New Hampshire

Bill to require NH voters to decide on local tax caps gets a hearing — and lots of criticism

Published

2 weeks ago

January 21, 2026

Bill to require NH voters to decide on local tax caps gets a hearing — and lots of criticism

A Republican plan that aims to limit local spending in New Hampshire by forcing cities, towns and school districts to vote every two years on whether to cap property taxes was met with plenty of criticism during its first public hearing Tuesday.

Critics of the bill, which is the latest in a series of proposals from GOP leaders that aim to rein in local spending, questioned if it was constitutional for the state to force communities to vote on a cap — or any measure, for that matter. They also raised concerns about the mechanics of implementing such a cap, as well as its effect in an economy where labor and healthcare costs are growing faster than any community’s tax base.

“You put this cap on a town, you know what’s going to happen? You are going to lay off police. You are going to lay off the fire department. You’re not going to get your streets plowed,” said Rep. Kristine Perez of Londonderry. “This is a crisis.”

Perez was among the 22 House Republicans who bolted from their caucus earlier this month to vote with Democrats to derail a separate GOP effort to impose a cap on local government spending.

Rep. Ross Berry of Weare is lead author of this new proposal, which he repeatedly told colleagues on Tuesday to see as a work in progress. But Berry said a key priority is to ensure voters get to consider a tax cap during high-turnout state general elections in November, rather than during town elections. Berry said he is also committed to making sure any mechanism for voters to override an approved tax cap would require more than a simple majority vote.

“What we have is a framework. We are still developing it,” Berry said.

Limiting local government spending and taxes has been on the agenda for Republican leaders in the New Hampshire House for some time. Before the local spending cap bill that failed during the House’s first meeting this year, there was the failed plan to cap local spending in the state budget Republicans adopted last year. Before that, there was the 2024 law they backed to allow citizens to propose per-pupil caps in school spending. Seven school districts considered adopting such caps last year, and in every case, support fell short of the required three-fifth vote of support.

The prospects of this latest bill are uncertain. No one but the proposal’s sponsor spoke on its behalf during Tuesday’s hearing, while critics lined up.

“This simply defies our system; it assumes that information is known when it is not,” said Margaret Byrnes of the New Hampshire Municipal Association.

Byrnes pointed out that the local tax rates this bill aims to cap aren’t determined until well after municipalities and school districts decide on spending.

Others offered broader critiques, including leaders of Merrimack’s school distinct.

“The state is expanding funding for Education Freedom Accounts and cutting revenues, and is still failing to meet its constitutional obligation to adequately fund education,” said Heather Robitaille, who chairs Merrimack’s School Budget Committee. “We are failing to address the fundamental issues, which is how we fund education.”

Lawmakers will consider a number of school funding bills this year, but no major change in approach is expected. While backers of the local spending and tax caps see getting local spending in hand as a critical step in stabilizing school funding during a time when overall student enrollment is dropping in New Hampshire, critics of the cap argued that spending time blaming local decisionmakers for rising property taxes misses the point.

“It is not the selectboard, and it is not the counties that are causing this problem,” said Democratic Rep. Tom Schamberg of Wilmot. “It is located right here, under the golden dome.”

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New Hampshire

Search found 76 roosters and 261 chicks on property used for cockfighting

Published

12 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

Search found 76 roosters and 261 chicks on property used for cockfighting

CONCORD (WGME) – A woman was sentenced in federal court on Friday for illegal cockfighting in New Hampshire and North Carolina.

Jennifer Scott, 42, of Chester, was sentenced to one year of probation where she is forbidden from owning or raising roosters or chickens. Scott also faces a fine of $2,500.

Scott was found guilty of using her property in New Hampshire to raise and train roosters for cockfighting, sometimes transporting roosters to North Carolina to trade and illegally compete with other roosters.

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During a search warrant on her property, law enforcement found various cockfighting training tools as well as 76 roosters, 84 hens, 261 chicks, and an egg incubator.

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New Hampshire

NH News Recap: ARMI to investigate Kamen’s connections to Epstein

Published

24 hours ago

February 6, 2026

Press Room

NH News Recap: ARMI to investigate Kamen’s connections to Epstein

The latest batch of Epstein files include dozens of records about the relationship between Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender, and New Hampshire businessman Dean Kamen. The board of directors for ARMI, the government-funded Manchester research project led by Kamen, says it will investigate its founder.

