2021 Legislative Session
Bills that would impact business
The 2021 New Hampshire Legislative Session has come to an end. Here are a list of bills passed, and some signed into law by the governor, that would impact business.
| Bill Number | Description | Status |
| COVID-RELATED | ||
| HB2 | Creates a Micro Enterprise Relief Fund that would use federal funds dispersed by the state’s 10 regional economic development corporations to micro enterprises: businesses with less than 10 employees that shut down, laid off workers or lost half of their revenue due to the pandemic. Revokes fines on businesses that defied Covid-related emergency orders. | SIGNED |
| SB103 | Provides business registration, licensing and taxation requirements for out-of-state businesses temporarily performing work in New Hampshire during a declared state of emergency. | PASSED |
| ENERGY | ||
| HB2 | Creates a Department of Energy that will take over the administrative functions of the PUC. Adds “continually appropriated” to the renewable energy fund, so it will continue to be carried over from one year to the next. | SIGNED |
| HB315 | Expands net metering for political subdivisions from one to five megawatts. | PASSED |
| SB91 | Grandfathers in net metering tariff; counts battery storage as distributed energy resource, allowing utilities to use them. | PASSED |
| HB64 | Allows for the exclusion of renewable energy generation facilities’ payments in lieu of taxes from a municipality’s tax base for the education tax. | SIGNED |
| HB289 | Adds electrical storage facilities with more than 30-megawatt hours capacity to the definition of energy facility. | SIGNED |
| HB373 | Adds the requirement to get both executive council and legislative approval for state participation in low carbon fuel standards programs. | PASSED |
| ENVIRONMENT | ||
| HB236 | Creates six-year statute of limitation on lawsuits relative to damage caused by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. | PASSED |
| HB271 | Directs the Department of Environmental Services to set maximum contaminant limits for per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). | PASSED |
| HB413 | Establishes goal to reduce the weight of solid waste disposed by 25% by 2030 and by 45% by the year 2050, compared to 2018. | PASSED |
| HB235 | Charges the Department of Environmental Services to set rules pertaining to new smaller groundwater withdrawals to make sure it doesn’t hurt existing groundwater supply. | PASSED |
| GAMING | ||
| HB626 | Institutes historical horse racing. | SIGNED |
| SB23 | Does away with the requirement that a member of the sponsoring charitable organization be present during certain games of chance. | SIGNED |
| HB533 | Establishes a Division of Investigation and Compliance in the Lottery Commission. | PASSED |
| HB330 | Allows gamblers to bet on a game while it is in process. | SIGNED |
| SB22 | Doubles the price of a Lucky 7 ticket to a dollar. | PASSED |
| HEALTH, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS | ||
| SB38 | Allows cannabis alternative treatment centers to be for profit. | PASSED |
| SB133 | This omnibus occupational licensure allows the temporary license for emergency-licensed nursing assistance, medical service units and telemedicine for out-of-state providers, easing medical shortages. | PASSED |
| HB220 | Establishes freedom in immunizations from the government, but not as a condition of employment with exceptions for state and county medical facilities and nursing homes, and the Department of Corrections. | PASSED |
| SB155 | Allows for a temporary health partner to assist nurses in nursing homes, authorized emergency licensing or medical providers; authorizes Covid-19 testing and vaccine administration by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians. | SIGNED |
| HB567 | Permits certain military personnel, emergency medical technicians and paramedics to apply for licensure as a nursing assistant. | SIGNED |
| HB605 | Adds opioid use disorder as a qualifying medical condition for the purpose of the therapeutic use of cannabis; out-of-state residents qualified in other jurisdictions to purchase therapeutic cannabis in New Hampshire. | PASSED |
| HB572 | Allows a licensed advanced pharmacy technician to administer vaccines. | PASSED |
| HB479 | Includes pharmacists as providers for Medicaid and authorizes pharmacists to provide nicotine cessation therapy pursuant to a standing order. It also prohibits pharmacy benefit managers from requiring additional accreditation of healthcare providers. | PASSED |
| SB57 | Allows pharmacy technicians and interns to remotely perform non-dispensing tasks. | SIGNED |
| LABOR | ||
| HB2 | Institutes a voluntary paid family and medical leave program for state employees that private businesses and individuals can join, which will pay workers 60% of salary for six weeks to care for an infant or family member with serious illness. | PASSED |
| SB162 | Gives the commissioner of Department of Health and Human Services the right to end Granite Workforce Program (which made people work to get Medicaid expansion). | SIGNED |
| SB137 | Sets state tipped wages — currently set at 45% of the federal minimum wage — at $3.27 an hour, even if the federal minimum wage goes up. | PASSED |
| HB258 | Permits wage and hour records to be approved and retained electronically. | SIGNED |
|
REAL ESTATE, CONSTRUCTION |
||
| HB2 | Appropriates $25 million for the state’s Affordable Housing Fund. | SIGNED |
| HB486 | Increases the income and property value criteria for claimants of low and moderate income homeowners’ property tax relief against statewide education property taxes. | SIGNED |
| HB154 | Allows municipalities to offer community revitalization tax incentives for the construction of additional housing in housing Opportunity Zones. | SIGNED |
| HB25 | Appropriates money for capital improvements. | SIGNED |
| SB15 | Ratifies amendments to the state building code and state fire code — something builders have been pushing for. | PASSED |
| SB102 | Omnibus legislation on property taxation that allows municipalities to offer community revitalization tax incentives for the renovation of homes that are m ore than 40 years old, and to adopt a property tax exemption for renewable generation and energy storage systems. | PASSED |
| SB126 | Forbids landlords from evicting for nonpayment if tenants are caught up, and states that tenants don’t need to be served with an eviction notice to get rental assistance. | PASSED |
| SB129 | Establishes a Threatened and Endangered Species Compensatory Mitigation Fund, and speeds up the permitting of altering of terrain permits. | PASSED |
| SB86 | Clarifies planning boards’ use of third-party inspectors. | PASSED |
| SB106 | Forms a committee to update state’s building and fire codes from 2015 to 2018. | PASSED |
| SB 134 | Allows remote notarizations to continue, helping real estate transactions. | PASSED |
| TAXES | ||
| HB1 | The state’s $13.5 billion two-year budget. | PASSED |
| SB3 | Exempts forgiven PPP loans under the BPT. | SIGNED |
| HB2 | Cuts BPT from 7.7% to 7.6% and BET from 0.6% to 0.55% next year. Increases BET filing thresholds. Eliminates the 5% I&D tax, decreasing by 1% a year, by 2027. Makes it harder for employment security to lower the unemployment tax, but makes it even harder to raise it. Cuts $100 million from statewide property tax. Suspends aid to local cities and towns that might increase local property tax. | SIGNED |
| SB101 | Increases BPT filing thresholds from $50,000 to $92,000 of gross business income, and then adjust thereafter to inflation. | PASSED |
| TECHNOLOGY | ||
| HB2 | Sets up a Broadband Matching Grant initiative in which the BEA would give 50% to broad broadband providers, political subdivisions and communications districts. | SIGNED |
| HB77 | Makes sure that only new broadband projects get funded with matching grant program. | PASSED |
| SB88 | Accelerates the timeline in which cities and towns may establish communications district planning committees, which will allow stakeholders to more quickly expand broadband access. | PASSED |
| HOSPITALITY, ENTERTAINMENT | ||
| HB2 | Cuts R&M tax from 9% to 8.5%. Creates a Save Our Stage fund that mainly benefits venues too big to benefit from the Shuttered Venues Operators Program. Repeals the Bureau of Film and Digital Media. | SIGNED |
| HB593 | Requires a food delivery service to enter into an agreement with restaurants before delivering food from that restaurant. | PASSED |
| SB66 | Allows restaurants to offer beer and wine with takeout meals. | SIGNED |
| SB155 | Allows restaurants to expand into streets, sidewalks and parking with local permission. | SIGNED |
| HB15 | Requires short-term rental facilitators of both housing and transportation to collect meals and rooms tax. | PASSED |
| Source: NHBR Research; NH General Court |
