Effective September 28, New Hampshire House Bill 263 increases contribution limits and reporting, registration, and itemization threshold amounts for political committees.

The bill limits contributions to PACs to $10,000 and raises the registration and reporting threshold for those committees to $1,000 from $500.

Additionally, PACs will need to itemize expenditures and contributions of $50 or greater and provide more detailed information about contributors who give $200 or more, an increase from the current $25 and $100 thresholds.

The New Hampshire General Court stands adjourned until the next call of the chair.

Before adjourning, lawmakers passed House Bill 263, which would repeal voluntary expenditure limits, increase the expenditure and contribution reporting threshold for all political entities, and increase the dollar threshold for reporting by political committees.

The bill now awaits Gov. Sununu’s signature.

New Hampshire Gov. Sununu approved two special elections on June 30 to fill empty seats in Cheshire District 9 and Hillsborough District 7.

If there is more than one candidate filed for either political party, the towns in that district are scheduled to hold a primary election on September 7 and the general election on October 26.

If only one person from each political party files for the position, there will be no primary and the general election will proceed on September 7.

The Concord City Clerk’s Office announced a special election for City Council Ward 4 to be held on Tuesday, July 13.

The seat is vacant after former Councilor Meredith Hatfield resigned her position due to moving out of the city.

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of Hatfield’s term until the end of 2021.

A special election for April 13 has been set to fill a vacancy in New Hampshire House District Hillsborough 21.

The primary is scheduled for February 23, but may serve as the general election if no primary is required.

The filing deadline for candidates is January 15.

The inauguration ceremony for New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu previously scheduled for Thursday, January 7 has been canceled due to safety concerns.

A small inauguration ceremony will instead take place the same evening followed by Sununu’s inaugural address at 7 p.m.

Just one week after accepting the nomination as speaker of the New Hampshire House, Rep. Dick Hinch has died of COVID-19.

Hinch’s deputy Sherman Packard will serve as acting speaker until at least January 6, 2021, when the full House is scheduled to meet again and name a successor.

On November 3, incumbent Chris Sununu won reelection for his third term as Governor of New Hampshire.

Gov. Sununu defeated Democrat challenger Dan Feltes, the state Senate majority leader.

Gov. Sununu easily won reelection by receiving a projected 65% of the vote.

On June 30, the New Hampshire General Court adjourned their legislative session.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the legislative session was abbreviated and conducted away from the State House for the first time in over 150 years.

During the shortened session, the Legislature passed bills relating to police reform, absentee voting, and drug importation.

The Legislature will discuss any bills vetoed by the governor when it is expected to reconvene later this fall.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Court has suspended all legislative activities until further notice except for remote public meetings.

Lawmakers previously suspended legislative activities until May 4.

The State House and Legislative Office Building will be closed to legislative members, legislative staff, and visitors during the suspension.

State Senate President Donna Soucy and Speaker of the House Stephen Shurtleff announced the General Court has extended the suspension of all legislative activities through May 4.

During this time, the State House is closed to legislative members, legislative staff, and visitors.

The announcement is in conjunction with Governor Chris Sununu’s emergency stay-at-home order due to ongoing COVID-19 concerns.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Due to COVID-19, the New Hampshire General Court has suspended all legislative activities through April 10.

During this time, the State House will be closed to legislative members, legislative staff, and visitors.

This does not affect lobbyist reporting.

Due to ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19, the General Court is suspending all legislative activities for at least one week.

The legislature will be closed from March 16 to March 20.

The State House will be closed to legislative members, staff, and visitors but remains open for governmental operations until further notice.

This closure does not affect lobbyist reporting.

The General Court of New Hampshire is set to reconvene this week for a veto session over 55 bills vetoed by Gov. Chris Sununu.

The Legislature will discuss bills relating to firearm sales, renewal energy, and campaign finance transparency.

Lawmakers will review Senate Bill 156 concerning political contributions by limited liability companies.

The bill requires political contributions made by a limited liability company to be allocated to members for the purpose of contribution limits.

The House of Representatives is scheduled to meet for two days on September 18 and 19. The Senate is scheduled for one day on Thursday, September 19.