Committee Summary for House Municipal and County Government (10/28/2025)

Pauer, Diane(Chairman)(R)[A]2025	Bjelobrk, Marie Louise(Clerk)(R)[B+]2025	MacDonald, John(V Chairman)(R)[B+]2025
Germana, Dylan(D)[D-]2025	Fracht, David(D)[D-]2025	Guthrie, Joseph(R)[C]2025
Gilman, Julie(D)[D-]2025	Grund, Stephanie(D)[F]2025	Stavis, Laurel(D)[CT]2025
Karasinski, Sly(R)[B]2025	Maggiore, Jim(D)[CT]2025	Dolan, Tom(R)[B]2025
Aylward, Deborah(R)[B+]2025	Walker, David(R)[B+]2025	Colby, Eleana (D)[F]2025
Girard, Dale(D)[C-]2025	Franz, Linda(R)[B]2025	Murphy, Denis(R)[B+]2025

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
HB488 3045 00:11:11.279 - 10:07:33 AM	Executive Session	(Second New Title) relative to limiting conflicts of interest and concentrations of power for municipal board and committee members.	Spilsbury, Walter(R)[A-]2025
HB488 2025-3045h 00:19:30.080 - 10:15:52 AM	Executive Session	(Second New Title) relative to limiting conflicts of interest and concentrations of power for municipal board and committee members.	Spilsbury, Walter(R)[A-]2025

HB488 3045: Representative Majori Support00:11:11.279 - 10:07:33 AM; Representative Majori moves to adopt the amendment and speaks in favor, noting the extensive prior discussion on the bill. He describes a working lunch with the sponsor, Representative Spilsbury, to address issues and deficits identified in the original bill. The amendment incorporates feedback from those discussions. While acknowledging it may not be perfect and could prevent some individuals from serving in multiple roles, he argues it prevents conflicts of interest, using an example from his community where dual roles led to an unauthorized use of funds without malice. He emphasizes the bill's intent to avoid such incompatibilities without assuming wrongdoing.
HB488 3045: Representative Guthrie Oppose00:14:31.279 - 10:10:53 AM; Representative Guthrie opposes the motion, stating the amendment offers no improvement and is overly restrictive, potentially disenfranchising town employees from running for office. He highlights challenges in his community of nearly 10,000 people in recruiting volunteers for various boards and committees, such as board of adjustment alternate, energy committee, ethics commission, planning board alternate, and recycling and waste disposal. He notes the bill is not supported by the town clerk tax collector association, suggesting unintended consequences. Guthrie argues towns should handle dishonest individuals locally rather than through statewide restrictions. He gives an example of someone serving on multiple boards who recuses when needed, providing valuable information, and concludes the amendment does not improve upon the original flawed bill.
HB488 3045: Unidentified Representative (possibly Chair or another member) Support00:18:44.640 - 10:15:06 AM; The speaker supports the bill by noting it provides important updates to the 1979 statute on incompatibility of offices, which has been revised several times in the 1980s, early 1990s, 2000, and last in 2014. They contend that in 2025, municipal operations are far more complex than when the law was enacted, with new positions, committees, functions, and increased budgets over the past decade necessitating these revisions.
HB488 2025-3045h: Unidentified Representative (likely Chairman) Support00:19:30.080 - 10:15:52 AM; The speaker reminds the committee that HB 488, prime sponsored by Representative Spillsbury, previously passed the House unanimously on the consent calendar after committee amendments but stalled in the Senate due to workload. Based on Senate feedback, the bill was refiled. The committee held a collaborative full work session, reviewing the bill line by line with input from both sides of the aisle, resulting in compromises to update the RSA. The bill promotes transparency, fairness, and good governance in municipal operations, which aligns with citizen expectations. The speaker will vote in favor of the amendment.
HB488 2025-3045h: Representative Friend Support00:22:06.720 - 10:18:28 AM; Representative Friend thanks Representative Spillsbury and the group for their detailed work. As a proponent of separation of duties to prevent conflicts of interest and improprieties in financial authority, she provided significant input and questions previously. She emphasizes the importance of such separations at various levels, including school boards, for check signing, authorizations, and deposits. Even smaller towns should adopt these measures to avoid issues faced by others.
HB488 2025-3045h: Representative Majori Support00:25:57.760 - 10:22:19 AM; Representative Majori moves for Ought to Pass with Amendment (OTPA) on HB 488, noting that the amendment replaces the entire bill, so no further discussion is needed.
HB488 2025-3045h: Representative Davis Information Only00:31:17.120 - 10:27:39 AM; As the executive session closes the 2025 term's work, Representative Davis thanks the chair and vice chair for guiding the committee through numerous bills in an organized manner. He expresses gratitude to all colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their collaborative efforts.