0266-hb 0577

CHAPTER 266

HB 577-FN-A-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION

AN ACT relative to implementing the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

SPONSORS: Rep. Flanagan, Rock 78; Rep. Kennedy, Merr 34; Sen. Larsen, Dist 15

I. Establishes an election fund for moneys appropriated to the state pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and requires that certain fees and fines be deposited in the fund.

II. Authorizes a statewide centralized voter registration database and communications network.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

AN ACT relative to implementing the Help America Vote Act of 2002.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

266:1 New Section; Election Fund. Amend RSA 5 by inserting after section 6-c the following new section:

I. There is established in the office of the state treasurer a nonlapsing fund to be known as the election fund which shall be kept distinct and separate from all other funds. The election fund is established to meet the requirements of section 254(b) of the Help America Vote Act, Public Law 107-252.

II. The treasurer shall deposit in the election fund all monies received by the state pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252 and all civil or administrative fines or penalties or filing fees collected by the secretary of state pursuant RSA 655; RSA 659; and RSA 664. The treasurer shall also deposit in the election fund such other funds received under state or federal law, or donated to the state by private parties, for the purposes of conducting elections, voter and election official education, election law enforcement, and related information technology projects and improvements, and shall credit any interest or income earned on monies on deposit to the fund.

III. The secretary of state is authorized to accept, budget, and, subject to the limitations of this paragraph, expend monies in the election fund received from any party for the purposes of conducting elections, voter and election official education, the purchase or lease of voting equipment which complies with Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, election law enforcement, and improvements to related information technology. The secretary of state shall not expend any monies in the election fund unless the balance in the fund following such expenditures shall be at least 20 times the estimated annual cost of maintaining the programs established to comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.

IV. All monies in the election fund shall be continually appropriated to the department of state and shall not lapse.

V. The treasurer, upon approval of the secretary of state shall pay the expenses of planning, equipping, administering, staffing, maintaining, and improving the election services provided by the secretary of state and related services provided by the department of safety, the department of health and human services, and the department of justice out of any monies in the election fund, subject to the limitations established in paragraph III, notwithstanding any other provision of law.

VI. The secretary of state shall include appropriations from the election fund in the department budget submitted pursuant to RSA 9:4.

266:2 New Subparagraph; General Revenue Exceptions; Election Fund. Amend RSA 6:12, I by inserting after subparagraph (lllllllll) the following new subparagraph:

266:3 New Subdivision; Centralized Voter Registration Database. Amend RSA 654 by inserting after section 44 the following new subdivision:

I. The secretary of state is authorized to plan, develop, equip, establish, site, and maintain a statewide centralized voter registration database and communications system, hereinafter referred to as the voter database, connecting users throughout the state. The voter database shall include the information on the voter registration form and the voter checklists maintained by each city, ward, and town in the state.

II. Any election official in the state authorized by this chapter to have direct access to the voter database may obtain immediate electronic access to the information contained in the voter database related to individuals registered or registering to vote in the election official's jurisdiction. The office of the clerk is hereby designated as a database access point for each town or city. The secretary of state may authorize additional database access points in a town or city, including election day access points at polling places.

III. The voter database shall, upon certification by the secretary of state, be the official record of eligible voters for the conduct of all elections held in this state.

(1) An electronic communications system that provides access for election officials from at least one point in each city and town within the state.

(2) An interactive computer program allowing local election officials access to records contained in the database with a process to add, delete, modify, or print a voter registration record related to the election official's jurisdiction. The system shall be designed so that there can be regular updates to the database, the records reflect the name of each registered voter with no duplication, and the names of ineligible voters are removed. The system shall contain safeguards to ensure that the names of properly registered voters are not removed in error.

(b) Voter database record data shall be verified by matching the records with those of the department of safety and the federal social security administration as are required by law, and with the records of the state agency or division charged with maintaining vital records. For this purpose the voter registration record database may be linked to the state agency or division charged with maintaining vital records and the department of safety, provided that no linked agency or division may save or retain voter information or use it for purposes other than verifying the accuracy of the information contained in the voter database. The link authorized by this subparagraph shall not allow the department of state or election officials direct access to the motor vehicle registration or driver's license records maintained by the division of motor vehicles. The commissioner of safety may authorize the release of information from motor vehicle registration and driver's license records to the extent that the information is necessary to department of state and department of safety cooperation in a joint notification to individuals of apparent discrepancies in their records and to the extent that the information is necessary to resolve those discrepancies. The commissioner of safety and the secretary of state are authorized to enter into an agreement that establishes the services to be provided by the department of safety and the cost for those services. The department of safety shall not be required to provide any services under this subparagraph unless an agreement is in place and there are sufficient funds in the election fund to pay the cost for the services. The system shall facilitate the identification and correction of voter registration records whenever a registered voter has died or has been disenfranchised pursuant to part I, article 11 of the New Hampshire constitution or RSA 654:5 through RSA 654:6, or when the domicile address does not match the address provided by the same individual to the department of safety.

