reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:5-a - Firefighter Services Leave.

227-L:5-a Firefighter Services Leave. –
I. Any state employee who is a certified volunteer wildland firefighter may, with the authorization of the employee's supervisor, be granted a leave of absence with pay to participate in wildland fire emergencies to include non-wildland fire emergencies in another state or province pursuant to an agreement with the following: The Northeastern Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact and the United States federal government. Requests for assistance shall be received and dispatched via the department of natural and cultural resources, division of forests and lands.
II. An employee, under this section, after completing one year in state service, may be entitled to not more than 30 working days in any fiscal year for such duty. Each participating employee shall be paid the employee's regular pay plus overtime. Upon the employee's return, the division of forests and lands shall bill the agency that requested aid for all reimbursable costs incurred pursuant to the terms of the agreement with the Northeastern Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact and/or the United States federal government. The division shall provide reimbursement to the departments for which the firefighter is employed.
III. All funds reimbursed for services provided under this section shall be deposited in the appropriate pay or overtime account of the agency for whom the state employee works.
IV. This section shall not apply to employees of the department of natural and cultural resources.
Source.
2008, 162:1, eff. June 6, 2008. 2017, 156:14, I, eff. July 1, 2017.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:6 - Duties of Personnel.

227-L:6 Duties of Personnel. –
It shall be the responsibility of such personnel appointed within the provisions of RSA 227-L:4 to carry out duties assigned by the director in enforcing state forest laws and rules; directing and aiding forest fire wardens, deputy forest fire wardens, and other forest fire personnel in the performance of their duties; and performing other duties as may be authorized by law and as directed by the director and the commissioner.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:7 - Forest Fire Warden Appointment.

227-L:7 Forest Fire Warden Appointment. –
I. The selectmen of towns and the mayors of cities shall, and other citizens may, recommend to the director the names of such persons as may in their estimation be fit to fill the offices of forest fire warden and deputy forest fire warden in their respective towns and cities.
II. After investigation the director shall appoint from the persons so recommended not more than one competent person in each town or city to be the forest fire warden for the town or city, and such deputy forest fire wardens as the director deems necessary. In such towns or cities where the fire chief is not the appointed town or city forest fire warden, the fire chief shall be appointed as deputy forest fire warden. The director may appoint a forest fire warden or deputy forest fire warden for 2 or more towns or parts of towns.
III. In unorganized places, upon the recommendation of the forest ranger, the director shall appoint a forest fire warden and one or more deputy forest fire wardens, to have the same powers and the same duties as the town forest fire wardens.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:8 - Special Deputy Forest Fire Wardens.

227-L:8 Special Deputy Forest Fire Wardens. –
The director may appoint as special deputy forest fire wardens persons in the employ of the department and, upon the recommendation of the forest ranger, such other persons as may be in a position to assist the director in preventing and suppressing fires. The appointees shall have the same powers and duties as the town forest fire wardens, but the powers and duties shall be exercised and performed only in emergencies or in the absence of a regularly appointed forest fire warden or deputy forest fire warden or when requested by the director or the director's agent. Appointees shall be allowed for their services such compensation as may be fixed by the commissioner and the director, and such compensation shall be deemed to be an expense of fighting woodland fires and paid by the state.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:9 - Term.

227-L:9 Term. –
Upon the appointment of a forest fire warden or deputy forest fire warden in any town, city or place, the term of office of the forest fire warden or deputy forest fire warden previously acting in such capacity shall immediately cease, and the new appointee shall serve for 3 years, or until a successor is appointed as provided in this subdivision. The term of a special deputy forest fire warden shall be 3 years.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:10 - Removal; Vacancy.

227-L:10 Removal;  Vacancy. –
The director shall have the discretionary power to remove any warden, deputy warden, or special deputy warden from office. Upon the termination in any manner of the term of office of any warden, deputy warden, or special deputy warden, a successor shall be appointed in the manner provided in this subdivision for the appointment of such officers.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:11 - Duties of Forest Fire Wardens and Deputy Wardens.

