Live Free or Die Legal
This website is not an official source of law. This website does not provide legal advice. For official legal materials, verify against the relevant court, legislature, agency, or other official source. Legal information may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrectly processed. Consult a qualified attorney for advice about a specific legal matter.

This RSA section is an unofficial mirror, is not legal advice, and may be incomplete, outdated, or incorrectly processed.

RSA 32:3 · Definitions

Title
III: TOWNS, CITIES, VILLAGE DISTRICTS, AND UNINCORPORATED PLACES
Chapter
32 · MUNICIPAL BUDGET LAW
Status
current
Official source linked
Yes
Official source Copy section link

32:3 Definitions. – In this chapter:

Copy link
I.

"Appropriate" means to set apart from the public revenue of a municipality a certain sum for a specified purpose and to authorize the expenditure of that sum for that purpose.

Copy link
II.

"Appropriation" means an amount of money appropriated for a specified purpose by the legislative body.

Copy link
III.

"Budget" means a statement of recommended appropriations and anticipated revenues, prepared according to rules adopted by the commissioner of revenue administration under RSA 541-A, submitted to the legislative body by the budget committee, or the governing body if there is no budget committee, as an attachment to, and as part of the warrant for, an annual or special meeting.

Copy link
IV.

"District" includes a school district, cooperative school district, village district, district created pursuant to RSA 53-A or 53-B, or municipal economic development and revitalization district created pursuant to RSA 162-K.

Copy link
V.

"Purpose" means a goal or aim to be accomplished through the expenditure of public funds. In addition, as used in RSA 32:8 and RSA 32:10, I(e), concerning the limitation on expenditures, a line on the budget form posted with the warrant, or form submitted to the department of revenue administration, or an appropriation contained in a special warrant article, shall be considered a single "purpose."

Copy link
VI.

"Special warrant article" means any article in the warrant for an annual or special meeting which proposes an appropriation by the meeting and which:

Copy link
(a)

Is submitted by petition; or

Copy link
(b)

Calls for an appropriation of an amount to be raised by the issuance of bonds or notes pursuant to RSA 33; or

Copy link
(c)

Calls for an appropriation to or from a separate fund created pursuant to statute, including but not limited to a capital reserve fund under RSA 35, or trust fund under RSA 31:19-a; or

Copy link
(d)

Is designated in the warrant, by the governing body, as a special warrant article, or as a nonlapsing or nontransferable appropriation; or

Copy link
(e)

Calls for an appropriation of an amount for a capital project under RSA 32:7-a.

Copy link
VII.

"Sub-account" means an optional level of accounting, one or more levels below the account level. Sub-accounts may be used to budget and track expenses when several different activities are funded by the same account. Sub-accounts may be created by the town or district under the authority of the budget committee, or the governing body if there is no budget committee, but must support the numbering classification system established in the uniform chart of accounts as established by the department of revenue administration in accordance with RSA 21-J:13, IV. Nothing in this chapter shall require the disclosure of any information or data restricted from disclosure by any other statute.

Copy link
VIII.

"Uniform chart of accounts" means a consistent system of accounts used to categorize revenues, expenditures, assets, liabilities, and equity. It identifies the account titles, descriptions, and numbering classification system established by the department of revenue pursuant to RSA 21-J:13, IV. It provides the framework to budget, record, and report financial data logically and provide a robust basis for reporting on the results. Source. 1993, 332:1, eff. Aug. 28, 1993. 1996, 214:1, eff. Aug. 9, 1996. 2003, 95:1, eff. Aug. 5, 2003. 2012, 181:1, eff. Aug. 10, 2012; 186:4, eff. June 11, 2012. 2013, 109:1, eff. Aug. 23, 2013. 2021, 134:1, 2, eff. Sept. 21, 2021. Preparation of Budgets

Copy link

Source note

Source. 1993, 332:1, eff. Aug. 28, 1993. 1996, 214:1, eff. Aug. 9, 1996. 2003, 95:1, eff. Aug. 5, 2003. 2012, 181:1, eff. Aug. 10, 2012; 186:4, eff. June 11, 2012. 2013, 109:1, eff. Aug. 23, 2013. 2021, 134:1, 2, eff. Sept. 21, 2021. Preparation of Budgets

Source history

  • 1993, 332:1, eff. Aug. 28, 1993
  • 1996, 214:1, eff. Aug. 9, 1996
  • 2003, 95:1, eff. Aug. 5, 2003
  • 2012, 181:1, eff. Aug. 10, 2012; 186:4, eff. June 11, 2012
  • 2013, 109:1, eff. Aug. 23, 2013
  • 2021, 134:1, 2, eff. Sept. 21, 2021. Preparation of Budgets

