New Hampshire 2026 Session Status: Enacted 7 R cosponsors

HB 1816 — relative to the intervention of the department of education into a school or school district during a financial emergency and requiring the state school board to establish rules governing the vetting of school district business administrator candidates.

Last action — Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/10/2026; Chapter 313; eff. 1/1/2027

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 18, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Kelly Ayotte (Republican) on July 16, 2026.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

Upgrade to see the exact probability and what's driving it.

A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 82% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 7 sponsors

    1 primary, 6 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (7 R).

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 2 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

In plain language

The bill allows state intervention in schools during financial emergencies and sets vetting rules for business administrators.

This legislation enables the department of education to step in when a school faces a financial crisis and requires the state school board to create rules for selecting school district business administrators. This aims to ensure the proper management of school finances.

What this means for you
  • Families: This bill may affect families by ensuring that schools are financially stable and well-managed.

Summary

(New Title) relative to the intervention of the department of education into a school or school district during a financial emergency and requiring the state school board to establish rules governing the vetting of school district business administrator candidates.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

40 added · 72 removed

Plain-language change summary

The updated version of Bill HB 1816 introduces a requirement for the state school board to create rules for vetting candidates for business administrator positions in school districts facing financial emergencies. Additionally, it clarifies that the Department of Education cannot take control of local school operations unless a financial emergency is officially declared. These changes help ensure that there are established standards for leadership during financial crises, which aims to improve accountability and management in struggling districts.

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Latest
HB 1816-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES 11Mar2026...
CHAPTER 313 HB 1816-FN - FINAL VERSION 11Mar2026...
HB 1816-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES 11Mar2026...
CHAPTER 313 HB 1816-FN - FINAL VERSION 11Mar2026...
1 New Sections;
313:1 New Sections;
HB 1816-FN - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES - Page 2 - I.
I.
2 Effective Date.
CHAPTER 313 HB 1816-FN - FINAL VERSION - Page 2 - 313:2 Effective Date.
LBA 26-2410 Revised 04/07/2026 HB 1816-FN- FISCAL NOTE AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE (AMENDMENT #2026-0983h) AN ACT relative to the intervention of the department of education into a school or school district during a financial emergency.
Approved:
FISCAL IMPACT:
July 10, 2026 Effective Date:
Estimated State Impact FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 FY 2029 Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 Revenue Fund(s) None Expenditures* $0 Indeterminable (Possibly No Impact) Funding Source(s) General Fund and Education Trust Fund Appropriations* $0 See Methodology Below Funding Source(s) None *Expenditure = Cost of bill *Appropriation = Authorized funding to cover cost of bill METHODOLOGY:
January 01, 2027
This bill, effective January 1, 2027, authorizes the State Board of Education to declare a school or school district in “financial emergency” and, in such cases, allows the Department of Education to provide temporary oversight and assistance to develop and implement a financial recovery plan.
The plan may include changes to administration, resource allocation, contracts, and governance for up to one year, while maintaining local control outside of emergency conditions.
Potential costs, if any, to the Department of Education are unknown.
The bill intends to allow for the Department to request up to $200,000 from the education trust fund to a "non-lapsing reserve fund" to support corrective and technical assistance.
This is assumed to be no more than $200,000 per district financial emergency recovery plan.
Please note the following relative to this section:
· This states the Department may "request" funds, but is silent on approval required (i.e., Governor and Executive Council, Join Legislative Fiscal Committee, etc...).
· This allows for the Department to "request" funds, however, it provides no appropriation ("spending") authority.
o Similarly, this bill lacks "warrant language" for the allocation of the education trust fund dollars to the "non-lapsing reserve fund".
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Department of Education
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Action History

  1. Signed by Governor Ayotte 07/10/2026; Chapter 313; eff. 1/1/2027

  2. Enrolled (in recess of) 06/04/2026

  3. Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 06/04/2026); SJ 15

  4. Conference Committee Report # 2026-2064c, Adopted, VV; 06/04/2026; SJ 14

  5. Conference Committee Report 2026-2064c: Adopted, VV 06/04/2026 HJ 15

  6. Conference Committee Report Filed, # 2026-2064c; 06/04/2026

  7. Conferee Change; Senator Birdsell Replaces Senator Altschiller; SJ 14

  8. Conference Committee Meeting: 05/26/2026 12:00 pm GP 234

  9. President Appoints: Senators Murphy, Ward, Altschiller; (In Recess 05/14/2026); SJ 13

  10. Sen. Murphy Accedes to House Request for Committee of Conference, MA, VV; (In recess 05/14/2026); SJ 13

  11. Speaker Appoints: Reps. Ladd, Spilsbury, Osborne, Luneau 05/14/2026 HJ 13 P. 147

  12. House Non-Concurs with Senate Amendment 2026-1636s and Requests CofC (Rep. Ladd): MA VV 05/14/2026 HJ 13 P. 147

  13. Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1636s, RC 14Y-8N, MA; OT3rdg; 05/07/2026; SJ 11

