This is the 14th legislative/policy update for the 2026 New Hampshire legislative session. I provide this update periodically (almost weekly) while the New Hampshire legislature is in session to keep NHTOA members informed about what is happening in Concord.

If you do not wish to receive this update, please let me know and I will remove you from the distribution list.

General Comments

Following last week’s lengthy session caused by “Crossover” (the halfway point in the N.H. legislative calendar), this week the House and Senate policy committees went to work on the newly arrived bills from the other chamber. Following this week’s committee deliberations and committee recommendations, both the House and Senate will have general sessions next Thursday (April 9), in addition to committee work throughout the week.  

Several bills of interest are seeing action this next week and the NHTOA is calling on its members to weigh in. These Calls to Action are highlighted in RED text.

I am attaching the NHTOA’s bill tracker spreadsheet. It lists all the bills the NHTOA is currently monitoring and working on. All the bills of interest to the NHTOA have been vetted and reviewed by the NHTOA Policy Committee. There are still several bills about which we are seeking information. Therefore, our positions are tentative, pending the additional information.

While reviewing the spreadsheet, there are three notes to consider:

  1. The legislative process is very fluid and moves quickly. The House and Senate Status/Actions are as they are on the day the report is printed. Please note these are subject to change.
  2. The link to the bill text should take you directly to the N.H. General Court website’s link to the bill. Note that during the heat of committee meetings and debate over amendments, this link will sometimes not take you to the most current amendments.
  3. The Priority/Action looks at the entire bill and weighs many factors. The NHTOA Executive Director analyzes each bill and makes a recommendation to the NHTOA Policy Committee.

If you have any questions about any of the bills on the spreadsheet, please contact me.

Lastly, given the diversity of the NHTOA’s membership (landowners, loggers, truckers, foresters, and wood processors), the diversity of bills we monitor and lobby is large. This also explains why we will be following bills that deal with small-business interests, trucking, and renewable energy along with land use, forest management, and real estate matters.

Again, please feel free to contact me if you have any questions about any of the bills listed.

Jasen

House Bill 1040 (line 16 on the spreadsheet) – This bill establishes a study committee to look at the property fraud occurring around quitclaim deeds (i.e., people establishing bogus claims on others’ property).

NHTOA position: The NHTOA supports this bill. The full House of Representatives passed this bill on Feb. 5 and last week the Senate Judiciary Committee passed an amended version (removed a Senator from the committee). The full Senate will be voting on the Judiciary Committee “ought to pass with amendment” recommendation on Feb. 9.

Action: Please be sure to check out the upcoming NHTOA landowner workshop on this subject occurring on April 24, 2- 4 p.m. in Concord.

Call to Action – Kill House Bill 1095 (Increases OHRV weight limits to 3,499#)

House Bill 1095 (line 54 on the spreadsheet) – This bill proposes to increase the weight limit for Off Highway Recreational Vehicles from 2,000 pounds to 3,499 pounds on any state trail in Coös County and the Ammonoosuc recreational trail from Haverhill to Bethlehem and the Warren recreational trail in the town of Warren in Grafton County. At the hearings in the House the bill sponsors attempted to completely remove any weight limit and dismissed the NHTOA’s concerns over damage to trails crossing private property.  In the House, the NHTOA was the only organization/person to oppose this proposal stating,

  • “State trails” are commonly designated along and over woods roads on private property. Therefore, anything negatively impacting these roads (e.g., heavier OHRV traffic) also negatively impacts private landowner access.
  • Negative impacts on roads cost landowners time and money to repair.
  • Although the bill limits the weight increase to trails in Coös County, and the Ammonoosuc and Warren trails, OHRV enthusiasts will not understand nor want to restrict their travels to just one county or specific trails.
  • Advocates for the bill argue the weight increase is justified since NH Fish and Game currently does not enforce this law. NHTOA believes this is not a good reason to remove a law designed to protect landowner assets and natural resources.
  • Advocates for the bill argue OHRV tires have low ground pressure and therefore we can “afford” to increase the allowable weight limit.  NHTOA members are already seeing significant negative impacts with current weight limits and traffic. Increasing weight limits will only make the negative impacts worse.

