This bill amends existing laws regarding petitioned articles at annual or special town and school district meetings. It introduces provisions that allow the written application for a petitioned article to identify a primary petitioner, who will be granted the same amount of time to introduce the article as the governing body or budget committee. If no primary petitioner is specified, the first registered voter listed on the application will assume that role. The bill also clarifies that the right to have an article inserted in the warrant is not invalidated by other provisions of the law.

Additionally, the bill makes several amendments to the relevant statutes (RSA 39:3, RSA 197:2, and RSA 197:6) to ensure consistency in the process of petitioning for articles. It specifies that the primary petitioner will have the opportunity to introduce the article at the meeting and 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.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 39:3, 197:2, 197:6, 40:7