2021 New Hampshire legislative session
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2021 New Hampshire legislative session |
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General information |
Session start: January 6, 2021 Session end: June 24, 2021 |
Leadership |
Senate President TBD House Speaker |
Elections |
Next Election: November 8, 2022 Last Election: November 3, 2020 |
Previous legislative sessions |
2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
Other 2021 legislative sessions |
In 2021, the New Hampshire State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 6 and adjourn on June 24.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2020 elections. Republicans won a 14-10 majority in the Senate and a 213-187 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2021 session, New Hampshire was one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
The New Hampshire State Legislature is responsible for redistricting following each census. Legislators were expected to address redistricting as part of the 2021 legislative session. As of the 2020 Census, New Hampshire was one of 37 states where legislators were responsible for redistricting.
Leadership in 2021
New Hampshire State Senate
- Senate president: TBD
- Majority leader: TBD
- Minority leader: TBD
New Hampshire House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: TBD
- Majority leader: TBD
- Minority leader: TBD
Partisan control in 2021
- See also: State government trifectas
New Hampshire was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2021 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
New Hampshire was also one of 28 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the New Hampshire State Legislature in the 2021 legislative session.
New Hampshire State Senate
Party | As of January 2021 | |
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Democratic Party | 10 | |
Republican Party | 14 | |
Total | 24 |
New Hampshire House of Representatives
Party | As of January 2021 | |
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Democratic Party | 187 | |
Republican Party | 213 | |
Total | 400 |
Regular session
The following widget shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2021 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2021. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Redistricting
Redistricting is the process of enacting new district boundaries for elected offices, particularly for offices in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures.
New Hampshire's two United States representatives and 424 state legislators are all elected from political divisions called districts. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity.
To learn more about the redistricting process in New Hampshire after the 2020 census, click here.
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2021 legislative session, there were 38 standing committees in New Hampshire's state government, including 12 state Senate committees and 26 state House committees.
Senate committees
- Capital Budget Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Commerce, Labor and Consumer Protection Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Education Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Executive Departments and Administration Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Finance Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Health and Human Services Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Internal Affairs Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Judiciary Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Public and Municipal Affairs Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Transportation Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
- Ways and Means Committee, New Hampshire State Senate
House committees
- Children and Family Law Committee, New Hampshire House
- Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee, New Hampshire House
- Constitutional Review and Statutory Recodification Committee, New Hampshire House
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, New Hampshire House
- Education Committee, New Hampshire House
- Election Law Committee, New Hampshire House
- Environment and Agriculture Committee, New Hampshire House
- Executive Departments and Administration Committee, New Hampshire House
- Finance Committee, New Hampshire House
- Finance - Division I Committee, New Hampshire House
- Finance - Division II Committee, New Hampshire House
- Finance - Division III Committee, New Hampshire House
- Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee, New Hampshire House
- Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, New Hampshire House
- Judiciary Committee, New Hampshire House
- Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee, New Hampshire House
- Legislative Administration Committee, New Hampshire House
- Municipal and County Governments Committee, New Hampshire House
- Public Works and Highways Committee, New Hampshire House
- Petitions for Redress and Grievances Committee, New Hampshire House
- Resources, Recreation and Development Committee, New Hampshire House
- Rules Committee, New Hampshire House
- Science, Technology and Energy Committee, New Hampshire House
- State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee, New Hampshire House
- Transportation Committee, New Hampshire House
- Ways and Means Committee, New Hampshire House
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the New Hampshire Constitution can be amended:
There are two paths to altering the New Hampshire Constitution: A legislatively referred constitutional amendment or a constitutional convention.
Legislature
A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the New Hampshire State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 240 votes in the New Hampshire House of Representatives and 15 votes in the New Hampshire State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
In New Hampshire, an amendment needs to receive support from two-thirds (66.67%) of the votes cast on the measure.
Convention
According to the New Hampshire Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 10 years starting in 1972. New Hampshire is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.
The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:
State | Interval | Last question on the ballot | Next question on the ballot |
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New Hampshire | 10 years | 2022 | 2032 |
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Party Control: 1992-2025
Four years of Democratic trifectas • Fourteen years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
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Governor | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Senate | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | S | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R |
House | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | R | R | R | R | R |
Historical Senate control
Between 1992 and 2020, partisan control of the New Hampshire State Senate fluctuated. Republicans won control of the chamber in the 2020 elections. The table below shows the partisan history of the New Hampshire State Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
New Hampshire State Senate election results: 1992-2020
Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
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Democrats | 11 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 10 |
Republicans | 13 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 14 |
Between 1992 and 2020, majority control of the state Senate changed six times. During that time, Democrats controlled between 5 and 14 seats, while Republicans controlled between 10 and 19 seats. Republicans controlled the chamber from 1992 until the 1998 election. In 1998, Democrats picked up four seats in the election to gain a majority. That Democratic majority held until the 2000 elections, when Republicans gained two seats to flip the chamber. Republicans held that majority until the 2006 elections, when Democrats retook control of the chamber. Democrats held a 14-10 majority from the 2006 elections until the 2010 elections. The chamber returned to a Republican majority in 2010 after Republicans picked up nine seats. Republican seat totals declined from their 2010 peak over the next three elections, and the chamber flipped to Democratic control in 2018. In 2020, Republicans won a 14-10 majority.
Historical House control
Between 1992 and 2006, the New Hampshire House of Representatives was controlled by Republicans. Partisan control of the chamber fluctuated between 2006 and 2020. During the 2020 elections, Republicans flipped the chamber, obtaining a 213-187 majority. The table below shows the partisan history of the New Hampshire House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2020. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
New Hampshire House of Representatives election results: 1992-2020
Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 |
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Democrats | 136 | 112 | 143 | 154 | 140 | 119 | 148 | 239 | 224 | 102 | 221 | 160 | 173 | 233 | 187 |
Republicans | 258 | 286 | 255 | 242 | 256 | 281 | 252 | 161 | 176 | 298 | 179 | 239 | 227 | 167 | 213 |
Other | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Between 1992 and 2020, majority control of the state House changed six times. During that time, Democrats controlled between 102 and 239 seats, while Republicans controlled between 161 and 298 seats. Republicans controlled the House from 1992 until the 2006 elections. In the 2006 elections, Democrats picked up 91 seats, creating a 239-161 majority. That Democratic majority held until the 2010 elections, when Republicans gained 122 seats. Republicans held that majority until the 2012 elections, when Democrats picked up 119 seats. The chamber returned to a Republican majority in 2014 after Republicans picked up 60 seats. In the 2018 elections, the chamber flipped back to a 233-167 Democratic majority. In 2020, the chamber flipped to a 213-187 Republican majority.
See also
Elections | New Hampshire State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes