Bill Text: NH HB258 | 2011 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Eliminating certain unenforced election laws.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-09 - House Signed By Governor 06/08/2011; Effective 08/07/2011; Chapter 0150 [HB258 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2011-HB258-Chaptered.html
CHAPTER 150
HB 258 – FINAL VERSION
2011 SESSION
03/01
HOUSE BILL 258
AN ACT eliminating certain unenforced election laws.
This bill eliminates unenforced provisions in the election laws relating to candidate filing fees and corporate campaign contributions.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0892
03/01
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven
AN ACT eliminating certain unenforced election laws.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
150:1 Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 655:10, I to read as follows:
I. No person shall file declaration of candidacy or primary petitions for nomination at the primary for incompatible offices. For the purposes of this section, incompatible offices shall include the offices of governor, United States senator, United States representative, representative to the general court, state senator, councilor, county sheriff, county attorney, county treasurer, register of deeds, and register of probate. If any person shall file for incompatible offices, the secretary of state shall advise the person of the provisions hereof and said person shall then advise the secretary of state which of said offices he or she wishes to retain in order to seek said nomination. [If a filing fee has been paid for a declaration of candidacy which the person declines, the fee shall be returned to the person.] No person shall seek or hold the position as a member of the general court and county commissioner at the same time.
150:2 Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 655:12 to read as follows:
655:12 Posting Notice of Primary. Each city clerk shall distribute [such] the notices prepared under RSA 655:11 to the ward clerks in [his] the city. Each town and ward clerk shall, within 10 days after the receipt of such notice, cause notice of such primary to be posted in 2 public places in [his] the town or ward. Such notice shall prescribe the hour the polls are to open and the hour before which they may not close as provided in RSA 659. It shall state the offices for which candidates are to be nominated, the delegates to be elected, and any questions to be voted on, as well as the location of the central polling place and of any additional polling places. It shall also state the date before which declarations of candidacy must be filed to place names upon the ballots to be used at such primary[,] and the officers with whom they must be filed[, the fees to be paid at the time of filing such papers and the number of primary petitions which may be submitted in lieu of the filing fees].
150:3 References Deleted. Amend RSA 655:14 to read as follows:
655:14 Filing: General Provisions. The name of any person shall not be printed upon the ballot of any party for a primary unless he or she is a registered member of that party, he or she shall have met the age and domicile qualifications for the office he or she seeks at the time of the general election, he or she meets all the other qualifications at the time of filing, and he or she shall file with the appropriate official between the first Wednesday in June and the Friday of the following week a declaration of candidacy as provided in RSA 655:17[, and
I. The appropriate filing fee as provided in RSA 655:19; or
II. The appropriate number of primary petitions as provided in RSA 655:20 and 655:22 and an assent to candidacy as provided in RSA 655:25].
150:4 Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 655:18 to read as follows:
655:18 Forwarding Declarations of Candidacy. Each city or town clerk shall forward each declaration of candidacy filed with him or her to the secretary of state on the day of filing of the same[, provided the requisite fee shall have been deposited, or the requisite number of primary petitions shall have been filed therewith].
150:5 References Deleted. Amend the introductory paragraph of RSA 655:19-c, I to read as follows:
I. Candidates for governor, United States senator, representative to Congress, executive councilor, state senator, county officer, and state representative who file declarations of candidacy shall pay the administrative assessment in paragraph I or file primary petitions as provided in paragraph III [in addition to the filing fee and primary petition requirements of RSA 655:19 and 655:20]. Candidates for governor, United States senator, representative to Congress, executive councilor, state senator, county officer, and state representative who file declarations of intent shall pay the administrative assessment in paragraph I [in addition to the filing fee required by RSA 655:19] and shall meet the requirements of RSA [655:40-45] 655:40 through 655:45 for nomination by nomination papers. Neither the administrative assessment which is paid nor the primary petitions which are filed under this section, nor the nomination papers which must be submitted under RSA 655:41 and filed under RSA 655:43, shall be waived or refunded for a candidate for any of the offices listed in this section who, pursuant to RSA 664:5-a, voluntarily accepts the expenditure limitation set forth in RSA 664:5-b. At the time of filing declarations of candidacy or declarations of intent, the administrative assessment shall be as follows:
150:6 Reference Deleted. Amend RSA 659:88, I(b) to read as follows:
(b) A person whose name was not printed anywhere on the official state primary election ballot, and who receives the nomination of a party by write-in vote in a primary election and wishes to accept the nomination, shall file a declaration of candidacy with the secretary of state no later than 3:00 p.m. on the first Friday after the primary. The declaration of candidacy shall be filed with the understanding that, where the form says "primary election,” it shall be construed to mean "general election.” [A person who files a declaration of candidacy under this section shall be subject to the requirements of RSA 655:19 and 655:19-b relative to filing fees. The person may have the filing fee waived if he or she is unable to pay the fee by reason of indigency.] Such person shall not, however, be required to pay the administrative assessment under RSA 655:19-c.
150:7 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 655:19, relative to filing fees.
II. RSA 655:19-b, relative to waiver of filing fee and primary petitions.
III. RSA 655:20, relative to primary petitions.
IV. RSA 655:22, relative to number of petitions.
V. RSA 664:4, I, relative to contributions by corporations.
150:8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: June 8, 2011
Effective Date: August 7, 2011
