HB1787

Keep freedom of religion in NH’s constitution.

Hb 1787 would provide some measure of property tax relief for ordinary citizens.

This bill would help to address the inequity in public education in the state. The current structure indirectly punishes children from rural and lower economic areas that have less "property wealth". They have fewer resources at their disposal which impacts the quality of education they receive and oftentimes has a snowball effect where teachers end up spending more out of pocket to supplement what is needed for their class that the school isn't able to provide. It also drives teachers out of these districts due to their inability to pay competitive salaries and the level of difficulty they face in educating adequately because of the lack of resources. All children have a right to a quality education regardless of what town they live in and this helps to address the issues the public schools in this state are up against.

Mr. Chair & Members of the Committee: As a co-sponsor of HB1787, I support its passage and am writing to affirm my belief that the State of NH’s Legislature should be actively doing more to comply with the Rand and ConVal decisions by the NH Supreme Court. This legislation will be an important step in that direction because its shores up the Education Trust Fund with more monies to meet our obligations to public education. This bill will also provide important property tax relief to those towns and people who need it most. I believe the policy underlying this legislation is inevitable, the future of public education funding must change, and this legislation is a reasonable attempt at resolving the inadequate funding of schools. I urge you to vote OTP of HB1787. Thank you. Rep. Mary Hakken-Phillips

Please vote in favor of this bill.

I support this bill which makes several changes to the current problematic funding of schools in NH.

It's long past time for New Hampshire to increase its funding for public schools, as directed by the NH Supreme Court. The Education Trust Fund needs more money. Property tax payers need relief from the increasingly crushing burden imposed by pushing school funding to the local level. New Hampshire's refusal to support public education with anything approaching adequate funding is shameful. That failure needs to end now. Please vote OTP on this bill and show the way to a better future for our schools and communities.

I think this bill makes for a more equal distribution of education funds.

Property taxes in NH are extraordinarily high. Accommodation needs to be made for low and middle income residents. It would seem to me that to not do so is discriminating against low and middle income kids. The

This is a small but solid step toward helping equalize education funding.

Why are we wasting time with bills like this...

I vote this way for the sake of NH voters.

Support HB 1787. NH needs to fix its education funding issues. This bill would be one step in the right direction.

Anything that increases the amount of state aid is important for the state to do. Additionally, having SWEPT taxes disbursed to towns where the money is needed is essential, as well. The stat needs to provide property tax relief in lower income towns!

Add a measure of fairness to the Statewide Education Property Tax and pass this bill, so that distribution of funds is more equitable.

Local property owners in rural towns need the relief that SWEPT originally provided! Our children deserve a quality education regardless of zip code, but the state is killing us with unfunded mandates and downshifting tax burdens from businesses and the very wealthy to home owners. This legislature would rather tax a child $50 for an e-bike than take $1 from a big corporation to support workforce education.

This bill would raise the Statewide Education Property Tax by a relatively small amount, but also add property tax relief for people with low and moderate income. It would require that all SWEPT money be sent to the Education Trust Fund, rather than kept in the local towns where raised, so it can be redistributed in a way that is more equitable and doesn’t overly advantage towns that have more “property wealth” than other towns.

Dear Chair and Members of the House Ways and Means Committee, I write in strong support of HB 1787-FN, an important and long-overdue reform of New Hampshire’s statewide education property tax system. HB 1787 addresses one of the most persistent inequities in our tax structure: the mismatch between a uniform statewide tax and a non-uniform distribution of its revenues. By requiring that statewide education property tax revenues be collected and remitted to the state treasurer for deposit into the Education Trust Fund, this bill finally aligns practice with principle. A statewide tax should function as a statewide tax — transparent, uniform, and used for statewide educational purposes. This reform advances three critical goals. First, it restores fairness and constitutional integrity. For years, the statewide education property tax has been levied uniformly but retained locally, producing vastly different outcomes depending on property wealth. HB 1787 corrects this structural flaw by ensuring that revenues flow through the Education Trust Fund and are distributed through the education grant system established in RSA 198:41. This approach better reflects New Hampshire’s constitutional obligation to fund an adequate education and reduces disparities driven by local valuation rather than student need. Second, it provides meaningful and targeted property tax relief. HB 1787 significantly strengthens the low- and moderate-income homeowners property tax relief program by modernizing income thresholds, indexing them to inflation, and ensuring that eligible homeowners are clearly informed of available relief on their tax bills. These changes recognize an undeniable reality: rising property values and tax bills are pushing fixed- and modest-income residents out of their homes. This bill does not weaken local control — it protects homeowners who are least able to absorb these increases. Third, it improves transparency and accountability. By routing statewide education tax revenues through the Education Trust Fund and clearly identifying their use for education grants, tax billing costs, and homeowner relief, HB 1787 makes the system understandable to taxpayers. Residents deserve to know where their tax dollars go and how those dollars are used. This bill delivers that clarity. The establishment of a bipartisan study committee is also a strength of HB 1787. It acknowledges that additional work remains — particularly in examining relief for renters who indirectly pay education property taxes and exploring deferral options for taxpayers facing temporary hardship. That is thoughtful, responsible policymaking. At a time when property taxes are the number one concern raised by constituents across New Hampshire, HB 1787 offers a principled solution that improves equity without shifting costs onto municipalities or undermining local decision-making. It strengthens our education funding system, protects vulnerable homeowners, and restores public confidence in how we raise and distribute education dollars. For these reasons, I respectfully urge the House Ways and Means Committee to recommend HB 1787-FN as Ought to Pass. Thank you for your consideration and for your continued work on behalf of New Hampshire taxpayers and students. Respectfully submitted, David John Preece State Representative, Hillsborough District 17

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Position recorded without written comment.