This bill establishes a 10-year Strategic Housing and Infrastructure Development Plan (SHIP) under the Council on Housing Stability, amending RSA 4-H to expand the council's membership and responsibilities. The governor is responsible for developing the SHIP, which will be updated biennially and will include input from regional planning organizations. The plan aims to identify necessary infrastructure improvements to support housing development and mandates public involvement to ensure community input. Additionally, municipalities are required to update their master plans every 10 years and conduct housing progress reviews every five years to evaluate their housing goals and zoning effectiveness.

Key amendments include the addition of new council members, such as representatives from the Division of Planning and Community Development and metropolitan and rural planning organizations. The bill specifies that municipal master plan revisions will occur every 10 years, rather than the previously recommended 5 to 10 years, and introduces a requirement for municipalities to conduct housing progress reviews. The Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) must submit regional housing and infrastructure priorities by April 1 of each odd-numbered year, necessitating the hiring of three new full-time management analysts at a projected cost of $261,000 in FY 2027, $273,000 in FY 2028, and $285,000 in FY 2029. However, the bill lacks clarity on funding for public outreach efforts, leading to concerns about the fiscal impact and potential increases in state or local expenditures.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 4-H:2, 4-H:3, 674:3
HB1814 text: 4-H:2, 4-H:3, 674:3