(c) Access by local election officials to the voter database shall be limited to the supervisors of the checklist, city registrars and deputy registrars, and town or city clerks and their deputies, as determined by the secretary of state. Access by local election officials shall be subject to the limitations of paragraph VI, and shall be limited to the records of individuals who are currently registered to vote in the official's jurisdiction and individuals who are applying to register to vote in the official's jurisdiction.

(a) Specify the employees of the department of state authorized to access records contained in the voter database, subject to the limitations of paragraph VI.

(b) Provide adequate technological security measures to deter unauthorized access to the records contained in the voter database.

VI. The voter database shall be private and confidential and shall not be subject to RSA 91-A and RSA 654:31. The voter checklist for a town or city shall be available pursuant to RSA 654:31. Any person who discloses information from the voter database in any manner not authorized by this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

II. The fees paid to a town or city clerk by candidates for state representative shall be forwarded to the treasurer of the town or city and shall be for the use of the town or city. The fees paid to the secretary of state shall be deposited by [~~him~~] the secretary of state in the [~~general~~] election fund established pursuant to RSA 5:6-d.

266:5 Administrative Assessment; Deposit of Assessment. Amend RSA 655:19-c, II to read as follows:

II. The administrative assessment paid to a town or city clerk by candidates for state representative shall be forwarded to the treasurer of the town or city and shall be for the use of the town or city. The administrative assessment paid to the secretary of state shall be deposited by [~~him~~] the secretary of state into the [~~general~~] election fund established pursuant to RSA 5:6-d.

266:6 Registration of Political Committees; Deposit of Fees. Amend RSA 664:3, I to read as follows:

I. Any political committee, except the political committee of a political party, shall register with the secretary of state as provided in this section. The committee shall register with the secretary of state not later than 24 hours after receiving any contribution in excess of $500 or before making any expenditure in excess of $500. The registration shall be accompanied by a fee of $50, which shall be deposited by the secretary of state into the [~~general~~] election fund established pursuant to RSA 5:6-d; provided, however, that the political committee of a candidate which registers under this section shall not be required to pay the $50 fee. Each political committee shall designate a treasurer or agent who is a citizen of this state and who is authorized to receive all process and other legal documents on behalf of the political committee, and through whom may be obtained access to all books and records of the political committee. The political committee shall file with the secretary of state a statement of the purpose of the committee and shall indicate whether the committee will be making independent expenditures in support of or in opposition to any candidate including a statement of the name, address, occupation, and principal place of business of its chairperson, treasurer or agent, and other officers.

266:7 Political Expenditures and Contributions; Penalty; Fines. Amend RSA 664:21, II to read as follows:

II. Any fine assessed under the provision of this section shall be paid to the secretary of state for deposit into the [~~general~~] election fund established pursuant to RSA 5:6-d.

266:8 Ballot Law Commission; Additional Jurisdiction. Amend RSA 665:7 to read as follows:

665:7 Additional Jurisdiction. In addition to the jurisdiction of issues conveyed to the ballot law commission by other sections of this chapter, the commission shall hear and determine all disputes involving alleged violations of New Hampshire election laws of a non-criminal nature for which no specific statutory appeal procedure has already been provided. The commission shall also hear and determine petitions for review of cease and desist orders issued by the attorney general under RSA 664:18, II, if such petitions are filed within 3 days of the order, and shall hear and resolve complaints of federal voting law violations, pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, as provided in RSA 666:14.

266:9 New Subdivision; Administrative Complaint Procedures. Amend RSA 666 by inserting after section 13 the following new subdivision:

666:14 Administrative Complaint Procedures. The attorney general may establish an administrative complaint procedure for the resolution of complaints of federal voting law violations, pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252. The attorney general may adopt administrative rules under RSA 541-A to implement the complaint resolution procedures. The ballot law commission is hereby designated as the body providing alternative dispute resolution as required by section 402(a)(2)(I) of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.

I. The secretary of state shall develop a budget for the biennium ending June 30, 2005 for the purposes of funding costs associated with the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, and shall submit the budget to the fiscal committee of the general court for final approval.

II. The secretary of state is hereby authorized to accept money allocated to the state by the federal government pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252. Said sum shall be deposited into the election fund established in RSA 5:6-d for funding costs associated with the Help America Vote Act, including costs associated with positions and other program expenses.

III. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the secretary of state is authorized to establish positions necessary to implement the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252.

266:11 New Section; Ballot Law Commission; Administrative Complaint Resolution. Amend RSA 665 by inserting after section 9 the following new section:

665:9-a Administrative Complaint Resolution. The ballot law commission shall hear and resolve complaints of federal voting law violations, pursuant to the Help America Vote Act of 2002, Public Law 107-252, as provided in RSA 666:14.

266:12 Contingency. If HB 693-FN of the 2003 regular session becomes law, section 11 of this act shall take effect at 12:01 a.m. on the effective date of HB 693-FN. If HB 693-FN of the 2003 regular session does not become law, section 11 of this act shall not take effect.

I. Section 11 of this act shall take effect as provided in section 12 of this act.

II. Remainder shall take effect July 15, 2003)