  14. Committee Amendment # 2026-1636s, AA, VV; 05/07/2026; SJ 11

  15. Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-1636s, 05/07/2026, Vote 4-2; SC 17

  16. Hearing: 04/01/2026, Room 100, SH, 01:30 pm; SC 12

  17. Introduced 03/12/2026 and Referred to Education Finance; SJ 7

  18. Ought to Pass with Amendment 2026-0983h: MA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 19

  19. Amendment # 2026-0983h: AA VV 03/11/2026 HJ 7 P. 19

  20. Committee Report: Ought to Pass with Amendment # 2026-0983h 03/02/2026 (Vote 18-0; CC) HC 10 P. 12

  21. ==CONTINUED== Executive Session: 03/03/2026 01:00 pm GP 232

  22. ==RECESSED== Executive Session: 02/18/2026 10:00 am GP 234

  23. ==ROOM CHANGE== Public Hearing: 01/27/2026 11:00 am GP 234

  24. Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Education Funding HJ 1 P. 37

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 6 co-sponsors · 408 not signed on · 8 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (6)

Not signed on (408)

408 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 408 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Ought to Pass w/Amendment

Passed 14 Yea · 8 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 13002
Democrat 0800
Total 13802
% of votes cast 57%35%0%9%
How each member voted (23)
Member Party Vote
Cindy Rosenwald Democrat Nay
David Watters Democrat Nay
Debra Altschiller Democrat Nay
Donovan Fenton Democrat Nay
Pat Long Democrat Nay
Rebecca Perkins Kwoka Democrat Nay
Suzanne Prentiss Democrat Nay
Tara Reardon Democrat Nay
Bill Gannon Republican Yea
Daniel Innis Republican Yea
Daryl Abbas Republican Yea
David Rochefort Republican Yea
Denise Ricciardi Republican Not Voting
Howard Pearl Republican Yea
James Gray Republican Yea
Keith Murphy Republican Yea
Kevin Avard Republican Not Voting
Mark McConkey Republican Yea
Ruth Ward Republican Yea
Sharon Carson Republican Yea
Tim McGough Republican Yea
Timothy Lang Republican Yea
Victoria Sullivan Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Ought to Pass w/Amendment

Passed 14 Yea · 8 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Republican 14002
Democrat 0800
Total 14802
% of votes cast 58%33%0%8%
How each member voted (24)
Member Party Vote
Cindy Rosenwald Democrat Nay
David Watters Democrat Nay
Debra Altschiller Democrat Nay
Donovan Fenton Democrat Nay
Pat Long Democrat Nay
Rebecca Perkins Kwoka Democrat Nay
Suzanne Prentiss Democrat Nay
Tara Reardon Democrat Nay
Bill Gannon Republican Yea
Daniel Innis Republican Yea
Daryl Abbas Republican Yea
David Rochefort Republican Yea
Denise Ricciardi Republican Not Voting
Howard Pearl Republican Yea
James Gray Republican Yea
Keith Murphy Republican Yea
Kevin Avard Republican Not Voting
Mark McConkey Republican Yea
Regina Birdsell Republican Yea
Ruth Ward Republican Yea
Sharon Carson Republican Yea
Tim McGough Republican Yea
Timothy Lang Republican Yea
Victoria Sullivan Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 1816 do?
(New Title) relative to the intervention of the department of education into a school or school district during a financial emergency and requiring the state school board to establish rules governing the vetting of school district business administrator candidates.
Who sponsors HB 1816?
HB 1816 is sponsored by Daniel Popovici-Muller (Republican), Walter Spilsbury (Republican), Daniel Innis (Republican), Ruth Ward (Republican), Rick Ladd (Republican), Jim Kofalt (Republican), and Raymond Peeples (Republican).
What is the current status of HB 1816?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 18, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1816?
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