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2023 New Hampshire legislative session
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| 2023 New Hampshire legislative session |
|---|
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| General information |
| Session start: January 4, 2023 Session end: June 30, 2023 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Jeb Bradley (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2023 legislative sessions |
In 2023, the New Hampshire General Court was scheduled to convene on January 4, 2023 and adjourn on June 30, 2023.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Republicans won a 14-10 majority in the Senate and a 201-197 majority in the House with two vacancies. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2023 session, New Hampshire was one of 23 state legislatures where neither party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2023
New Hampshire State Senate
- Senate president: Jeb Bradley (R)
- Majority leader: Sharon Carson (R)
- Minority leader: Donna Soucy (D)
New Hampshire House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Sherman Packard (R)
- Majority leader: Jason Osborne (R)
- Minority leader: Matt Wilhelm (D)
Partisan control in 2023
- See also: State government trifectas
New Hampshire was one of 22 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2023 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 23 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 2023 legislative session.
New Hampshire State Senate
| Party | As of January 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 10 | |
| Republican Party | 14 | |
| Total | 24 | |
New Hampshire House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 197 | |
| Republican Party | 201 | |
| Vacancies | 2 | |
| Total | 400 | |
Regular session
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2023 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 2023. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
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 2023 legislative session, there were 51 standing committees in New Hampshire's state government, including 14 joint legislative committees, 12 state Senate committees, and 25 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Administrative Rules Committee
- Capital Budget Overview Committee
- Dedicated Funds Committee
- Employee Classification Committee
- Employee Relations Committee
- Fiscal Committee
- Health Care Reform Oversight Committee
- Historical Committee
- Information Technology Oversight Committee
- Legislative Ethics Committee
- Legislative Facilities Committee
- Legislative Performance Audit and Oversight Committee
- Long Range Capital Planning and Utilization Committee
- Tax Expenditure Review Committee
Senate committees
- Capital Budget Committee
- Commerce Committee
- Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee
- Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Health and Human Services Committee
- Rules and Enrolled Bills Committee
- Senate Education Committee
- Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee
- Senate Finance Committee
- Senate Judiciary Committee
- Senate Transportation Committee
- Senate Ways and Means Committee
House committees
- Children and Family Law Committee
- Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee
- Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee
- Election Law Committee
- Environment and Agriculture Committee
- Finance - Division I Committee
- Finance - Division II Committee
- Finance - Division III Committee
- Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee
- Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee
- House Education Committee
- House Executive Departments and Administration Committee
- House Finance Committee
- House Judiciary Committee
- House Transportation Committee
- House Ways and Means Committee
- Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee
- Legislative Administration Committee
- Municipal and County Government Committee
- Public Works and Highways Committee
- Resources, Recreation and Development Committee
- Rules Committee
- Science, Technology and Energy Committee
- Special Committee On Redistricting
- State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 2022, 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 2022. 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: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 11 | 6 | 9 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 10 |
| Republicans | 13 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 13 | 18 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 14 |
Between 1992 and 2022, 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, which they maintained in 2022.
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, which narrowed to a 201-198 majority in 2022. The table below shows the partisan history of the New Hampshire House of Representatives following every general election from 1992 to 2022. 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: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 136 | 112 | 143 | 154 | 140 | 119 | 148 | 239 | 224 | 102 | 221 | 160 | 173 | 233 | 187 | 198 |
| Republicans | 258 | 286 | 255 | 242 | 256 | 281 | 252 | 161 | 176 | 298 | 179 | 239 | 227 | 167 | 213 | 201 |
| Other | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Between 1992 and 2022, 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, which narrowed to a 201-198 majority in 2022.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job.
Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. But that's just the beginning of what it can do:
- Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments
- We translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language
- And because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan
See also
| Elections | New Hampshire State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ One race remained uncalled after the election, ending in a tie. It will be filled in a redo election in February 2023.
