CHAPTER 192
HB 333 – FINAL VERSION
11Feb2015… 0185h
04/30/2015 1404s
11June2015… 2120EBA
2015 SESSION
05/03
HOUSE BILL 333
AN ACT establishing a process for review and reporting of dedicated funds.
SPONSORS: Rep. Umberger, Carr 2; Rep. Weyler, Rock 13; Rep. L. Ober, Hills 37; Rep. Hatch, Coos 6; Rep. McClarren, Hills 29; Rep. R. Ober, Hills 37; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21
This bill establishes a 5-year cycle for legislative review of dedicated funds.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11Feb2015… 0185h
04/30/2015 1404s
11June2015… 2120EBA
15-0239
05/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Fifteen
AN ACT establishing a process for review and reporting of dedicated funds.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
192:1 New Sections; State Treasurer and Accounts; Joint Committee on Dedicated Funds; Agency Review and Reporting of Dedicated Funds. Amend RSA 6 by inserting after section 12-h the following new sections:
6:12-i Joint Committee on Dedicated Funds.
I. A joint committee on dedicated funds is hereby established to review the finances and purpose of all dedicated funds on a rotating basis every 5 years and recommend continuance, amendment, or repeal of relevant provisions. The joint committee shall be composed of 3 members of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, 2 from the ways and means committee and one from the finance committee, and 2 members of the senate appointed by the senate president, at least one of whom shall come from the ways and means committee. The speaker of the house of representatives also shall appoint 2 alternate members to the committee and the senate president shall appoint one alternate member. The first meeting shall be within 60 days after the effective date of this paragraph and called by the first-named house member.
II. The joint committee shall file reports with recommendations for legislation to modify or repeal certain funds and to add newly discovered dedicated funds to RSA 6:12, I, on or before November 1 of each year, with the speaker of the house, the senate president, the governor, and the commissioner of revenue administration. Reports required by this section shall be made available to the general public on the general court’s website.
6:12-j Review and Reporting Requirement for Dedicated Funds.
I. Every 5 years, the agency responsible for administration of a fund or account listed in RSA 6:12 shall prepare a report that:
(a) In addition to the information contained in the report submitted under RSA 6:12-e, identifies all fund or account expenditures during the prior 4 fiscal years by accounting unit; and
(b) Demonstrates the continued need for the fund or account.
II. The report shall be submitted on or before August 15 of the reporting year to the ways and means committee in the house and senate, the finance committee in the house and senate, the joint committee on dedicated funds, the relevant policy committees in the house and senate, and the legislative budget assistant.
III. If the joint committee on dedicated funds, in consultation with the relevant policy committee, determines that the fund or account no longer serves the statutory purpose for which it was created, or that the purpose has become obsolete, the joint committee shall submit legislation to repeal, merge, or modify the fund or account in the next legislative session.
IV. The joint committee shall also annually request information of the department of administrative services as to dedicated funds which are not yet listed in RSA 6:12, I and submit legislation to add them to this list.
V. The reporting year for each agency responsible for a dedicated fund shall be as follows:
(a) Year 1, beginning November 1, 2015, and every 5 years thereafter:
(1) The department of safety.
(2) The police standards and training council.
(3) The department of employment security.
(4) The department of resources and economic development.
(5) The department of state.
(b) Year 2, beginning November 1, 2016, and every 5 years thereafter:
(1) The department of environmental services.
(2) The liquor commission.
(3) The department of justice.
(4) The lottery commission.
(5) The racing and charitable gaming commission.
(6) The judicial branch.
(c) Year 3, beginning November 1, 2017, and every 5 years thereafter:
(1) The department of agriculture, markets, and food.
(2) The labor department.
(3) The department of corrections.
(4) Pease development authority.
(5) The office of energy and planning.
(6) The adjutant general.
(7) The state treasurer.
(8) The insurance department.
(9) The department of transportation.
(d) Year 4, beginning November 1, 2018, and every 5 years thereafter:
(1) The department of cultural resources.
(2) The department of education.
(3) The banking department.
(4) The public utilities commission.
(e) Year 5, beginning November 1, 2019, and every 5 years thereafter:
(1) The department of administrative services.
(2) The general court.
(3) The department of health and human services.
(4) The fish and game department.
VI. The joint committee on dedicated funds may submit legislation at any time after the first review to exempt a fund or account from this section which receives adequate and periodic review elsewhere.
VII. This section shall not apply to trusts as defined in RSA 6:12, III(f).
192:2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 6, 2015
Effective Date: September 4, 2015