227-L:11 Duties of Forest Fire Wardens and Deputy Wardens. –
I. Wardens and deputy wardens, or some agent or agents designated by them, shall:
(a) When directed by the director, patrol the woods in their respective cities, towns or places, warning persons who traverse the woods, campers, hunters, fishermen, and others about lighting and extinguishing fires. They shall post extracts from the fire laws and other notices sent them by the director along the highways, streams, and waters frequented by tourists and others, at campsites and in other public places.
(b) Extinguish all woodland fires occurring in their town, or elsewhere when so directed by the director or the director's authorized agent. Either of them may call such assistance as the person deems necessary to aid in extinguishing the fires, may require the use of vehicles or other equipment and property for that purpose, and may order any road or highway closed to any motor vehicle if it becomes necessary in order to safeguard the proper extinguishing of such fire. Such authority shall not interfere with the authority of chiefs of city fire departments.
(c) Make reports to the forest ranger of the district in which they are located or to the director of the division, at such time and in such form as the director may require.
II. Forest fire wardens and deputy wardens or any agent designated by them may, with the approval of the director, brush-out and make passable old roads and trails useful for the passage of personnel and equipment in case of woodland fires. Expenditures for this purpose shall be shared by the state and town, place or municipality in the same proportion as other prevention expense, except that the state's share under this section shall not exceed $25 to any one town, place, or municipality in any year.
III. If any warden or deputy warden shall willfully neglect or refuse to perform the duties prescribed in this subdivision, the warden or deputy warden shall, upon complaint of the director, be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:12 - Remuneration; Expenses.

227-L:12 Remuneration;  Expenses. –
I. Wardens and deputy wardens in towns and unorganized places shall be allowed for their services such remuneration as may be fixed by the commissioner and the director. Any regularly paid warden, deputy warden, lookout watcher, or fire patroler may be directed and used by the forest ranger or the director on any state or municipal forestry work or other public work, when in the judgment of the director the safety of woodlands is not endangered by such use.
II. The town forest fire wardens and deputy wardens attending training sessions called by the director under RSA 227-G:3, II(e) shall be paid for their time and expenses in attending such training sessions, within the limits of available funds, such payment to be borne equally by the municipalities represented and the state in the same manner as provided in RSA 227-L:22.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:13 - Public Duties; Penalties.

227-L:13 Public Duties;  Penalties. –
I. It shall be the duty of any person who discovers a woodland fire not under control or supervision of some person to extinguish it or report it immediately to the warden or deputy warden or other public official. Whoever fails so to do shall be guilty of a violation.
II. Any person who fails to respond to the warden's call for assistance or the use of the person's property, or any person who drives a motor vehicle over a road or highway that has been closed under RSA 227-L:11, I(b), after having been instructed not to do so, shall be guilty of a violation.
III. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph II and RSA 227-L:11, I(b) no person authorized to compel assistance by conscription under such authority shall order any person under the age of 18 years or over the age of 45 years (except when such person has voluntarily consented to accept direction and if under the age of 18, has furnished parental consent in writing); or any person having a physical or mental disability or who is otherwise disabled in capability to perform acts of firefighting, to perform any act of firefighting which would subject such person to the possible risk of grievous bodily injury, harm or death, except in a dire emergency, and then only if such act or acts are deemed necessary to protect and preserve public property endangered by fire, or in the case of a national emergency. Notwithstanding this limitation, nothing in this section shall be construed to limit a person's ability, if over 18 years of age, to voluntarily consent to perform acts of firefighting so long as the person agrees to accept direction of qualified firefighters and the person accepting consent is authorized by paragraph II and RSA 227-L:11, I(b) to call for such assistance and reasonably believes that the person volunteering understands the personal risk.
IV. Owners of property required by the warden or deputy warden in the extinguishment of a woodland fire shall receive reasonable compensation for their services. In case the warden or deputy warden, and the persons summoned to assist or furnish the use of property, shall fail to agree upon the terms of compensation, the dispute shall be referred to the forest ranger, the director, or the commissioner for settlement, and the decision of the commissioner shall be final.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:14 - Interference with Forest Fire Control Personnel; Penalty.

