Bill Text: NH SB70 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Relative to the establishment of an election information portal and relative to the purchase of election equipment.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-06-27 - Conference Committee Report; Not Signed Off; House Journal 16 [SB70 Detail]
Download: New_Hampshire-2023-SB70-Amended.html
SB 70-FN - AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
8Jun2023... 1280h
2023 SESSION
23-1013
08/10
SENATE BILL 70-FN
SPONSORS: Sen. Gray, Dist 6; Sen. Murphy, Dist 16
COMMITTEE: Election Law and Municipal Affairs
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill directs the secretary of state to establish an election information portal.
This bill also allows grants to be given to cities and towns for the purchase of election equipment.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
8Jun2023... 1280h 23-1013
08/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Purpose. It is the intent of the legislature to modernize the application processes for new voter registration, requesting absentee ballots, and requesting changes to name, domicile, and party affiliation in the statewide voter database.
2 New Subdivision; Election Information Portal. Amend RSA 652 by inserting after section 27 the following new subdivision:
Election Information Portal
652:28 Election Information Portal.
I. The secretary of state is hereby authorized to develop, in consultation with the department of information technology, the department of safety, division of motor vehicles, and city and town clerks and supervisors of the checklist, an online election information portal which citizens may use to:
(a) Complete a new voter application.
(b) Request an absentee ballot.
(c) Request changes to the statewide centralized voter registration database, such as name, domicile address, mailing address, and party affiliation.
II. A request by the voter placed in the election information portal shall be submitted to the appropriate municipal official for verification and processing per RSA 654:7, RSA 654:8, RSA 654:16 through RSA 654:19, and RSA 654:34, except that the information may be provided in a format the secretary of state deems suitable for electronic submission. Any information submitted to the portal shall be handled in a manner consistent with relevant voter and election laws, including RSA 654, and shall be retrievable and printable at any time including during the processing of the information. In addition, nonpublic data related to individual voter data shall remain confidential.
III. The secretary of state shall not implement any election information portal established pursuant to this section, such that the public can access or otherwise utilize such portal, until January 1, 2024.
3 Election Fund; Grants for Cities and Towns. Amend RSA 5:6-d, III to read as follows:
III. The secretary of state is authorized to accept, budget, and, subject to the limitations of this paragraph, expend monies in the election fund received from any party for the purposes of conducting elections, voter and election official education, the purchase or lease of equipment that complies with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, or with RSA 659:13, V, reimbursing the department of safety for the actual cost of voter identification cards, election law enforcement, enhancing election technology, making election security improvements, and improvements to related information technology, including acquisition and operation of an automated election management system. [With the exception of federal and state portions of funds associated with the 2018 Election Reform Program, the secretary of state shall not expend any monies in the election fund unless the balance in the fund following such expenditures shall be at least 12 times the estimated annual cost of maintaining the programs established to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.] The secretary of state shall establish a grant system for cities and towns to access monies from Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252 grants for the use of improving election security and technology. The grants shall be used for technology including ballot counting devices, electronic poll books, and secure laptops to be used to access ElectioNet.
4 Help America Vote Act Funding. Any expenditures made for the purpose of establishing the election portal in section 2 of this act or the establishment of the grant system required by section 3 of this act shall be paid for with funding from the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
23-1013
Revised 1/20/23
SB 70-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT relative to the establishment of an election information portal.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ X ] Local [ ] None
|
|
| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2023 | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | $477,000 | $268,000 | $274,000 |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
LOCAL: |
|
|
|
|
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | $0 | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase | Indeterminable Increase |
METHODOLOGY:
This bill authorized the Secretary of State to develop an online election information portal, in consultation with the Department of Information Technology, the Department of Safety, Division of Motor Vehicles, and city and town clerks and supervisors of the checklist, for people who may want to complete a new voter application, request an absentee ballot and request changes to the statewide centralized voter registration database, such as name, domicile address, mailing address, and party affiliation.
The Department of State indicates this bill would increase State General Fund expenditures starting in FY 2024. The estimated cost to design, build, and test the online election information portal is between $250k to $300k with ongoing maintenance fess of approximately $84,000 per year. The Department also indicates they will need two positions to create and maintain the portal (An Information Technology Manager V, labor grade 32, hired at a step 1 and a Program Assistant III, labor grade 17, hired at a step 1). The Department states the new system would take a minimum of 8 months to design, bid, build, test, and create training materials for the election information portal and the earliest it would be operational is May 2024.
Costs | FY 2024 | FY 2025 | FY 2026 |
New Portal | $300,000 | $0 | $0 |
Maintenance Fees | $21,000 (3 months) | $84,000 | $84,000 |
Information Technology Manager | $95,000 (10 months) | $113,000 | $117,000 |
Program Assistant | $61,000 (10months) | $71,000 | $73,000 |
Total | $477,000 | $268,000 | $274,000 |
This bill does not provide authorization or an appropriation for new positions.
The Department of Information Technology states they spoke with the Secretary of State's office and confirmed the Department will not require any resources to support this effort.
The Department of Safety states there will be an indeterminable increase on State expenditures. The Department states there is an unknown cost associated with forms, rulemaking, system updates, and the amount Department of Motor Vehicle is tasked with overseeing the process.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill will require additional training of election officials, increasing costs in the form of wages and compensation to officials. As a result, local expenditures would increase in FY 2024 and each year thereafter.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of State, Department of Information Technology, Department of Safety and New Hampshire Municipal Association
