This is the 20th 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.

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General Comments

This week both the NH House and Senate had general sessions and there was very little policy committee work. The deadline for legislative action—public hearings, committee deliberations and recommendations, and a final vote by the full chamber—is May 21. The last day of the 2026 legislative session is June 4. In the House, the filing period for individuals running for re-election to file a bill for consideration in the 2027 legislature is September 1. Any legislator can begin filing bills November 4.

Next week we anticipate little committee work, but both the House and Senate will have general sessions. The committees of conference (negotiate different versions of the same bill) began work this week. This is point of the session where we need to remain vigilant to ensure a bad amendment does not get inserted onto a bill.

A couple of priority bills are seeing action next week on the floor of the House and Senate.

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.

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 NH 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

Senate Bill 599 (line 32 on the spreadsheet) – This is a bill the NHTOA has been monitoring all session. Like House Bill 1542, it modifies the renewable energy fund. This bill was introduced to correct an unintended consequence of last year’s budget bill. Specifically, last year House Bill 2 raided the renewable energy fund on a one-time basis to help plug a hole in the state operating budget. It did not completely drain the fund and did retain some funding for renewable thermal projects. An amendment was introduced on the floor of the House last week that sought to “clean up” the bill’s language. Instead, it potentially harms thermal and other renewable power projects. The NHTOA and several other renewable energy advocates pointed this out to members of the Senate and House committees dealing with this and they agreed to fix it.

NHTOA position: The NHTOA seeks to remove the harmful floor amendment language.

Action: Today (May 15) the House and Senate committee of conference met and agreed to the Senate language, removing the harmful language. Next week the full House will vote whether to accept the Senate language.

Senate Bill 592 (line 43 on the spreadsheet) – This bill enables regional, conservation, and energy resource planning for habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors. At the hearing in the Senate, the NHTOA expressed concerns that the designation of a “stronghold” or “corridor” could be used to impact natural resource management (e.g., timber harvesting). Working with the bill’s sponsor, the NHTOA helped move an amendment to clarify that data from inventoried habitat strongholds and wildlife corridors are only intended for informational purposes and shall not be utilized as a basis for municipal zoning or planning purposes. The full Senate approved the bill with the NHTOA language, and the House Resources, Recreation, and Development Committee also approved the bill with the NHTOA language. The House approved the bill and because it has a fiscal impact, it was referred to the House Finance Committee. It passed this committee.

NHTOA position: NHTOA supports the amended bill.

Action: On Thursday (May 7) the full House passed this bill with a benign amendment. Yesterday (May 145) the Senate agreed to the House language. The House version of this bill now goes to Gov. Kelly Ayotte for her consideration (veto, sign into law, or allow the bill to become law without her signature).