HB1181 Relative to public hearing notice requirements for zoning board of adjustment appeals.
Relative to public hearing notice requirements for zoning board of adjustment appeals.
Impact Score — How Does This Bill Affect You?
Overall Impact Score
Mixed
Scale: 1 (harmful) to 10 (beneficial)
Your Wallet
Municipalities save advertising costs (under $10,000 per municipality), which could reduce property tax pressure, though savings are modest.
Your Community
The bill is procedurally neutral for most residents; it maintains public notice requirements but shifts the mechanism from newspapers to websites.
Your Freedom
Digital notice may improve access for some residents with internet access, but potentially reduces notice reach for those without internet or who relied on newspaper circulation.
Status
Inexpedient to Legislate: Motion Adopted Voice Vote 03/05/2026 House Journal 6 P. 27
Sponsor
Melissa Litchfield (R)
The Short Version
This bill changes how zoning board of adjustment hearings are publicly noticed—replacing newspaper publication with posting on municipal websites for at least 5 days, with a fallback to physical posting in 2 public places if no website exists. It reduces municipalities' advertising costs by less than $10,000 per municipality on average.
Who's Behind This Bill?
Who Benefits
- ▲ Municipalities (reduced advertising expenses)
- ▲ Residents with internet access who check municipal websites
Who Pays the Price
- ▼ Residents without reliable internet access or who do not monitor municipal websites
- ▼ Local newspapers losing legal advertising revenue
Connected Organizations
Bill statuses as of October 7, 2026. Check LegiScan or NH General Court for the latest.
This bill was auto-scored using AI analysis of the bill text and legislative data. Scores may be refined as we review more bills.