5/24/25 Housing Matters Newsletter

As we enter the final stretch of the legislative session, the process can become more difficult to follow. Here’s what to expect over the next few weeks:

In order for legislation to go to the Governor, the House and Senate must pass the same legislative language. If a bill was amended in the second legislative chamber then it must go back to the first chamber where they can either concur with the changes (agree to them), non-concur and request a Committee of Conference (both sides negotiate on a compromise), or non-concur without a Committee of Conference (the bills dies – this is rare).

The House and Senate can take up concurrence votes during any legislative session, but the majority are expected to occur on the June 12th deadline to form the Committees of Conference. There must be unanimous support among the members of the Committees of Conference for the compromise negotiated to proceed to a floor vote. We’ll keep you updated on which bills are going to a Committee of Conference in the coming weeks!

The Senate Finance Committee process continues on the Senate version of the budget. They met every day this week and will meet Tuesday-Friday next week to continue adopting amendments ahead of the expected June 3 committee vote and June 5 floor vote.

As of now, funding for the Housing Champions Program (SB 279), expanded CDFA tax credit (SB 158), increased Affordable Housing Fund appropriations (SB 81), and increased shelter funding (SB 113) are not in the budget.

As always, if you have questions about the legislation we mention in the newsletter or housing-related proposals that aren’t included, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

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Best,
Nick Taylor

Executive Director
Housing Action NH
nick@housingactionnh.org

Please continue to voice your support for critical investments in housing in the New Hampshire state budget.

As mentioned above, over the next week, the State Senate will vote on potential amendments to increase access to affordable housing and support our most vulnerable friends and neighbors. You can fill out our petition here to access our budget toolkit and help make your voice heard.

Our budget toolkit includes talking points, sample emails and letters, Senate Finance Committee contact information, and more. This is the final opportunity to influence the Senate Finance Committee before the budget heads to the floor.

House Housing Committee

• Senate Bill 84 (minimum lot sizes) – The House Housing Committee met briefly after Thursday’s session and voted to retain SB 84. This means they will continue to work on this legislation over the summer and fall before a floor vote early next year. SB 84 would expand access to starter homes and those suitable for downsizing by allowing for single-family homes on smaller lots. Read more about SB 84 here.

The Senate Finance Committee plans to meet at 1:30 pm Tuesday-Friday next week in State House Room 103 to continue voting on potential budget amendments.

The House of Representatives will not meet for session next week.

The State Senate will not meet for session next week.

The House of Representatives met for session yesterday and took action on the following housing-related bills:

• SB 165, relative to the audit requirements for consumer cooperative associations. This bill raises the revenue thresholds determining when a cooperative association must conduct an annual audit or financial review, helping ease financial pressures on smaller resident-owned manufactured housing communities while preserving accountability. This bill passed on the consent calendar.

• SB 170, (New Title) relative to development and related requirements in cities, towns, and municipalities. This bill aligns local regulations with Department of Environmental Services standards and creates a seven-day timeline for development review in the initial planning review stage. This bill was tabled by the House.

• SB 174, prohibiting planning boards from considering the number of bedrooms a given unit or development has during the hearing and approval process. During the public hearing, it was alleged that municipalities were restricting the number of bedrooms in projects to prevent families with school age children from moving into their communities. This bill would prohibit municipalities from using number of bedrooms as a criteria for rejecting a development proposal as long as the project meets water supply and sewage requirements. The bill was tabled by the House.

• SB 188-FN, allowing independent permitting and inspections, and allowing local governments to authorize licensed engineers and architects to perform building code inspections. This bill was passed by the House.

• SB 282, relative to stairway requirements in certain residential buildings. This bill, as amended, allows a four-story building (where local height restrictions allow) to have a single staircase provided all safety conditions are met. The committee consulted with the State Fire Marshal, who supports this legislation. This bill passed the House on the consent calendar.

• SB 283, relative to the calculation of floor-area-ratios under local building ordinances. This bill, as amended, will standardize how floor-area-ratios (FAR) are calculated. Currently, different cities/towns calculate FAR differently; some include below-grade areas while others exclude below-grade areas from the calculation. This bill excludes below-grade areas from the calculation. This bill passed the House on the consent calendar.

The State Senate met for session yesterday and took action on the following bill:

• HB 342, relative to the approval process for new construction. This bill would allow property owners to build on their property without seeking a variance for minimum lot size or lot coverage if the proposed building density conforms to the surrounding neighborhood, as verified by the local planning board. This bill passed the Senate on a voice vote.

* Note: House Bill 60 was originally on the calendar for yesterday’s session, but was moved to June 5th. 

New Hampshire Bulletin: Lawmakers pass sweeping zoning reform bills, but some say housing funding is lacking – “…House lawmakers also rejected proposals by Housing Action NH and others to increase the amount of funding going to the state’s affordable housing program — which helps to finance affordable housing projects — from $5 million per year to $10 million, and to double a tax credit program that funds the state’s Community Development Finance Authority from $5 million a year to $10 million.

“Relaxing the regulatory piece is a big deal when it comes to allowing for more attainable market-rate options like (accessory dwelling units), like mixed-use development, (and) manufactured housing. But when you really get to the deeply affordable levels, you need the financing piece there too. And that is in danger of being left out of the equation this session.”

Laconia Daily Sun (Opinion): Carmen Lorentz: State should invest in creating housing affordable to people with low income – “…Our state should be investing in creating more housing that is affordable to people with low income and investing in making sure there is a continuum of emergency shelter available to help people who are experiencing homelessness.

The NH Senate is at this very moment debating the state budget. They can address the root causes of homelessness by supporting the development of affordable homes through the Affordable Housing Fund (SB 81), increasing funding to our emergency shelters (SB 113), and expanding the Community Development Finance Authority’s Tax Credit Program (SB 158)…”

Union Leader (Opinion): Natch Greyes: Why fixing housing policy must begin at the state level – “THERE’S an irony at the heart of the housing policy debate underway at the State House. Opponents of the many common sense, pro-housing bills being considered frequently invoke the idea of “local control,” recycling familiar claims that any state-level reforms amount to “central planning” or impose “one-size-fits-all” solutions that won’t work. But these arguments unravel under scrutiny.

“Local control” sounds appealing. Who wouldn’t want decisions made by those closest to the issue? In practice, though, local land-use control often amounts to control by a small, unrepresentative group — typically older, wealthier homeowners with the time and resources to dominate planning and zoning board meetings. According to the Brookings Institution, fewer than 1% of residents typically participate in local land-use hearings, and those who do overwhelmingly oppose new housing. That’s not democratic control; that’s gatekeeping.”