§ 49-C:33 — Optional Provisions; Limitations

I. City charters may include provisions relating to any or all of the following matters:
(a) Referendum procedures whereby voters may petition to suspend implementation of an ordinance, except budget adoption and land use regulation ordinances, enacted by the elected body, require a reconsideration by the body and, failing satisfactory reconsideration, require a referendum on approval.
(b) Initiative procedures whereby voters may initiate ordinances by petition, require consideration of the petitioned ordinance by the elected body and, failing satisfactory consideration, require a referendum to enact the ordinance.
(c) Conflicts of interest so long as any provisions adopted are at least as stringent as the state general laws relative to conflicts of interest.
(d) A limit on the annual spending increases that increase the amount raised by taxes under the city budget adopted pursuant to RSA 49-C:23. Such a tax cap shall provide for an override threshold on a vote to exceed the limit on annual increases which shall be by a supermajority as determined in the charter. A tax cap provision in the city charter may provide for specific exclusions for dedicated, enterprise, or self-supporting funds or accounts, capital reserve funds, grants, or revenue from sources other than local taxes, or interest and principal payments on municipal bonded debt, or capital expenditures which shall be by a supermajority vote as determined in the charter. An ordinance or accounting practice that redistributes excludable budget items from within the limits of the capped budget to outside the limits of the capped budget shall be by a supermajority vote as determined in the charter.
II. Any election pursuant to initiative and referendum procedures shall be held within 60 days after certification of a valid petition or at the next regular municipal election, whichever is earlier.

Legislative History

1991, 304:11. 2011, 234:3, eff. July 5, 2011. 2021, 88:2, eff. Aug. 20, 2021.