Newly revealed documents show some state officials had known for weeks about federal plans for an immigrant detention facility in Merrimack.

And the Gov. Kelly Ayotte gave her second State of the State address this week. We talk about these stories and more on this edition of the New Hampshire News Recap.

Guests:

Todd Bookman, NHPR
Kate Dario, NHPR

More New Hampshire headlines:

Who is representing NH at the Winter Olympics? Meet the Granite Staters going for gold.

House committee overwhelmingly rejects bills to bring back capital punishment

Students ask governor and lawmakers to make NH more affordable so they can stay

White House says it won’t withhold funding from NH schools with DEI programs

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New Hampshire

Who is representing NH at the Winter Olympics? Meet the Granite Staters going for gold.

Published

1 day ago

February 5, 2026

Press Room

Who is representing NH at the Winter Olympics? Meet the Granite Staters going for gold.

Hockey players and alpine and nordic skiers with New Hampshire ties are among the athletes to watch as the Winter Olympics get underway in Italy this month.

The 2026 Winter Olympics open Feb. 6 in Milano Cortina, Italy, and New Hampshire is well represented in hockey and snow sports, including alpine, freestyle and cross-country skiing.

Dartmouth College, which has sent athletes to every Winter Olympics since they began in Chamonix, France, in 1924, has over a dozen student-athletes or alumni competing in Milano Cortina.

Scroll down to learn more about Olympians from New Hampshire, as well as athletes who have ties to the Granite State.

Photo courtesy of Steve Fuller and UNH Athletics

Lucinda Anderson during a UNH cross-country skiing race. Photo courtesy of Steve Fuller and UNH Athletics

Lucinda Anderson, Biathlon

Anderson, 25, is a 2024 graduate of the University of New Hampshire, where she competed on the nordic ski team. She switched to biathlon in 2024.

Cayla Barnes, Hockey

Barnes, 27, attended the New Hampton School in New Hampshire, and then played four years at Boston College, before joining the U.S. team. She is a two-time Olympic medalist.

Mary Bocock, Alpine Skiing

Bocock, 22, is a student at Dartmouth College. She competed for the U.S. Ski Team, not the college team. Her hometown is Salt Lake City.

Sean Doherty, Biathalon

Doherty, 30, is from Center Conway. This is his fourth Olympics. At the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, he was the youngest U.S. athlete to compete in biathlon.

John Steel Hagenbuch is one of two current Dartmouth College students competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Photo courtesy of Dartmouth Athletics

John Steel Hagenbuch, Cross-country Skiing

Hagenbuch is a student at Dartmouth College. He is from Ketchum, Idaho.

Caroline Harvey, Hockey

Harvey, 23, is from Salem. She was also on Team USA in 2022 and won a silver medal at the Winter Games in Beijing.

Grace Henderson, Freeski Slopestyle, Big Air

Henderson, 24, is from Madbury and trained at Waterville Valley before joining the U.S. Freeski Team. Her younger brother, Hunter Henderson, also competes for the U.S. Freeski Team in slopestyle and big air. He is a first alternate on Team USA’s men’s freestyle team.

Read more: Madbury to Milan, Grace Henderson’s ‘amazing journey’ to Olympics

Hilary Knight, Hockey

Knight, 36, who used to live in Hanover, is a four-time Olympic medalist for Team USA. Knight has announced that Milano Cortina will be her final Olympics.

Nina O’Brien, Alpine Skiing

O’Brien, 28, is a graduate of Dartmouth College, and skied at Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont.

Grace Henderson during Women's Freeski Qualification at the Visa Big Air 2025 on December 11, 2025 at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. ©Brett Wilhelm/U.S. Ski & Snowboard — Grace Henderson during Women’s Freeski Qualification at the Visa Big Air 2025 on December 11, 2025 at Steamboat Springs, Colorado. ©Brett Wilhelm/U.S. Ski & Snowboard

More athletes to watch

Other Dartmouth College athletes and alumni who have qualified for the 2026 Winter Olympics include Jasmine Drolet (cross-country skiing), Michaela Hesová (hockey for Team Czechia) Laura Stacey (hockey for Team Canada), Kyle Negomir, Tanguy Nef (skiing for Switzerland), AG Ginnis (representing Greece in alpine), Lauren Jortberg (Nordic), Julia Kern (Nordic), and Rosie Brennan (Nordic), with Brennan competing in her third Olympics.