227-L:14 Interference with Forest Fire Control Personnel;  Penalty. –
It is unlawful to resist or attempt to resist arrest by any forest fire control personnel authorized to make arrests pursuant to RSA 227-G:7, or to obstruct or attempt to obstruct, or to intimidate or interfere with any such persons in the performance of their duties. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation if a natural person and guilty of a misdemeanor if any other person.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:15 - Prohibiting Smoking or Kindling of Fires; Penalty.

227-L:15 Prohibiting Smoking or Kindling of Fires;  Penalty. –
The governor, upon the recommendation of the director, when there is danger of starting fires in the woodlands of the state due to a period of protracted drought or excessive dryness which requires extraordinary precautions, may, with verbal approval of the council, by official proclamation, prohibit smoking in or near woodlands and prohibit the kindling of any open fire in or near woodlands in any or all parts of the state for such time as they may designate. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of any proclamation issued pursuant to this section shall be guilty of a violation.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:16 - Trespass upon or Smoking in White Mountain National Forest; Penalty.

227-L:16 Trespass upon or Smoking in White Mountain National Forest;  Penalty. –
It shall be unlawful for any person to enter upon, or to smoke upon, lands of the United States known as the White Mountain National Forest, as now or hereafter constituted, at any time when such entry or smoking shall be forbidden by valid order made for the purpose of protecting such forest from forest fire, pursuant to the laws of the United States. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:18 - Flammable Material; Penalty.

227-L:18 Flammable Material;  Penalty. –
I. No person, firm, or corporation shall place, drop, or throw any flammable waste material on, near, or adjacent to, a public highway or private way in any place where a fire starting or burning in such waste material is liable to be or may be communicated to woodlands. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation.
II. The department, by notice in writing to both the operator and the owner, may require the removal or disposal of lumber, slash, or other flammable material wherever located when in the judgment of the department such lumber, slash, or flammable material constitutes an unusual hazard endangering other property through the setting or spreading of woodland fires.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:19 - Dropping Lighted Matches, Etc.; Penalty.

227-L:19 Dropping Lighted Matches, Etc.;  Penalty. –
No person shall drop or throw from any vehicle while the vehicle is upon a public highway or private way, or from any steam, gas, or electric car where the right-of-way is adjacent to woodlands, or drop, throw, or otherwise deposit on or near such woodlands except as permitted by law, any lighted match, cigar, cigarette, live ashes, or any other substance liable to cause a fire. Whoever is found guilty of violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:20 - Suitable Exhaust Systems on Motorized Equipment; Penalty.

227-L:20 Suitable Exhaust Systems on Motorized Equipment;  Penalty. –
I. Any motorized vehicle, which does not bear a currently valid state inspection sticker, and other motorized equipment including generators operating in woodlands and which emits exhaust within 4 feet of the ground, shall be equipped with a suitable exhaust system which will inhibit the discharge of sparks and carbon deposits likely to cause fires. Baffled mufflers or spark arresters in good working order, tested and approved by the U.S. Forest Service or the director shall be deemed to meet these requirements. In the case of trucks, pickups, passenger cars, and motor bikes, primarily used for travel over gravel and other mineral soil roads, exhaust systems equivalent to original equipment are suitable. Any car, truck, or other vehicle that has been modified shall be required to have exhaust systems which are tight, have not been shortened excessively, and are directed away from the forest floor, or be equipped with a baffled muffler in good working condition.
II. Any such vehicle or equipment operating in woodlands, which, in the judgment of the director or the director's agent, presents an imminent danger of igniting a woodland fire, may be impounded by the director or the director's agent until equipped with a suitable exhaust system.
III. Any owner or operator who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a violation.
IV. Any person who sells any new equipment or new vehicle covered by the provisions of this section that is not properly equipped shall be guilty of a violation.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:21 - Fire Control Payments on Federal Lands.

