New Hampshire 2026 Session Status: Enacted 2 D cosponsors

HB 1274 — relative to dog licenses.

Last action — Signed by Governor Ayotte 05/22/2026; Chapter 84; eff. 07/01/2026

  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 01, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Kelly Ayotte (Republican) on May 28, 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

Advancing 54% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    1 primary, 1 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (2 D).

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

This bill updates regulations regarding dog licenses.

The bill makes changes to the laws that govern dog licensing. It aims to clarify licensing requirements and processes for dog owners.

What this means for you
  • Families: Families with dogs may encounter new licensing requirements or processes in managing their pet's registration.

Summary

relative to dog licenses.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

26 added · 43 removed

Plain-language change summary

The bill, HB 1274, increases dog license fees by a quarter for various categories of dogs, meaning owners will pay $4.75 for younger neutered/spayed dogs and $7.25 for older unneutered/unspayed dogs. Additionally, there is a new annual companion animal population control fee of $1.75 to promote responsible pet ownership and fund spaying/neutering initiatives. For senior citizens (65 years and older), the license fee remains at $2, and they will be exempt from the companion animal fee for one dog. These changes aim to enhance community efforts to control the pet population and support animal welfare programs.

→
Previous
Latest
HB 1274-FN-LOCAL - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES SESSION 26-2841 08/07 HOUSE BILL 1274-FN-LOCAL AN ACT relative to dog licenses.
CHAPTER 84 HB 1274-FN-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION SESSION 26-2841 08/07 HOUSE BILL 1274-FN-LOCAL AN ACT relative to dog licenses.
HB 1274-FN-LOCAL - VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES 26-2841 08/07 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT relative to dog licenses.
CHAPTER 84 HB 1274-FN-LOCAL - FINAL VERSION 26-2841 08/07 STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six AN ACT relative to dog licenses.
1 Dog License Fees.
84:1 Dog License Fees.
2 Effective Date.
84:2 Effective Date.
LBA 26-2841 11/17/25 HB 1274-FN-LOCAL- FISCAL NOTE AS INTRODUCED AN ACT relative to dog licenses.
Approved:
FISCAL IMPACT:
May 22, 2026 Effective Date:
Estimated Political Subdivision Impact FY 2026 FY 2027 FY 2028 FY 2029 County Revenue $0 $0 $0 $0 County Expenditures $0 $0 $0 $0 Indeterminable Indeterminable Indeterminable Local Revenue $0 Increase Increase Increase Local Expenditures $0 $0 $0 $0 METHODOLOGY:
July 01, 2026
This bill increases dog license fees by $0.25 per a liceThe New Hampshire Municipal Association states although they don't have the data to quantify how much additional revenue municipalities will generate from this increased fee, it is assumed it will be less than $10,000 per a city or town.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
New Hampshire Municipal Association
⬇ Download PDF
View plain text versions (3)

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor Ayotte 05/22/2026; Chapter 84; eff. 07/01/2026

  2. Enrolled (in recess of) 05/07/2026 HJ 12

  3. Enrolled Adopted, VV, (In recess 05/07/2026); SJ 12

  4. Ought to Pass: MA, VV; OT3rdg; 04/09/2026; SJ 8

  5. Committee Report: Ought to Pass, 04/09/2026; Vote 4-0; CC; SC 13

  6. Hearing: 03/24/2026, Room 122-123, SH, 10:05 am; SC 11

  7. Introduced 02/19/2026 and Referred to Election Law and Municipal Affairs; SJ 5

  8. Referral Waived by Committee Chair per House Rule 47(f) 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 89

  9. Referred to Ways and Means 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 39

  10. Ought to Pass: MA VV 02/19/2026 HJ 5 P. 15

  11. Committee Report: Ought to Pass 02/03/2026 (Vote 14-1; CC) HC 7 P. 11

  12. Executive Session: 02/03/2026 09:15 am GP 153

  13. Full Committee Work Session: 02/03/2026 09:15 am GP 153

  14. Full Committee Work Session: 01/27/2026 10:00 am GP 153

  15. Public Hearing: 01/20/2026 10:45 am GP 153

  16. Introduced 01/07/2026 and referred to Environment and Agriculture HJ 1 P. 13

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 1 co-sponsors · 413 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (1)

Not signed on (413)

413 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 413 →

"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

Subjects

public-safety agriculture
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 1274 do?
relative to dog licenses.
Who sponsors HB 1274?
HB 1274 is sponsored by Peter Petrigno (Democrat) and Paul Dargie (Democrat).
What is the current status of HB 1274?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced December 01, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1274?
Track HB 1274 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

Make your voice heard on HB 1274

Find the representatives who decide this bill and tell them where you stand — for yourself, or mobilize your whole list in one click with One Click Politics advocacy software.

Find my representatives → Run a campaign

Stay ahead of HB 1274

Last checked for changes about 2 months ago · updated continuously

One Click Politics tracks every bill in Congress and all 50 states.

Track this bill →