{"data":{"id":"us-nh/rsa-155-a-3-g","jurisdiction":"us-nh","citation":"RSA 155-A:3-g","heading":"Method of Enactment in Certain Towns and Village Districts.","body":"I. Any town not operating under the town council form of government, or any village district which is specifically authorized by law to enact a building code, shall establish a local enforcement agency as defined in RSA 155-A:1 and amend the state building code as permitted by RSA 155-A:3 upon the affirmative vote by ballot of a majority of the legal voters present and voting on the day of the meeting, as provided in paragraph VII.\nII. No local enforcement agency shall be established or the state building code amended at a town or village district meeting until after the local governing body holds at least one public hearing on the proposed code or amendment. Notice for the time and place of each public hearing shall be the same as that provided in RSA 155-A:3-i.\nIII. After the public hearing the local governing body shall, by vote, determine the final form of the ordinance to be presented to the town or village district, which ordinance or amendment may include editorial revisions and textual modifications resulting from the proceedings of that hearing.\nIV. An additional public hearing shall be held if the proposal is substantively altered after public hearing. Subsequent public hearings shall be held at least 14 days after the prior public hearing and with the notice provided in RSA 155-A:3-i.\nV. Official copies of the final proposal to adopt or amend the building code shall be placed on file and made available to the public at the town or village clerk's office not later than the fifth Tuesday prior to the date when action is to be taken. An official copy of the proposal shall be on display for the voters at the meeting place on the date of the meeting.\nVI. Each village district must be specifically authorized to establish a local enforcement mechanism by the legislature.\nVII. If the town or village district has adopted an official ballot for the election of its respective officers, the issue as to the adoption of the proposed building code or amendment shall be presented to the voters of the town or village district by having the town or village district clerk prepare an official ballot separate from the official ballot used to elect town or village district officers which shall include the following question, or by including the following question on the official ballot as prepared by the town or village district clerk:\n\"Are you in favor of the establishment of a local enforcement agency or amendment(s) to the state building code as proposed by the local governing body?\" In the event that there shall be more than a single proposed amendment to be submitted to the voters at any given meeting, the issue as to the several amendments shall be put in the following manner: \"Are you in favor of the adoption of Amendment No. ___ as proposed by the local governing body for the [town (village district)] state building code as follows: (Here insert topical description of substance of amendment.)?\" If such action is to be taken at a meeting other than the one at which officers are to be elected, the clerk shall prepare a special ballot containing the question or questions above stated, and the meeting shall open not later than noon and shall remain open at least 8 hours. If such action is to be taken at a meeting in a town or village district which has not adopted an official ballot, the clerk may prepare a special ballot likewise separate from the ballot used to elect town or village district officers for the use of voters in voting on the question. If a majority of the voters present and voting on any question as herein provided shall vote in the affirmative, the ordinance or amendment thereto shall be declared to have been adopted. When submitting any question to the voters under this section, there shall be 2 squares printed after the question, one with the word \"yes\" beside it and another with the word \"no\" beside it.\nVIII. If an amendment is submitted by the selectmen or village district commissioners, the ballot shall so indicate. A notation on the ballot stating the local governing body's approval or disapproval shall immediately follow the question's description.\nIX. The method for establishing a local enforcement agency or amending the state building code, as set forth in this section, may also be utilized to repeal such ordinance or code. The ballot question shall use the word \"repeal\" in place of the words \"adoption\" or \"amendment.\"","path":["Title XII: PUBLIC SAFETY AND WELFARE","Chapter 155-A: NEW HAMPSHIRE BUILDING CODE"],"source_url":"https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XII/155-A/155-A-3-g.htm","current_through":"2026 regular legislative session. Last updated: September 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-10-11T03:39:38Z","sha256":"88c829b63c92666fd494150a20205e5fa06604887c34849aab8d9932ac93ffca","source_id":"us-nh","stale":false,"prev":"us-nh/rsa-155-a-3-f","next":"us-nh/rsa-155-a-3-h"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}