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CHAPTER 140
SB 598 - FINAL VERSION
03/05/2026 0780s
05/07/2026 1889EBA
2026 SESSION
26-2256
08/09
SENATE BILL
598
AN ACT
establishing the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund task force.
SPONSORS: Sen. McConkey, Dist 3; Sen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Lang, Dist 2; Rep. Peternel, Carr. 6; Rep. J. MacDonald, Carr. 6; Rep. Taylor, Carr. 8; Rep. Crawford, Carr. 3
COMMITTEE: Energy and Natural Resources
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund task force.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in
bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [
in brackets and struckthrough.
]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
03/05/2026 0780s
05/07/2026 1889EBA 26-2256
08/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT
establishing the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund task force.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
140:1 New Section; Cyanobacteria Mitigation Loan and Grant Fund Task Force. Amend RSA 485-A by inserting after section 61 the following new section:
485-A:62 Cyanobacteria Mitigation Loan and Grant Fund Task Force.
I. There is established a task force to study developing a sustainable funding source for the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund established in RSA 485-A:58.
II. Notwithstanding RSA 14:49, the members of the task force shall be as follows:
(a) One member of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
(b) Two members of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(c) The governor, or designee.
(d) The commissioner of the department of transportation, or designee.
(e) The director of the department of environmental services' subsurface systems bureau.
(f) The director of the department of environmental services' limnology center.
(g) The executive director of the fish and game department, or designee.
(h) A member of the marine patrol, appointed by the director of the division of state police.
(i) A director of a river association or their designee, appointed by the president of the senate.
(j) A director of a lake association or their designee, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
III. Legislative members of the task force shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the task force.
IV. The task force shall:
(a) Explore including a voluntary decal program to be displayed on non-motorized watercraft, allowing people to donate to the fund by selecting a check box on their motorized boat and sailboat registrations and mooring decal permits. Such program shall be patterned after the New Hampshire voluntary hike safe card under RSA 206:26-bb.
(b) Explore establishing a license plate decal.
(c) Explore other voluntary funding sources.
(d) Explore the direction of a portion of the failed septic design application fee to be transfered to the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund.
(e) Explore reallocating a percentage, to be determined by the department of transportation, of mitigation funds resulting from transportation drainage impacts that are currently allocated to the aquatic resource compensatory mitigation fund established in RSA 482-A:29 to the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund.
(f) Explore the establishment of a program at the department of transportation for the purpose of improving and/or upgrading culverts, drainage features, or other stormwater infrastructure in the same watershed as the impacts with the goal of reducing cyanobacteria in New Hampshire water bodies.
(g) Explore any other issues the task force discovers may lead to a sustainable funding source for the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund.
V. The members of the task force shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the task force shall be called by the first-named senate member. The first meeting of the task force shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the task force shall constitute a quorum.
VI. The task force shall report its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation to the president of the senate, the speaker of the house of representatives, the senate clerk, the house clerk, the governor, and the state library on or before January 1, 2027.
140:2 Repeal. RSA 485-A:62, relative to the cyanobacteria mitigation loan and grant fund task force, is repealed.
140:3 Effective Date.
I. Section 2 of this act shall take effect January 1, 2027.
II. The remainder of this act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: June 12, 2026
Effective Date:
I. Section 2 effective January 1, 2027
II. Remainder effective June 12, 2026