227-L:21 Fire Control Payments on Federal Lands. –
I. The expenses lawfully incurred by a forest fire warden or other authorized local fire official in the extinguishment of woodland fires on the White Mountain National Forest or other federal land within the state under a cooperative forest fire protection agreement with the state computed at rates approved in writing by the director and excluding the initial costs of firefighting equipment shall be paid in the first instance by the state.
II. The forest fire warden or other authorized local fire official shall render to the director a statement of expenses incurred in extinguishing woodland fires on the federal lands described in paragraph I, showing in detail the amount and character of the services performed including names, addresses, hours worked, dates, and recommended compensation for persons authorized for fire duty by the fire warden or other authorized local fire official, costs of food and other supplies, operating and repair expenses of motorized equipment, reimbursement costs for lost and damaged pumps, hose, tools, and other fire equipment and such other costs as may be actually incurred on such fire.
III. The director shall review such bills and, upon approval, shall forward them for payment to the state treasurer. The governor shall draw a warrant on the state treasury from money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated for the payment of such bills. Upon such payment, the director shall prepare and submit to the receiving federal agency appropriate vouchers for reimbursement to the state treasury of such costs paid by the state treasurer under this section.
IV. The director shall also prepare and submit to the receiving federal agency appropriate vouchers for reimbursement of salary and expenses of permanent and temporary employees who remain on the state payroll while on authorized duty on federal lands within the state under a cooperative forest fire protection agreement with the state, the actual cost of food and other supplies, operating and repair costs of motorized equipment, reimbursement for lost or damaged pumps, hose, tools, and other fire equipment and such other costs as actually may be incurred by the state on such cooperative fire assignment.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996. 2014, 45:2, eff. July 26, 2014.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:23 - State Fire Control Payments.

227-L:23 State Fire Control Payments. –
I. When, in the opinion of the director, the expenses of fighting woodland fires in municipalities, and other expenses lawfully incurred by wardens and deputy wardens of municipalities in preventing forest fires, shall exceed an amount equal to
1/4 of one percent of the latest equalized locally assessed valuation on such municipality, the state may pay such bills in the first instance.
II. The town forest fire warden shall submit all bills for payment to the director, certifying on the bills that the bills were lawfully incurred and a proper charge.
III. Upon receipt by the director of the bills, the director shall approve the bills and forward them for payment to the state treasurer. The governor shall draw a warrant on the state treasury from money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated for the payment of the bills.
IV. The director shall thereafter bill the responsible municipality for its proportionate share of fire expenses together with any amounts found by the director to be in excess of the rates established by the commissioner and the director as provided in RSA 227-L:22, I. Upon receipt of the bill the municipality shall reimburse the state for the amount specified.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:24 - Unorganized Places Fire Control Payments.

227-L:24 Unorganized Places Fire Control Payments. –
I. The wardens and the deputy wardens in unorganized places shall render to the director a like statement of such expenses as they have lawfully incurred under this chapter in suppressing or preventing fires in woodlands within one month of the date upon which such expenses are incurred.
II. The statement shall be audited by the director, and, if approved, the director shall draw an order upon the state treasurer for the same.
III. The expenses lawfully incurred by a warden or deputy warden in presuppression, prevention, and suppression of woodland fires in unorganized places, computed at rates within limits established by the department and excluding the initial cost of firefighting equipment, shall be paid in the first instance by the state. Any person causing or kindling a fire in an unorganized place without a permit from the forest fire warden and written permission of the woodland owner, if no previous arrangement exists between the forest fire warden and the woodland owner when such permit is required under RSA 227-L:17, I-III, and any person, by whose negligence or by the negligence of the person's agents any fires shall be caused, shall be liable to the state in a civil action for the payment of all expenses incurred in extinguishing the fire. If a fire results from unknown or natural causes, up to
1/2 of the costs, but in no case to exceed 10 percent of the assessed valuation of the property in the place, shall thereafter be added to the tax assessed the following year against the place in the same manner as is provided for the assessment of property taxes.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:25 - Authorization.

