§ 40:4 — Duties

I. The moderator shall preside in the town meetings, regulate the business thereof, decide questions of order, and make a public declaration of every vote passed, and may prescribe rules of proceeding; but such rules may be altered by the town.
II. (a) If the National Weather Service issues a weather event warning applicable to a town on the date of a deliberative session or business session of a town meeting, which the moderator reasonably believes may cause the roads to be hazardous or unsafe, the moderator may, up to 2 hours but not more than 48 hours prior to the scheduled session, postpone and reschedule the session of the meeting to another reasonable date, place, and time certain. If an accident, natural disaster, or other emergency occurs which the moderator reasonably believes may render use of the meeting location unsafe, the moderator may, at any time prior to the scheduled deliberative or business session, postpone and reschedule the session to a date, place, and time certain. To the extent practical, prior to making a decision to postpone, the moderator shall consult with the governing body, the clerk, and as appropriate for the circumstances the police chief, the fire chief, the road agent, and the local emergency management director. The moderator shall employ whatever means are available to inform citizens of the postponement and the rescheduled date or dates.
(b) In the event of a weather or other emergency as described in RSA 669:1 that occurs on or before the date of an official ballot voting day as defined in RSA 652:16-g, which the moderator reasonably believes may cause the roads to be hazardous or unsafe, the moderator may postpone the session in accordance with RSA 669:1 and RSA 669:1-a.
(c) The date originally scheduled shall continue to be deemed the deliberative session, business session, or official ballot voting day of the meeting for purposes of satisfying statutory meeting date requirements; provided, that in towns or districts that have adopted RSA 40:13, the postponement shall not delay the deliberative session more than 72 hours.

Legislative History

Const., Art. 32. RS 33:3. 1847, 490:1. CS 35:3. GS 36:3. PS 42:5. PL 46:4. RL 58:4. RSA 40:4. 1998, 278:1, eff. Aug. 25, 1998. 2019, 192:1, eff. July 10, 2019.