HB 1400
creating a property tax exemption and credit opt-out mechanism.
Official record at gencourt.state.nh.us ↗Open this bill in the searchable view → · Follow this bill by RSS
On the record
Quoted from the General Court bill status page, not worked out from the docket.
| Status | HOUSE |
|---|---|
| In the House | INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE |
| Introduced | 1/7/2026 |
| Floor date | 2/5/2026 |
| LSR number | 3233 |
| Local government impact | no |
| Committee code | H18 |
Where it stands
House: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
Every floor vote on this bill was a voice or division vote, so there is no record of how individual legislators voted.
A bill goes on the consent calendar when the committee vote was unanimous or nearly so, and any members who dissented did not object to placing it there. It then passes without floor debate. Ten members may file a petition to pull a bill off the consent calendar and have it debated and voted on separately.
Sponsors
Smith, Jonathan(R) Carr 5, Avellani, Lino(R) Carr 4, MacDonald, John(R) Carr 6, McConkey, Mark(R) Carr 3, Peternel, Katy(R) Carr 6, Spillane, James(R) Rock 2, Turcotte, Len(R) Straf 4
Prime sponsor in bold. From the General Court sponsor file.
What happened
Every action recorded in the official docket, in order. Each line ends with the journal or calendar that recorded it; where we have the document, that citation links to it.
- January 7, 2026Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Municipal and County Government
- January 16, 2026Public Hearing: 01/16/2026 10:30 am GP 154
- January 16, 2026Executive Session: 01/16/2026 10:30 am GP 154
- January 27, 2026Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 01/16/2026 (Vote 16-0; CC)
- February 5, 2026Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/05/2026
Votes
Roll call tallies and individual votes from the General Court roll call files. Presiding, excused and absent are shown separately: one member presides over each House roll call and does not vote except to break a tie.
Inexpedient to Legislate
Decided on a voice vote. Only the outcome was recorded — there is no count of how any member voted.
Committee reports
Reproduced from the House Calendar in the committee’s own words.
Committee — INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE
This bill proposes that residents of a municipality may opt out of contributing, through their property taxes, to any or all of a community’s property tax exemptions and credits designed to aid the elderly, veterans, disabled veterans, the blind, the deaf, and other categories of residents found to be entitled to tax relief by standards set by the State of New Hampshire and adopted by the legislative body of the municipality. Based on the assumption that only a minority of residents “turn out” at duly noticed meetings where such exemptions and credits are adopted by the legislative body, the bill’s sponsor deems those votes to be illegitimate and non-binding. The committee is unaware of any state law that requires a majority of the municipality’s citizenry to vote at a public meeting in order for a vote of the legislative body to be legitimate. While this particular bill concerns itself with contributions to duly approved tax exemptions and credits, should its premise hold – then any such duly approved governmental actions could be deemed invalid. Moreover, all residents of NH municipalities have access to taxpayer-funded services such as ambulance, fire, road maintenance, public libraries and the like. There is little distinction between such services and those the legislative body adopts to assist residents who meet stringent eligibility requirements through tax exemptions or credits. Vote 16-0.
Hearings and recordings
Recordings are the General Court’s own, on YouTube. Start times are estimates unless stated otherwise, and the player opens early.
- January 16, 2026 at 10:30Municipal and County Government public hearing recording 2:56:30–3:15:21, about 19 min (estimated)
- January 16, 2026 at 10:30Municipal and County Government executive session recording (start time not identified)
- February 5, 2026House floor debate recording (start time not identified)
Page generated 2026-09-03 from data published by the New Hampshire General Court. Granite Record is an independent project, not affiliated with the General Court. The official record always takes precedence. Corrections: [email protected]