227-L:25 Authorization. –
The governor on behalf of this state is hereby authorized to enter into a compact, substantially in the following form, with any one or more of the states of Connecticut, Maine, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and with such other states of the United States or provinces of the Dominion of Canada as may legally join therein, and the legislature hereby signifies in advance its approval and ratification of such compact so entered into, such approval and ratification to be effective upon the filing of a copy of such compact in the office of the secretary of state.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:27 - When Effective.

227-L:27 When Effective. –
When the governor shall have executed said compact on behalf of this state and caused a certified copy thereof to be filed in the office of the secretary of state, as required by RSA 227-L, and said compact shall have been ratified by one or more of the states named in article II thereof in accordance with the constitution of such state or states of the United States or provinces of the Dominion of Canada, in accordance with the laws of Canada, then said compact shall become operative and effective as between this state and such other state or states of the United States or provinces of the Dominion of Canada. The governor is hereby authorized and directed, upon the execution of said compact by the governor and filing of the required copy thereof in the office of the secretary of state, to notify forthwith the governors of the said named states and the President of the United States, that the state on its part has ratified said compact; or in the instance of a province of the Dominion of Canada the proper officials of that province and that dominion through the United States Secretary of State. The original notice of ratification received from the governor or other duly authorized official of any state or province joining in said compact shall be filed with the official copy of said compact in the office of the secretary of state, and such notice, if any, as may be received from the President or the Congress of the United States, signifying the consent of the Congress to said compact, shall be filed in the same manner.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:28 - Commission.

227-L:28 Commission. –
After the aforesaid compact shall become operative and effective as provided for in RSA 227-L:27, the governor shall appoint 3 members hereinafter called commissioners of the Northeastern Forest Fire Protection Commission. One of such commissioners shall always be the director of the division of forests and lands, department of natural and cultural resources. The second shall be a member of the legislature, and the third shall be a citizen of the state designated by the governor as a responsible representative to serve at the pleasure of the governor.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996. 2017, 156:14, I, eff. July 1, 2017.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:29 - Compensation.

227-L:29 Compensation. –
The commissioners shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their actual expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:30 - Report.

227-L:30 Report. –
The commissioners on the part of the state shall keep accurate accounts of all receipts and disbursements and shall report to the governor on or before the seventh day of January annually, setting forth in detail the transactions of the commission during the preceding calendar year, and shall include in said report recommendations for any legislative action that the commission deems advisable, including such amendments or additions to the laws of the state as may be necessary or desirable to carry out the intent and purposes of the Northeastern Interstate Forest Fire Protection Compact.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:31 - Powers.

227-L:31 Powers. –
There is hereby granted to the commission and the commissioners thereof all the powers provided for in the said compact and all the powers necessary or incidental to the carrying out of said compact in every particular. All officers of the state of New Hampshire are hereby authorized and directed to do all things falling within their respective provinces and jurisdiction necessary or incidental to the carrying out of said compact in every particular; it being hereby declared to be the policy of the state of New Hampshire to perform and carry out the said compact and to accomplish the purposes thereof and to execute a compact on behalf of the state of New Hampshire with any one or more of the states of Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and with such other states of the United States or provinces of the Dominion of Canada as may legally join therein. All officers, bureaus, departments, and persons of and in the state government or administration of the state of New Hampshire are hereby authorized and directed at convenient times and upon request of the said commission to furnish the said commission with information and data possessed by them or any of them and to aid said commission by any means lying within their legal rights respectively.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:32 - Payment by State.

227-L:32 Payment by State. –
Upon recommendation of the director of the division of forests and lands, department of natural and cultural resources, and upon warrant of the governor with the approval of the council, the state treasurer shall pay out of any money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated to any state giving aid within the state under this chapter, such sums as shall be due under the terms of this chapter.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996. 2017, 156:14, I, eff. July 1, 2017.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:33 - Reimbursement by Towns.

227-L:33 Reimbursement by Towns. –
Each town receiving aid under the provisions of this chapter shall reimburse the state for payments made by the state under RSA 227-L:32 in the same proportion and to the same extent that such town would be required under RSA 227-L:22 to bear such expense if it had been incurred within the state.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:34 - Reimbursement Procedure.

