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SB155: relative to financial disclosure by legislators.
Bill details
Version history, amendments, and roll-call votes were not present in the imported local bill data.
Sponsors
- Amanda Merrill Senate · Dist 21
- Sheila Roberge Senate · Dist 9
- Wall House · Straf 7
Topics
Official links
CHAPTER 261
SB 155 – FINAL VERSION
03/18/09 0703s
03/18/09 0871s
22Apr2009… 1330h
06/03/09 1968eba
2009 SESSION
09-0946
09/10
SENATE BILL 155
AN ACT relative to financial disclosure by legislators.
AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the contents of the financial disclosure form which legislators are required to file with the legislative ethics committee. The bill changes the record retention requirements for financial disclosure forms and establishes a penalty for failure to file. The bill also allows legislative financial disclosure forms to satisfy the requirements of RSA 15-A.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/18/09 0703s
03/18/09 0871s
22Apr2009… 1330h
06/03/09 1968eba
09-0946
09/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nine
AN ACT relative to financial disclosure by legislators.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
261:1 New Paragraph; Legislative Ethics; Filing of Forms. Amend RSA 14-B:3 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
IV. The committee shall review all financial disclosure forms required by RSA 14-B:8 and shall place the completed forms on file in the office of the secretary of state for purposes of the requirements of RSA 15-A, in accordance with the filing deadlines established under RSA 14-B:8 and RSA 14-B:9. The filing of a financial disclosure form in accordance with RSA 14-B:8 by a representative, senator, or officer of the house of representatives or senate shall satisfy the requirement of filing a statement of financial interest pursuant to RSA 15-A.
261:2 Retention of Records. RSA 14-B:6 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
14-B:6 Retention of Records. All records required to be filed or placed on file with the secretary of state under the provisions of this chapter, or the rules or guidelines adopted in accordance with RSA 14-B:5, shall be maintained by the office of the secretary of state for a period of 6 years, after which time they may be destroyed.
261:3 New Sections; Financial Disclosure Form; Filing With Secretary of State; Penalty. Amend RSA 14-B by inserting after section 7 the following new sections:
14-B:8 Financial Disclosure Form. Every representative, senator, and officer of the house of representatives and the senate, shall file with the legislative ethics committee a financial disclosure form annually no later than the third Friday of January. The financial disclosure form shall include the following information:
I. The name, address, office, county or district, and telephone number of the reporting individual.
II. The name, address, and type of any business, profession, or other organization (including any unit of government) in which the reporting individual or reporting individual’s family member was an employee, officer, director, associate, partner, or proprietor, or served in any other professional or advisory capacity, and from which any income in excess of $10,000 was derived during the preceding calendar year. Sources of retirement benefits other than federal retirement and/or disability benefits shall be included. If the individual filing the financial interest statement or that individual’s family member has no qualifying income he or she shall report this by writing his or her initials following the statement: “My or my family member’s income does not qualify _.”
III. A statement of whether the reporting individual or reporting individual’s family member has a financial interest in any of the businesses, professions, occupations, groups, or matters listed in this paragraph and a place on the form where the nature of the financial interest shall be described for each matter, as applicable.
(a) Any profession, occupation, or business licensed or certified by the state of New Hampshire, listing each such profession, occupation, or category of business.
(b) Health care.
(c) Insurance.
(d) Real estate, including brokers, agents, developers, and landlords.
(e) Banking or financial services.
(f) State of New Hampshire, county, or municipal employment.
(g) The New Hampshire retirement system.
(h) The current use land assessment program.
(i) Restaurants and lodging.
(j) The sale and distribution of alcoholic beverages.
(k) The practice of law.
(l) Any business regulated by the public utilities commission.
(m) Horse or dog racing, or other legal forms of gambling.
(n) Education.
(o) Water resources.
(p) Agriculture.
(q) New Hampshire taxes, specifying if business profits tax, business enterprise tax, or interest and dividends tax.
(r) A place where the reporting individual may, but is not required by this chapter to, specify any other area for which he or she or a family member has a financial interest.
IV. The following statement regarding the disclosure of financial interest: “An individual has a reportable financial interest in a business, profession, occupation, group, or matter listed in this section if a change in law, administrative rule, or other official action by the general court affecting the listed business, profession, occupation, group, or matter would potentially have a greater financial effect on the individual reporting the financial interest or that individual’s family member than it would on the general public.”
V. The following statement regarding the filing of a declaration of intent form: “If your participation in an official activity creates a conflict of interest not disclosed by the information on this form, you must complete and file a Declaration of Intent Form in accordance with section 5 of the Ethics Guidelines. See section 5 of the Ethics Guidelines for information regarding particular conflicts of interest you may have. Even if you disclose a financial interest on this form, you may still have to file a separate Declaration of Intent Form on a particular bill.”
VI. The following statement followed by a line for the person filing the form to sign and date the form: “I hereby swear or affirm that the foregoing information is true and complete to the best of my knowledge and belief.”
VII. The full text of RSA 14-B:10.
14-B:9 Filing With Secretary of State. All forms filed under RSA 14-B:8 shall be on file with the secretary of state on or before February 15.
14-B:10 Penalty. Any representative, senator, or officer of the house of representatives or senate who knowingly fails to file the form required under RSA 14-B:8 or who knowingly files a false statement on such form shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
261:4 Financial Disclosure; Filing. Amend RSA 15-A:3 to read as follows:
15-A:3 Persons Required to File.
I. The following persons shall file a statement of financial interests as required by this chapter:
[I.] (a) All candidates who file for state or county office.
[II.] (b) All persons filing an acceptance of nomination form for state or county office.
[III.] (c) Every person appointed by the governor, governor and council, president of the senate, or the speaker of the house of representatives to any board, commission, committee, board of directors, authority, or equivalent state entity whether regulatory, advisory, or administrative in nature.
[IV.] (d) All agency heads.
[V.] (e) Any public official designated, due to the responsibilities of the position, by the agency head.
[VI.] (f) The secretary of state and the treasurer, and any of their subordinates designated, due to the responsibilities of the position, by the secretary of state or treasurer.
[VII.] (g) All persons elected to state or county office, and all persons appointed to such elective office to fill a vacancy[; and].
[VIII.] (h) Any person, not employed by or working under contract for the state, who is acting on behalf of the governor or an agency while engaged in state business.
II. The filing of a financial disclosure form by an elected member of the house of representatives or senate pursuant to RSA 14-B:8 shall satisfy the requirement for filing a statement of financial interest pursuant to this chapter.
261:5 New Paragraph; Legislative Ethics Committee; Definition Added. Amend RSA 14-B:1 by inserting after paragraph II the following new paragraph:
III. “Family member” means any person related to and living in the same domicile as the representative, senator, and officer of the house of representatives or senate who shares a common economic interest in the expenses of daily living, including, but not limited to, a spouse, child, or parents.
261:6 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
Approved: July 16, 2009
Effective Date: September 14, 2009