A view of the NH State House from the Conservation Center in Concord.
The New Hampshire Legislature convenes on January 4, 2023 for the opening day of its 168th Session. As is the case with every session, the Legislature faces a heavy workload of bills they will need to consider. For the 2023 Session, they will need to work through nearly 800 bills. Each one of those bills will receive a committee hearing and a vote before the House of Representatives or the Senate.
The legislative process begins when a member files a Legislative Service Request, or “LSR” for short. LSRs are simply a bare-bones description of the sponsor’s intent for the bill. Although they do not provide the bill language or even the committee to which the bill will be referred, reviewing them will give the reader a good sense of which topics will be priorities for the Legislature in the coming session.
Listed below are the issue areas we believe will be of interest to environmental protection, renewable energy and conservation stakeholders in New Hampshire. To view the LSRs that may be of interest to these groups, click here.
- CLIMATE CHANGE: The Legislature will consider four bills that address climate including one (LSR 2023-0061) that would establish greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the state.
- ENERGY: As is the case every session, energy will be a top focus of legislative activity. At least 37 bills will be heard in 2023 including one (LSR 2023-0387) regarding the NH Site Evaluation Committee.
- SOLID WASTE: As in 2022, the Legislature will consider six bills that focus on solid waste disposal policy.
- DRINKING WATER AND WATER RESOURCES: Legislators will consider six different bills regarding water resources.
- OUTDOOR RECREATION: The Legislature will take up a bill (2023-0371) that would establish a county tourism development fund.
- OHRVs: The Legislature will consider one bill (LSR 2023-0792) that would make changes to state law on operating an OHRV.
To search through the entire list of LSRs for the 168th Session click here.
All LSRs are finalized with the bill language by early to mid-January. You will be able to read the actual bill language for those bills on the General Court’s website when they are available.