office space and with reasonable access to facilities for holding public hearings, may contribute clerical and other assistance to such commission, and shall permit it to consult with and obtain advice and information from municipal officers, officials, and employees during ordinary business hours. The municipal officers shall credit to the charter commission's account a sum of at least $100. A municipality may appropriate additional funds to the charter commission account. Such funds may be raised by taxation, borrowed, or transferred from surplus. (b) In addition to funds made available by a municipality, the charter commission account may receive funds from any other source, public or private, provided that no contribution of more than $50 shall be accepted from any source other than the municipality unless the name and address of the person or agency making the contribution and the amount of the contribution are disclosed in writing filed with the clerk. Within 30 days after submission of its final report the charter commission shall file with the clerk a complete account of all its receipts and expenditures for public inspection. Any balance remaining in its account shall be credited to the municipality's surplus account. V. Before issuing its preliminary report, the charter commission shall hold at least 2 public hearings, scheduled at its discretion. At least one of such hearings shall be for the purpose of receiving information, views, comments, and other pertinent material relative to its functions and at least one shall be for the purpose of explaining, in general terms, its proposed preliminary report and receiving comments on its proposal. The commission may, but is not required to, provide a draft of its preliminary report at the latter hearing. Notice of each such hearing shall be posted in at least 2 public places in the municipality and published in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least 7 days before the date of the meeting. VI. (a) The charter commission shall file with the municipal clerk a preliminary report including the text of the charter which the commission intends shall be submitted to the voters and any explanatory information the commission deems desirable, and shall provide sufficient copies of the preliminary report to the municipal clerk to permit its distribution to each voter requesting it. The commission shall also file the preliminary report with the secretary of state, the attorney general, and the commissioner of the department of revenue administration as provided in RSA 49-B:4-a, I. (b) The preliminary report shall include a written opinion by an attorney admitted to the bar of this state that the proposed charter is not in conflict with the constitution or the general laws. The filing of the preliminary report shall be accomplished by the date indicated below: (1) If the charter commission was elected in a town with its annual meeting in March, on or before October 15 of the same year. (2) If the charter commission was elected in a town with its annual meeting in April, on or before November 15 of the same year. (3) If the charter commission was elected in a town with its annual meeting in May, on or before December 15 of the same year. (4) If the charter commission was elected at a biennial municipal election in November, on or before June 15 of the following year. (5) If the charter commission was elected at a special election, or at any election in a municipality not described in subparagraph (b)(1), (2), (3), or (4), within 170 days after its election. (c) Upon receipt of the preliminary report, the municipal clerk shall, except as provided in paragraph VII, file a certified copy with the appropriate state officials as provided in RSA 49-B:4-a. VII. The commission may recommend, in either its preliminary or its final report, that no new charter be adopted. If the commission makes such a recommendation in its preliminary report, the preliminary report shall be deemed a final report and shall not be submitted to the state officials for review under RSA 49-B:4-a. If the commission makes such a recommendation in either the preliminary or final report, no charter question shall be placed on the municipal ballot, and the commission shall take no further action except to wind up its affairs within 60 days after the submission of its report.