NHTOA position: For the reasons above, the NHTOA is opposing House Bill 1095 and is asking its members to send an email to the Senate Transportation Committee or attend the public hearing on Tuesday (April 7) at 1:30pm, in room 122 of the State House.

Action: Address your email or letters of testimony to Sen. Denise Ricciardi, Chair and members of the Senate Transportation Committee, Below are the email addresses of the individual committee members.

Senator Denise Ricciari, Chair

N.H. Senate Transportation Committee

State House, Room 106
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301

Chair, Sen. Denise Ricciardi, denise.ricciardi@gc.nh.gov

Vice Chair, Sen. Mark McConkey, mark.mcconkey@gc.nh.gov

Sen. Suzanne Prentiss, Suzanne.Prentiss@gc.nh.gov

Sen. Donovan Fenton, Donovan.Fenton@gc.nh.gov

Sen. Ruth Ward, Ruth.Ward@gc.nh.gov

Committee Staff Vivian Hall, vivian.hall@gc.nh.gov

If you receive any feedback, please pass it along to Jasen at jstock@nhtoa.org

House Bill 1603 (line 56 on the spreadsheet) – The hearing on this bill before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee was continued on Tuesday (March 17). Recall, when it was originally introduced, this bill sought to make significant changes to how the NH Fish and Game Department gathers and maintains location data for threatened and endangered species collected on private property. Although the NHTOA’s membership has a good working relationship with Fish and Game, the gathering and cataloguing of information collected from members’ lands without notification or permission is a concern.

NHTOA position: The NHTOA supports this bill.

Action: NHTOA worked with the sponsor to amend the bill to require the NH Fish and Game Department to conduct a public rulemaking process to develop rules that will address how they will notify/seek permission to gather data about threatened and endangered species on private lands and develop protocols to review the stored data to ensure it is accurate.

At the public hearing, the committee heard from “citizen scientists” and others who argued this bill will impact their ability to gather data on public roads and on private land and submit it to the NH Fish and Game Department. The committee also heard from landowners expressing concern that a state agency is not communicating with landowners before entering their property to gather data.

I am pleased to report that on Tuesday (March 31) the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved an amended version of this bill. The full Senate will be voting on it next Thursday (April 9).

Senate Bill 529 (line 59 on the spreadsheet)

This is one of the three spruce/pine/fir lumber grading bills the NHTOA is supporting this year. This bill seeks to give spruce/pine/fir grown in the United States (SPFs) first right of refusal for state building projects; contractors must consider using SPFs when specifying lumber for state building projects. If all other factors are equal (e.g., price and terms) they will specify SPFs.

On Tuesday (March 31) the House Public Works and Highways Committee unanimously voted to recommend the full House pass this bill. The full House will be voting on this bill later this month.

House Resolution 44 (line 64 on the spreadsheet) – Although not a change to New Hampshire Statute (aka state laws), a resolution is adopted when the General Court wants to make a statement about a policy matter. House Resolution 44 seeks to make a statement about the ownership and management of public lands, including the implementation of “roadless areas” in the White Mountain National Forest. This resolution also touts the recreational and environmental benefits of public lands while any mention of the economic and forest health benefits from active forest management is conspicuously absent.

NHTOA position: The NHTOA has consistently promoted multiple-use management of public lands, which includes active forest management, and the NHTOA has always supported the White Mountain National Forest local planning process. For these reasons, the NHTOA continues to oppose the Clinton-era Executive Order that designated “roadless areas” on the White Mountain National Forest. This land use decision was done outside the local planning process and is an attempt to limit active forest management on these public lands, as the rules for management in defined “roadless” areas can make management impractical. Moreover, designating “roadless” areas through Executive Order establishes de-facto “wilderness areas” without having to obtain Congressional designation.

Lastly there are numerous mechanical and definitional problems with the implementation of this executive order as the “roadless” definition was developed in the context of western forests. In fact, there are “roads” in designated roadless areas of the White Mountain National Forest where active forest management historically occurred. Unfortunately, many roads in these areas can’t be reused now due to the “roadless” designation. Ironically, the successful use of low-impact winter haul roads and low-impact forest management got these areas designated “roadless” and in some instances ineligible for future forest management.   

Action: Unfortunately, HR 44 passed the full House last month and the NHTOA will be engaged in this debate as it moves to the Senate. Stay tuned