Fall 2024 Legislative Update

The information contained in this article is not intended as legal advice and may no longer be accurate due to changes in the law. Consult NHMA's legal services or your municipal attorney.

It has been a busy fall for our government affairs team. NHMA’s now three-year relationship with BEA on providing guidance on land use law changes is an extraordinarily hot topic this year. In total, the joint NHMABEA team will be presenting on the topic at least five times (and, of course, we have our guidance document). NHMA also put together a thorough guidance document on the changes to the Right-to-Know Law and have fielded a number of questions about those changes. It is an election year, so legislators (and members) are busy contacting staff to discuss ideas for legislation. (Please keep doing so.) And, of course, we just completed our 2025-2026 legislative policy process.

At this point, we have no idea what the legislative makeup will be for the 2025-2026 legislative session. What we do know is that with a new governor, new Senate president, and the very real possibility of the House’s composition shifting one way or another, we are probably in for a very different set of circumstances than we faced over the past few years. Regardless of how it turns out, we already know that there won’t be much in the way of excess state revenue and, consequently, any one-time allocations to cities and towns will be correspondingly smaller.

In talking with legislators, it is clear that the number one issue that they’re hearing about from constituents is “housing.” With 170 public legislative service requests filed, we’re already following 52, with 11 being about planning, zoning, or land use. And we are aware of conversations on at least a dozen more “housing” topics. Frankly, it would not surprise us to see several dozen more “housing” related bills filed for the 2025 session by the time the total bill list comes out in January.

We already know that some ideas are being given priority by legislators. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are returning as a focus of, at least two, bills. Turning government-owned property into housing is another popular idea. With that in mind, please take a moment to read Stephen Buckley’s article in this edition on government owned property. And, of course, please take a moment to read the joint BEA-NHMA guidance on land use law changes this year. (It may give you something to talk about with your local legislators.)

Speaking of legislators, we are obligated to remind you that it is an election year. That means that it’s a great opportunity to meet your new legislators and refresh your relationships with your returning legislators. If your municipality does not already have one, this is also a great time for the local governing body to begin building a formal relationship with your local legislators. We have heard from a number of members who have their local governing body regularly request local legislators attend their meetings and provide legislative updates on subjects of municipal interest. (And we regularly hear from a few legislators who are very interested to know what their local select boards may ask them.)

As the wheels of conversation are greased, new ideas about how to help cities and towns may come into existence. If they do, and your legislators are interested, please remember to reach out. NHMA is a legislative resource as well as a legal advisory one. We are happy to chat with members and legislators about ideas for legislation, research prior attempts (if any), and help identify other stakeholders. Plus, we love the opportunity to help our members with solving problems.

We look forward to working with you over the coming legislative session and please expect to hear more from our government affairs team in early January. The legislature starts a bit later this year, and so our advocacy communications will as well. Nevertheless, as new legislative service requests are published, we will continue to update our bill tracker, so if you want an early preview, please do visit our bill tracker (https://www.nhmunicipal.org/nhmabill-tracker-fastdemocracy) and consider subscribing to email updates by heading to the portal now! Log into your member portal. Click "Edit This Profile." Click "Newsletter Management." Then choose which newsletters you would like to receive.