Government of New Hampshire
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The Government of New Hampshire is a democratic republic form of state government, similar to the government of the United States.
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[edit] Federal representatives
[edit] U.S House Delegation
Based on U.S. census data, New Hampshire has two members of the House of Representatives:
Carol Shea-Porter (D) represents the 1st District, which consists of: Carroll and Strafford Counties; Alton, Barnstead, Belmont, Center Harbor, Gilford, Gilmanton, Laconia, Meredith and New Hampton in Belknap County; Bedford, Goffstown, Manchester and Merrimack in Hillsborough County; Hooksett in Merrimack County; and all of Rockingham County, except Atkinson, Salem and Windham.
Paul Hodes (D) represents the 2nd District, which is the remainder of the state, lying to the west and north of the 1st District.
[edit] U.S Senate Delegation
Like all states, New Hampshire has two senators in the US Senate. New Hampshire's current senators are Judd Gregg (R) and John E. Sununu (R), whose father John H. Sununu was governor of the state from 1983–1988.
[edit] State Government
The New Hampshire state capital is Concord, which has also been known over time by the names "Rumford" and "Penacook." The capital was Portsmouth during colonial times, and Exeter from 1775 to 1808. The Governor of New Hampshire is John Lynch (D).
[edit] State law
The New Hampshire State Constitution is the supreme law of the state, followed by the New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated and the New Hampshire Code of Administrative Rules. This is roughly analogous to the Federal United States Constitution, United States Code and Code of Federal Regulations respectively.
[edit] Legislative Branch
The New Hampshire General Court is a bicameral legislative body, consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate. The General Court is the third-largest legislative body in the English speaking world, with 424 members, behind only the British Parliament and the United States Congress, respectively.[1] The House of Representatives has 400 members, while the Senate has only 24. The legislature at one time reached 443 members, due to population growth. But a 1942 constitutional amendment limited its size to 400, but not less than 375, members.[2]
State legislators are paid $200 for their two-year term, plus mileage, effectively making the state legislators volunteers. The only other benefits are free tolls and use of state-owned resorts. Presumably as a result, members are more likely to be near retirement age or retired than the general public. A 2007 survey found that nearly half the members of the House are retired, with an average age over 60.[3]
With the current estimated population of New Hampshire from the last U.S. Census, there is approximately one Representative for every 3,000 residents. In order for the U.S. Congress to have the same representation, there would need to be approximately 93,000 Representatives.
[edit] Executive Branch
The Executive Branch consists of the Governor, Executive Council, and state agencies. The executive branch enacts and enforces the laws of the state. The Governor is the supreme executive and is afforded the title of His or Her Excellency, though the Constitution only provides for "His Excellency".
Unlike most other states, the Governor shares his or her executive power with the Executive Council, which he or she chairs. The Governor with Executive Council approve all state contracts over $5,000. The Executive Council does not have a check on the Governor's veto power. Both the governor and councilors are elected to two-year terms. New Hampshire and Vermont are the only states that still elect governors to two-year, rather than four-year, terms. The Governor nominates all judicial appointments and most high-level state agency appointments for the Executive Council to approve. Such agency appointments are generally for terms of four or five years, which means that a New Hampshire governor is unable to form a new cabinet when taking office.
New Hampshire does not have a Lieutenant Governor like most states; the Senate President serves as "Acting Governor" whenever the governor is out of the state, or otherwise unable to perform the duties of the office. After the Senate President, the Speaker of the House, Secretary of State and State Treasurer are next in line to serve as Acting Governor.
[edit] Judicial Branch
The state's highest and the sole appellate court is the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The Chief Justice is the head of the judiciary and, with the other justices of the supreme court, oversees the judicial branch. New Hampshire has three additional courts and one division:
- The Superior Court is the court of general jurisdiction and the only which provides for jury trials in civil and criminal cases.
- The state's Probate Court has jurisdiction over trusts, wills and estates, adoptions, termination of parental rights, name changes, guardianship of incapacitated persons, guardianship of minors, partition of property and involuntary admissions.
- The District Court hears cases involving families, juveniles, minor crimes and violations, and civil matters under $25,000.
- The Family Division, which began as a pilot program, has jurisdiction over divorce, custody/support and domestic violence cases in Grafton, Rockingham and Sullivan Counties.
[edit] Local government
Internally, New Hampshire consists of over 200 cities, towns and unincorporated places, governed by guidelines set within NH RSA Title III.[4] Towns typically govern themselves by Town Meeting or by Official Ballot Referenda (SB 2), which was instituted in 1995. Some towns, especially larger ones, are governed by a Town Council instead of a Board of Selectmen. The governing power is found in their Boards of Aldermen (in Manchester and Nashua) or City Councils (all other cities).
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ "House Fast Fact", New Hampshire House of Representatives
- ^ NH House Facts
- ^ Gordon Fraser (December 23, 2007). N.H. Legislature doesn't mirror population. The Eagle Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-04-20.
- ^ New Hampshire Statutes Title III
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