This guide was originally produced by Citizens Count. NHPR is republishing it in partnership with the Granite State News Collaborative.
If you’ve ever tried to track a bill as it moves through the Legislature, you may have found yourself overwhelmed by unfamiliar terms. In this article, we’ll give you the tools you need to navigate the official legislative website.
Understanding the legislative process
Before we talk about how to track a bill’s status online, let’s quickly refresh ourselves on the path a bill takes to become a law in the state.
Any bill that makes it into state law must first be proposed in either the House or the Senate. It will then be sent to a committee of legislators within that chamber. The committee will consider the bill in detail, make changes if necessary, and then vote on whether the bill should continue its journey. This committee vote is just a recommendation in New Hampshire — every bill gets at least one vote from the full House or Senate. If the full chamber also votes to pass the bill, the bill makes its way to the other chamber where it gets a similar treatment by a committee.
Eventually, successful bills get approved by both the House and the Senate and get signed into law by the governor. Of course, there is plenty more to learn about the legislative process, but this basic understanding should help you track a bill’s progress.
Now let’s talk about how to follow this process through the General Court (the official name for New Hampshire’s Legislature).
1. Navigate to the General Court website and search bills
First, log on to the official legislative website: https://gencourt.state.nh.us
Right from the homepage, you can look up a bill by its bill number (e.g. SB 103, HB 12) or by a word found within the bill (e.g. fiscal, schools) by typing within the respective search boxes.
(If you aren’t sure of a bill number, you can also search for bills at CitizensCount.org/Bills)
2. Select the bill that interests you
The search results page provides a list of bills matching the description you provided. Click on the number of the bill you’re looking for. This will display the bill details page.
3. Read the bill details
There are a lot of details displayed on this page, which can make it confusing to read.
Some important details you might want to learn about a bill:
- What legislator(s) are sponsoring the bill? These are the bill’s authors and biggest supporters.
- Where is the bill in the legislative process? The “docket” shown on the bill details page shows a timeline of actions on a bill, with the latest actions near the bottom.
- Does the bill have an upcoming public hearing? Every bill in New Hampshire gets a public hearing, and anyone is welcome to show up and testify.
- When is the bill getting a vote from the full House or Senate? (This is called a “floor date.")
- Have there been any amendments (changes) made to the original bill? You can find any amended bill texts under “Bill versions” in the left-hand column.
There may also be terms on this page which you are unfamiliar with. Here are some of the most common:
- Amendment Adopted (AA) – This means an amendment or change to a bill passed.
- Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) – This is a motion to kill a bill.
- Lay on Table – This is a motion to set aside a bill without fully killing it. Legislators can vote to remove a bill from the table, but there are some time limits.
- Motion Adopted (MA) – This means a vote passed.
- Motion Failed (MF) – This means there were not enough votes to pass.
- Ought to Pass (OTP) – This is a motion in favor of a bill.
4. Read committee reports
If you want to dive even deeper, you may want to read the committee reports for a bill. After a committee considers a bill, they write a short report summarizing what led them to their decision. They publish these reports in the weekly House and Senate calendars. You will often see hyperlinks on the bill details page referring to “SC 3” or “HC 5," for example. These tell you which edition of the House or Senate calendar contains the committee report for that particular bill.
If you’re looking to read all of the committee reports before an upcoming voting day, you can find links to the House and Senate calendars from the General Court homepage.
Now that you know how to follow a bill, it’s time to get involved in the bill-making process! Keep an eye out for more of these columns or visit citizenscount.org/how-to to learn more.
Citizens Count is a nonprofit serving the New Hampshire community by providing objective information about issues, elected officials, bills, elections and candidates. These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.
