With winter comes cold temperatures, trips to warm places and the New Hampshire Legislative Session.  The public policy committee (PPC), chaired by Kathy DeMello is working very hard to educate the board and the membership of bills which could impact our industry.  The PPC works closely with Pat McDermott of Hinckley Allen who guides us through the process.  The committee reviews and discusses bills, then makes a recommendation to the board of directors.  They may vote to request that the board support or not support a bill.  That request is then taken up in the form of a motion at a board meeting.  In some cases, CIBOR will testify at a hearing.  

Here is a line-up of some of the bills: 

• SB 557 would establish a board of Housing Development Appeals.   This board would provide an opportunity for a developer to appeal a local planning/zoning decision without going to Superior Court, while keeping the Superior Court option open.  The PPC voted to request that the board support SB 557.

• SB 461 would increase the number of continuing education credits from 15 to 21 and would specify certain of the credits be designed for specific licensees.   The PPC voted to request that the board support SB 461.

• SB 509 would require certain property owners to provide income and expense information to assessors if requested.  The PPC voted to request CIBOR to oppose this bill. CIBOR has assisted in the defeat of similar bills in the past.  The board voted to oppose the bill. 

• SB 121 addresses the EPA related MS4 storm water runoff rules by setting up an advisory commission to assist DES in reviewing the merits and costs of DES accepting delegated authority.  The PPC has set up a task force to work on SB 121.

• HB 1215 is another rerun.  It would require that the five variance criteria be voted on separately. Each would require a minimum of 3 votes to pass.

In addition, we are monitoring the movement of a lead paint bill, SB 247, and SB401, regarding Private Road Maintenance.  

For details about the bills themselves, go to https://legiscan.com/NH.

Ralph Valentine is the 2018 president of the NH CIBOR, Bedford, N.H.