HB 1531-FN
requiring applicants for games of chance facilities licensees and game operator employer licensees to enter into host community agreements with municipalities.
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 | 2/19/2026 |
| LSR number | 2652 |
| 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
Ohm, Bill(R) Hills 10, Almy, Susan(D) Graf 17, Boyd, Bill(R) Hills 12, Elberger, Susan(D) Hills 5, Juris, Louis(D) Hills 7, Kuttab, Katelyn(R) Rock 17, Rosenwald, Cindy(D) Hills 13, Scully, Kevin(R) Hills 8, Telerski, Laura(D) Hills 11, 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 27, 2026Public Hearing: 01/27/2026 10:15 am GP 154
- February 3, 2026Executive Session: 02/03/2026 01:00 pm GP 154
- February 10, 2026Committee Report: Inexpedient to Legislate 02/03/2026 (Vote 18-0; CC)
- February 19, 2026Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 02/19/2026
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 would have prohibited the New Hampshire Lottery Commission from issuing or renewing a gaming license until a finalized host community agreement with the municipality was in place. The committee realizes that games of chance facilities are extremely important to assist in the funding of hundreds of nonprofits and as an important avenue for state revenue. Communities that have established these and State of New Hampshire, licensed facilities receive a substantial amount of property tax revenue. In addition, RSA 287-D:4-a requires those facilities to annually operate a “minimum of 7 but not more than 10 dates for the benefit of the town or city where the game operator employer is located.” In the bill’s methodology it states that “licenses could expire before agreements are reached, potentially leading to closures of game rooms for unknown periods of time and losses in gaming revenue.” Further, “a one-month delay in the license renewal for The Nash (based on September 2025 revenue data) would result in a loss of over $1.2 million in state revenue.” In addition to, the loss of employment for the employees, a decrease to the Rooms and Meals Tax, and a substantial loss of revenue to an established New Hampshire business. The committee feels that any host community agreement would be an unnecessary and unreasonable burden on the games of chance licensees. 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 27, 2026 at 10:15Municipal and County Government public hearing recording 1:40:30–2:13:18, about 33 min (estimated)
- February 3, 2026 at 13:00Municipal and County Government executive session recording 5:55:30–6:45:30, about 50 min (estimated)
- February 19, 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]