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HB656 Relative to the authority of local school districts to accept federal grants.

Education Now Law Auto-scored

Relative to the authority of local school districts to accept federal grants.

Impact Score — How Does This Bill Affect You?

7

Overall Impact Score

Mixed

Scale: 1 (harmful) to 10 (beneficial)

7
💰

Your Wallet

Taxpayers gain visibility into how federal and state grants are used and what obligations they create, potentially preventing hidden costs or unvetted commitments.

7
🏘️

Your Community

School communities benefit from mandatory public disclosure of grant funding and related obligations at school board meetings, enabling informed civic participation in funding decisions.

7
⚖️

Your Freedom

Local residents and school boards gain transparency and advance notice of grants before acceptance, supporting informed decision-making and democratic oversight of public schools.

Status

Signed by Governor Ayotte 06/12/2026; Chapter 130; eff. 08/11/2026

Voted Yes

185 R + 1 D

Voted No

0 R + 155 D

R Yes D Yes R No D No

Sponsor

Katy Peternel (R)

The Short Version

This bill requires NH school districts to publicly disclose all state and federal grant funds they receive, including anticipated funds in annual reports and unanticipated funds through public hearings or meeting notices. The change aims to increase transparency in school funding decisions and any obligations those grants impose.

Who's Behind This Bill?

Who Benefits

  • ▲ NH taxpayers and school community members who can now see grant funding details in annual reports and public hearings
  • ▲ Local school boards with clearer disclosure requirements for financial planning
  • ▲ Residents who want to evaluate grant-related obligations before acceptance

Who Pays the Price

  • ▼ School district administrators responsible for documenting and disclosing grant information in multiple formats
  • ▼ School boards required to hold public hearings for unanticipated grants of $20,000 or more

Roll Call Detail (1 vote)

Every recorded floor vote on this bill, with each legislator's individual vote. Click a name to see that rep's full record.

Who actually supports this bill?

Across the 1 recorded vote on this bill — counting each legislator's net direction and treating kill motions as opposing the bill — Republicans supported it ( 185 for ) , and Democrats opposed it ( 1 for , 155 against ) .

"Supporting" means voting for passage OR voting against a kill motion. "Opposing" is the inverse. Concurs and amendment-only votes don't count.

Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-01-07
Passed

YES = Pass the bill with the attached amendment. NO = Reject the bill (as amended).

185R + 1D
Voted to Pass (186)
0R + 155D
Voted Against (155)
31
Absent
23
Not voting
Show all 395 individual votes

Voted Yea (186)

Republicans (185)
Democrats (1)

Voted Nay (155)

Democrats (155)
Absent (31)

Adam Presa (R) , Allison Knab (D) , Bill Boyd (R) , Cassandra Levesque (D) , Charles Foote (R) , Charlie St. Clair (D) , David Nagel (R) , Deborah Aylward (R) , Denise DeDe-Poulin (R) , Douglas Trottier (R) , Efstathia Booras (D) , Fred Davis (D) , Gaby Grossman (D) , Gary Daniels (R) , Heath Howard (D) , Jeffrey Tenczar (R) , Jim Creighton (R) , Jodi Nelson (R) , Larry Gagne (R) , Laurence Miner (R) , Mary Ford (R) , Mary Murphy (R) , Merryl Gibbs (D) , Michael Cahill (D) , Michael Harrington (R) , Michael Murphy (R) , Mike Bordes (R) , Myles England (D) , Shane Sirois (R) , Tim Mannion (R) , Travis Toner (R)

Read the Actual Bill → See All Bills

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.