New Hampshire Bill Tracking And State Guide

1. Drafting the Bill: An idea must be drafted into proper bill form by either elected Representatives or Senators, or by other entities like the Governor or interest groups. A sponsor must be found to submit the draft. 2. Presentation to the Legislature: The drafted bill is given to the Clerk of the Senate or House, introduced, read twice, assigned to a standing committee, and sent for printing. 3. Standing Committees: Committees, appointed by the Speaker of the House or President of the Senate, review the bill. 4. Committee Hearings: A public hearing must be held where people may testify for or against the bill. The committee gathers public input before deliberating. 5. Committee Deliberation: The committee meets to discuss the bill and decides on its fate, submitting a report. The options in this report are "Ought to pass," "Inexpedient to legislate," etc. 6. Floor Action: The bill can be debated and amended in the House or Senate after the committee report appears. It can be killed based on votes. 7. Passing to the Other Body: If it passes, the bill goes to the other legislative body for a similar process. If it involves money, it goes to the Appropriations or Finance Committee first. 8. Amended Bills: Each body must pass the bill in identical form. If there are amendments, it returns to the origin for concurrence, where it may be accepted, rejected, or sent to a Committee of Conference for compromise. 9. Enrolled Bills: Passed bills go to the Committee on Enrolled Bills for final review for errors before being signed by the Senate President or House Speaker. 10. Governor's Approval: The bill is sent to the Governor. The Governor has five days to sign, veto, or allow it to become law without a signature. If vetoed, it can still become law with a two-thirds vote in both houses. 11. Final Outcome: If the legislation is not acted upon before adjournment, it dies (known as a pocket veto). Each bill specifies its effective date.

To get involved in the legislative process in New Hampshire, a member of the public can take the following steps: 1. Propose Legislation: Individuals can come up with ideas for changes or improvements to the laws and seek to draft them into a bill. However, they need to find a sponsor from the legislative body (either a State Representative or Senator) to submit their suggestion for drafting. 2. Attend Public Hearings: All bills introduced and referred to a committee must have a public hearing. The public can attend these hearings to learn about the legislation and express their views. 3. Testify at Hearings: Members of the public can testify during committee hearings. To do so, they must register their intent to speak by providing their name and address to the Committee Clerk. Testimony is given alternately for and against the bill, and speakers should remain on topic. 4. Submit Written Statements: If a citizen cannot attend a hearing, they can submit a written statement to the committee, ensuring their opinions are still considered. 5. Observe Committee Deliberations: Members of the public can observe committee meetings where deliberation and voting on bills take place, allowing them to stay informed about the legislative process.

Tracking bills is hard, especially if you rely on state legislature websites, which are often hard to navigate. Thousands of bills get filed in New Hampshire every year (and about 180,000 bills nationwide). If you want to be an effective advocate, you need to know where legislation of interest stands, and act quickly.

FastDemocracy's free version allows you to track an unlimited number of bills - no strings attached. We'll send you a daily or weekly email on your priority bills and give you tools to research bills and legislators.

FastDemocracy Professional is for anyone who tracks bills in a professional capacity. It features

• real-time bill, amendment and hearing alerts
• automated reporting
• team collaboration
• bill tagging for clients and stakeholders
• bill similarity detection
• ...and much more

1. Sign up here for a free FastDemocracy account.

2. Head to Tracked Topics to select issue areas you care about.

3. Use the search bar on top if you're looking for something specific.

4. Click "Track Bill" for any legislation you'd like to monitor a bit closer. That's how you add it to your Tracked Bills. You can also click on a bill to learn more, see the bill summary, most recent actions, votes, news and tweets. You can also contact legislators or share your bills on social media.

5. You can track an unlimited number of bills for free and we'll send you a daily or weekly email if your tracked legislation moves.

6. Do you need real-time alerts, outreach tools, bill lists, and professional functions? Then FastDemocracy Professional is the right fit for you.

7. Track bills on your smartphone using our free mobile app.

You can use the Find Your Legislators tool to find them, see their voting records, and contact them.