Related materials

Bill relationships

  • 2026 HB1066 amend

    g lease agreements. Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened: 1 New Paragraph; Municipal Budget Law; Definition of Lease. Amend RSA 32:3 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph: IV-a. "Lease" includes a lease agreement, lease-purchase agreement, sale and lease back agreement, installment sale, or other similar agreement to acquire

  • 2026 HB1066-FN amend

    g lease agreements. Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened: 1 New Paragraph; Municipal Budget Law; Definition of Lease. Amend RSA 32:3 by inserting after paragraph IV the following new paragraph: IV-a. "Lease" includes a lease agreement, lease-purchase agreement, sale and lease back agreement, installment sale, or other similar agreement to acquire

  • 2026 HB1085 repeal

    105-C:4 is repealed and reenacted to read as follows: 105-C:4 Duties; Powers. For the purpose of this section, the police commission shall not be deemed a governing body under RSA 32. The duties and powers of the police commission shall be limited to the following powers exclusively. I. It shall be the duty of the police commissioners to appoint such police personnel, including police officers,

  • 2026 HB1145 related

    accounted for separately, shall be segregated from the municipality's general fund, may be spent upon order of the municipal governing body, shall be exempt from all provisions of RSA 32 relative to limitation and expenditure of town moneys, and shall be used solely for investment in affordable housing within the municipality. Affordable housing investment fees shall only be expended to the New Hampshir

  • 2026 HB1145-FN related

    accounted for separately, shall be segregated from the municipality's general fund, may be spent upon order of the municipal governing body, shall be exempt from all provisions of RSA 32 relative to limitation and expenditure of town moneys, and shall be used solely for investment in affordable housing within the municipality. Affordable housing investment fees shall only be expended to the New Hampshir

  • 2026 HB1220 amend

    194-C:9, I shall be placed before the voters of each school district of that school district in a separate warrant article at the annual school district meeting. Notwithstanding RSA 32 and RSA 40:13, the budget adopted by the school district shall not be amended or changed in any way prior to the vote. Each school district moderator shall cause a vote by paper ballot to be taken, record the number of

  • 2026 HB1288 amend

    shall be placed before the voters of each school district of that school administrative unit in a separate warrant article at the annual school district meeting. Notwithstanding RSA 32 and RSA 40:13, the budget adopted by the school administrative unit board shall not be amended or changed in any way prior to the vote, except as provided in RSA 194-C:9-c. Each school district moderator shall cause a

  • 2026 HB1300 amend · effective 2026-11-01

    1 New Section; Municipal Budget Law; Preparation of Budgets; School District Local Tax Cap and School Administrative Fixed Cap on Central Office Administrative Budgets. Amend RSA 32 by inserting after section 5-h the following new section: 32:5-i School District Local Tax Cap and School Administrative Fixed Cap on Central Office Administrative Budgets. I. During the November 2026 state gene

  • 2026 HB1300-FN amend · effective 2026-11-01

    1 New Section; Municipal Budget Law; Preparation of Budgets; School District Local Tax Cap and School Administrative Fixed Cap on Central Office Administrative Budgets. Amend RSA 32 by inserting after section 5-h the following new section: 32:5-i School District Local Tax Cap and School Administrative Fixed Cap on Central Office Administrative Budgets. I. During the November 2026 state gene

  • 2026 HB1313 reference

    “Free speech… ought… to be inviolably preserved.”) The right to free speech protects viewpoints which are controversial, unpopular, and offensive or otherwise inconvenient. II. RSA 132:37 through RSA 132:40 would infringe upon free speech. III. The United States Supreme Court has observed that “‘one-on-one communication’ is ‘the most effective, fundamental, and perhaps economical avenue of political di

  • 2026 HB1313-FN reference

    “Free speech… ought… to be inviolably preserved.”) The right to free speech protects viewpoints which are controversial, unpopular, and offensive or otherwise inconvenient. II. RSA 132:37 through RSA 132:40 would infringe upon free speech. III. The United States Supreme Court has observed that “‘one-on-one communication’ is ‘the most effective, fundamental, and perhaps economical avenue of political di

  • 2026 HB1344 reference

    municipalities, or as otherwise provided in the compact. 53-H:6 Oversight. All records and proceedings of an intermunicipal governing authority shall be subject to RSA 91-A and RSA 32 unless otherwise provided in this chapter. 2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage. HELPFUL LINKS Redistricting Information Ethics Committee Statutory/Study Committees Voting Record

Opinions and discipline decisions mentioning this RSA