This bill amends existing laws regarding petitioned articles at annual or special town and school board meetings. It introduces provisions that allow the written application for a petitioned article to identify a primary petitioner, who will be granted a minimum of 10 minutes to introduce their warrant articles during the meeting. If no primary petitioner is specified in the application, the first registered voter listed will automatically be designated as the primary petitioner. This change is reflected in the amendments to RSA 39:3 for town meetings and RSA 197:2 and RSA 197:6 for school meetings.

Additionally, the bill clarifies that the right to have an article inserted in the warrant is not invalidated by other provisions in RSA 32, and it establishes that corrections to petitioned articles must not alter their intended effect. The bill also stipulates that the primary petitioner may designate another registered voter to act on their behalf with written notice to the moderator. The effective date of the act is set for 60 days after its passage, which is September 13, 2025.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39:3, 197:2, 197:6, 40:7
As Amended by the Senate: 39:3, 197:2, 197:6, 40:7
Version adopted by both bodies: 39:3, 197:2, 197:6, 40:7
CHAPTERED FINAL VERSION: 39:3, 197:2, 197:6, 40:7