227-L:34 Reimbursement Procedure. –
When the state has made any payment under RSA 227-L:32, the director of the forests and lands shall, in writing, notify all towns involved, of the amount of their liability as provided in RSA 227-L:33, and within 60 days of the receipt of such notice, the respective towns shall remit the amount due to the state treasurer.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-L - Woodland Fire Control › Section 227-L:35 - Distribution to Towns.

227-L:35 Distribution to Towns. –
When the state receives payment from another state for aid given by towns under the provisions of this chapter, the director of the division of forests and lands shall advise the state treasurer the amount due each town involved, and the state treasurer shall distribute the amounts due, to the respective towns. The governor is hereby authorized to draw a warrant for the respective amounts due.
Source.
1995, 299:1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:1 - Purpose.

227-M:1 Purpose. –
The general court finds that in order to maintain New Hampshire's quality of life and economic vitality for its citizens, growth and development should be balanced with careful protection of the state's most important natural, cultural, and historical resources. Permanent protection of these resources, through acquisition of lands, buildings, and other physical assets, or interests in these assets, must be accomplished along with their planned long-term stewardship. The general court further recognizes the importance of public-private partnerships to achieve these ends. To protect and preserve New Hampshire's natural, cultural, and historical resources for this and future generations, the general court establishes in this chapter the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment program. The intent of the program is to conserve and preserve this state's most important natural, cultural, and historical resources through the acquisition of lands, and cultural and historical resources, or interests therein, of local, regional, and statewide significance, in partnership with the state's municipalities and the private sector, for the primary purposes of protecting and ensuring the perpetual contribution of these resources to the state's economy, environment, and overall quality of life.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:2 - Definitions.

227-M:2 Definitions. –
In this chapter:
I. "Authority" means the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment authority.
II. "Board" means the board of directors of the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment authority.
III. "Building" means a construction made by humans and created to shelter human activity.
IV. "Easement interests" means conservation, historic preservation, or scenic easements, development rights, or any other similar protective interest in real property held in perpetuity, or a term easement that is held for a specific period of time and not in perpetuity as part of a farm viability program.
V. "Eligible resource" means a natural, cultural, or historical resource including archaeological sites; historic buildings and structures which house cultural events and programs; historic properties including buildings and structures; historic and cultural lands and features; ecologically significant lands; existing and potential public water supply lands; farmland; forestland; habitat for rare species or important wildlife; wildlife corridors and habitat strongholds as defined in RSA 207:1; lands for recreation; riverine, lake, estuarine, and ocean shorelands; scenic areas and viewsheds; and wetlands and associated uplands.
V-a. "Farm viability program" means a program overseen by an eligible applicant under RSA 227-M:8, I that preserves farmland:
(a) By enhancing the long-term viability of farms, principally through assistance in business plan development and implementation; and
(b) By requiring term easements on farms participating in such a program and receiving assistance funded through this chapter.
VI. "Monitoring" means the regular and systematic gathering of information about a resource asset to identify changes to the property over time to ensure that it is being used in accordance with any easement interest restrictions or other legal obligations entered into under this chapter.
VII. "Resource asset" means the lands, buildings, structures, and other physical assets or the easement interests in the lands, buildings, structures, and other physical assets that comprise the real property of an eligible resource.
VIII. "Stewardship" means planning for and taking the necessary actions over the long term to successfully preserve and protect the natural, cultural, or historical value of a resource asset. Such actions include, as applicable, managing the resource asset in accordance with all legal obligations entered into under this chapter, performing regular maintenance and upkeep, providing for necessary monitoring, educating or informing those that might negatively impact upon the resource asset about the need and/or legal obligation to protect and preserve it, paying tax or in-lieu-of tax obligations, obtaining liability insurance, and securing sufficient levels of financial resources to carry out all such necessary actions.
Source.
2000, 245:1. 2006, 39:1. 2008, 136:1, 2, eff. Aug. 5, 2008. 2019, 243:7, eff. Sept. 10, 2019.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:3 - Land and Community Heritage Investment Program Established.

