HB 1461-FN-LOCAL
encouraging municipalities with sewage systems to extend system service to neighboring communities.
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 | 3214 |
| 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
Veilleux, Daniel(D) Hills 34, Boyd, Bill(R) Hills 12, Dargie, Paul(D) Hills 43, Dunn, Ron(R) Rock 16, Edgar, Michael(D) Rock 29, Pauer, Diane(R) Hills 36, Rung, Rosemarie(D) Hills 12, Watters, David(D) 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 20, 2026Public Hearing: 01/20/2026 09:45 am GP 154
- January 20, 2026Executive Session: 01/20/2026 09:45 am GP 154
- January 29, 2026Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 01/20/2026 (Vote 18-0; 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 seeks to “encourage municipalities with sewage systems to extend system services to neighboring communities.” The extension of such systems, as the bill proposes, could be key to solving New Hampshire’s housing shortage. According to recent surveys, only 12% of buildable land in the state has access to either, and only 5.6% has access to both. While increasing these numbers is of critical importance, the committee noted that the bill as presented would be impractical for a number of reasons. Establishing (or extending) sewer and water systems is one of the most costly enterprises any municipality can undertake. And while more municipalities will doubtless need to do so in the future, the only mechanism this bill puts forward to facilitate that goal is to establish an expedited review of such infrastructure projects by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES). No NHDES personnel were available at the hearing to testify in support of such expedited review. The bill also contains a section that “compels” municipalities with existing sewer systems that were funded through state or federal loans to extend those systems regardless of “local refusal.” It also conditions that extension on a requirement that no existing ratepayers are to be impacted. Long experience of municipalities already sharing water and sewer infrastructure indicates that ratepayers are always impacted, and that the conditions the bill proposes could never be met. It is also the case that any and all efforts to extend systems within and to other municipalities must be voted on by the legislative body. Despite these technical issues, the committee hopes this effort will go forward in the future once the legal, financial and technical issues existing within this bill are addressed. New Hampshire’s housing crisis will not be solved without a major effort to increase water and sewer infrastructure on buildable land. The committee applauds the sponsor and hopes to see work on a more comprehensive piece of legislation addressing this issue in the future. Vote 18-0.
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 20, 2026 at 09:45Municipal and County Government public hearing recording 0:27:57–0:33:08, about 5 min (estimated)
- January 20, 2026 at 09:45Municipal 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]