227-M:3 Land and Community Heritage Investment Program Established. –
There is hereby established the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment program. The program shall acquire resource assets, through voluntary negotiations with property owners and utilization of all available federal, state, local, private, and other matching funds and incentives. The program shall also provide funding for restoration and rehabilitation of cultural and historical resources and for certain costs associated with the acquisition of resource assets. All deeds or other documents evidencing purchase of any fee interest or other easement interest in resources under this chapter shall be drawn and held in the name of the municipality, other political subdivision, or qualified publicly-supported nonprofit corporation purchasing the interest through the use of program funds. All easement interests and legal obligations that are attached in perpetuity to any property shall be recorded in the deed. The state of New Hampshire shall hold an executory interest in all easement interests acquired by the program and held by municipalities, other political subdivisions, or qualifying nonprofit corporations. There shall be no power by the state of New Hampshire to take any resource by eminent domain, nor shall any funds made available by this program be used to take by eminent domain except in cases involving the voluntary quieting of title. All acquisition projects shall involve a willing seller and willing buyer, or a willing donor of resource assets.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:6 - Executive Director.

227-M:6 Executive Director. –
The board of directors shall nominate one or more persons for appointment by the governor and council to serve as executive director. The executive director shall serve a term of 5 years, with reappointment or a vacancy to be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. At the request of the board, the governor and council may remove the executive director for cause. The executive director shall:
I. Coordinate the activities of state agencies directly involved with the administration of the program in accordance with this chapter.
II. Evaluate the eligible resources proposed for protection or restoration under this program, and determine if these resources meet the criteria of the program, subsequent to instruction by the board.
III. At the direction of the board, administer the affairs of the program and be directly responsible for executing all policies of the board.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:6-a - Status of Employees.

227-M:6-a Status of Employees. –
I. The authority may hire, fix, and pay compensation, prescribe duties and qualifications, and establish personnel policies without regard to any personnel or civil service law or personnel or civil service rule of the state. The employees of the authority shall not be classified employees of the state within the meaning of RSA 21-I:49. Any individual employed by the authority shall be deemed an employee at will and shall serve at the pleasure of the authority.
II. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph I, any individual employed by the authority whose employment calls for 30 hours or more work in a normal calendar week, and whose position is anticipated to have a duration of 6 months or more, shall be entitled to elect to receive such health, dental, life insurance, deferred compensation, and retirement benefits as are afforded to classified employees of the state provided, however, that the election is made in writing within 30 days of the start of employment. Upon election by such individual, the authority shall pay from its revenues the state's share of such benefits. Any remaining costs of health, dental, life insurance, deferred compensation, and retirement benefits which an individual elects to receive pursuant to this section, shall be withheld from such individual's salary as a payroll deduction. Written notice of the availability of these benefit options shall be provided to each individual upon employment by the authority.
Source.
2001, 158:14, eff. July 1, 2001.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:7 - Trust Fund Established; Administration.

227-M:7 Trust Fund Established;  Administration. –
I. There is established in the office of the state treasurer the trust fund for the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment program. Moneys in the fund and any interest earned on the fund shall be used for the purpose of this chapter and shall not be used for any other purpose. The trust fund shall be non-lapsing.
II. The state treasurer is instructed to invest the sums deposited in the fund in a prudent manner consistent with the purposes of this chapter. Interest earned on moneys in the fund shall accrue to the fund to the extent allowed under federal law.
III. No funds of any state agency shall be transferred to the trust fund without specific authorization from the general court. Federal funds accepted by the fiscal committee and governor and council for purposes similar to those of this chapter may be deposited in the trust fund.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:7-a - Administrative Fund.

227-M:7-a Administrative Fund. –
I. There is established in the office of the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment authority a fund to be known as the land and community heritage investment program administrative fund into which the commissioner of safety shall credit any revenue generated pursuant to RSA 261:97-b, I-a. There shall also be deposited, on a monthly basis, interest income generated on appropriations made to the land and community heritage investment program trust fund pursuant to RSA 227-M:7. The total revenues generated to the administrative fund from these 2 sources shall not exceed $335,000 for each fiscal year. Any revenue generated from these 2 sources in excess of the $335,000 maximum per year shall be credited by the New Hampshire land and community heritage investment authority to the land and community heritage investment program trust fund in RSA 227-M:7. The authority shall include in its annual report the amount of revenues exceeding the maximum which are credited to the trust fund.
II. All sums so credited shall be appropriated to the authority for the following purposes:
(a) To pay the costs of administering and operating the authority, including, but not limited to, all wages, salaries, benefits, and other expenses authorized by the board or the executive director. The authority may enter into a contract or agreement for provision of services to withhold on a monthly basis all payroll and benefit costs for employees.
(b) In general for the payment of all expenses incident to the management and operation of the authority as are consistent with its statutory purpose and as the board or the executive director thereof may from time to time determine.
III. This fund shall constitute a continuing appropriation for the benefit of the authority. Any amount remaining to the credit of the authority at the close of any fiscal year, and any interest accrued, shall be nonlapsing and shall be carried over and credited to the fund for the succeeding year.
Source.
2001, 158:13. 2003, 319:170. 2005, 177:22. 2007, 375:2, eff. July 1, 2007. 2016, 61:2, eff. July 4, 2016.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:9 - Acquisition, Restoration, and Protection Criteria and Guidelines.

227-M:9 Acquisition, Restoration, and Protection Criteria and Guidelines. –
I. The criteria and guidelines adopted pursuant to RSA 227-M:5, II for acquiring resource assets shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
(a) Imminence of threat to the land or property, such that the preservation of endangered structures and land conservation projects in densely developed or rapidly developing areas of the state shall receive a higher ranking;
(b) Uniqueness or significance of the resource;
(c) Proximity to other protected resources;
(d) Extent to which project meets multiple objectives of the program (natural, historic, and cultural);
(e) Strength of local support, such that project applications accompanied by an affirmative vote of the governing body of the municipality or governing bodies of the municipalities in which the project is located shall receive a higher ranking;
(f) Strength of private support;
(g) Cooperation between or among communities;
(h) Extent of leverage (ability of state funds to attract other public and private funds in a cost-share arrangement);
(i) Demonstrated ability and qualifying stewardship plan of eligible applicant to provide stewardship for the resource being protected; and
(j) Extent to which benefits can be conserved only through fee acquisition of the resource asset, weighed against acquisition through easement interest.
II. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that each acquisition of a resource asset under this chapter must meet all the criteria listed in this section.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:10 - Management.

227-M:10 Management. –
Any owner of a resource asset acquired in fee simple under this chapter or for which program funds have been expended for restoration or rehabilitation work, shall manage such asset in accordance with any stewardship plan approved for the asset and any legal obligations entered into under this chapter pertaining to the resource asset. The program shall not manage any resource asset, except to the extent permissible under RSA 227-M:5, VI.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:11 - Stewardship.

227-M:11 Stewardship. –
All applications submitted for funding resource asset acquisitions or restoration or rehabilitation projects must contain a stewardship plan. Applicants shall be allowed flexibility in devising such plans, but the authority shall make an affirmative finding that the stewardship plan is acceptable before awarding funds. Applications to the program for activities such as resource inventories and engineering studies are not required to include stewardship plans.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.
2023 New Hampshire Revised Statutes › Title XIX-A - Forestry › Chapter 227-M - Community Heritage Investment Program › Section 227-M:12 - Monitoring Endowment.

227-M:12 Monitoring Endowment. –
I. For every eligible resource protected under this chapter by an easement interest, a percentage of funds from the program or contributions from the applicant, as specified by the authority, shall be provided to the monitoring endowment established under RSA 162-C:8.
II. Funds added to the monitoring endowment pursuant to RSA 227-M:12, I shall be used to support monitoring by state agencies, local municipalities, and qualifying nonprofit corporations of easement interests acquired under this chapter. Such monitoring shall be to ensure that the resource protected through the program will be managed according to the legal agreements concerning easement interests in the resource.
Source.
2000, 245:1, eff. June 8, 2000.