Government and society

Constitutional framework

The constitution of New Hampshire, the second oldest among the 50 states, was adopted in 1784. Every 10 years the residents may vote on the question of holding a convention to consider modifications of the constitution. Proposals that pass these conventions must be approved by two-thirds of the voters at a popular referendum. Several conventions have been held in the state’s history, and a large number of modifications have been adopted, but a considerable portion of the original constitution remains intact.

The governor is elected for a two-year term and is assisted by a five-member executive council, a surviving institution from the colonial era. Members of the council, elected every two years from five geographic districts in the state, must approve most appointments to state offices, all appointments to judicial posts, and all state contracts valued at $5,000 or more.

The bicameral state legislature, the General Court, comprises more than 400 members elected every two years. The House of Representatives, the lower chamber, has between 375 and 400 delegates; the number depends upon the results of the decennial redistricting but in practice is usually maintained at 400. It is thus the largest state-level legislative body in the United States. The state Senate has 24 members.

The state’s judicial functions take place in three levels of courts: municipal and district courts, county superior and probate courts, and the state Supreme Court. All justices are appointed by the governor and executive council and serve until retirement at age 70 or sooner, unless they are removed for cause.

Below the state level, government is organized into counties, cities, and towns. Besides their court functions, county governments run prisons, nursing homes, and some a registry of deeds. Each of the 13 cities has its own charter providing for a mayor-council, a mayor-alderman, or a council-manager form of government. Virtually all the 221 incorporated towns rely on the annual town meeting to guide policy. Towns have a variety of elected and appointed committees, but those matters of general concern recommended by these advisory groups appear as articles in a warrant distributed before the town meeting. With an elected moderator presiding, the town votes on every article. It also elects a wide range of local officials. A state law enacted in the late 20th century enabled some towns to vote on all warrant items at polling places instead of at town meetings. Elected selectmen, from three to five in number, manage daily affairs.

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New Hampshire has always been a two-party state. Prior to the Civil War era, New Hampshire was overwhelmingly Democratic, but from then to the Great Depression of the 1930s it was dominated by the Republicans. The voters, however, have opted on several occasions for Democratic presidential candidates—Woodrow Wilson, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bill Clinton—and have sent a number of Democrats to Congress. New Hampshire holds the first primary in the nation during each presidential election season and has thus taken on great importance as a bellwether of national trends.

Social services and taxation

The state provides the standard health and social services. The state department of health and human services employs about one-third of all state employees.

New Hampshire has an unusual system for raising revenue. The state has clung tenaciously to its distinction of having neither a general sales tax nor a comprehensive state individual income tax. Because it raises some money from dog and horse racing, from state-operated liquor stores, from cigarettes, and from a lottery, New Hampshire has a reputation for relying on “sin” taxes. The state actually derives only a small portion of its revenue from these sources, however. Much more important are a business profits tax, business enterprise tax, license fees, and taxes on meals, lodging, and motor fuel. The main support of public education used to come from local property taxes, but in 1997 this method was declared unconstitutional by the state Supreme Court. In 1998 the state legislature adopted a statewide education property tax, which was put into effect the following year. The state government now carries much more of the burden for funding public schools.

Education

New Hampshire has had a public school system since 1647, when, as a part of Massachusetts, it was required to provide different kinds of schools depending on community size. The statewide system is administered by a board of education headed by a commissioner. Each town is constituted a school district, unless it is part of a school administrative unit (SAU). The land-grant college that became the University of New Hampshire was founded in 1866 in Hanover and moved to Durham in 1893; it has a branch campus in Manchester (1985). The state university system also includes Plymouth State University and Keene State College. There are several state vocational colleges and a technical institute; a public television system at the state university has been in operation since 1959.

New Hampshire also has many private educational institutions. Phillips Exeter Academy (in Exeter; 1781) and St. Paul’s School (Concord; 1856) are the best known among the state’s college-preparatory schools. Colleges include Dartmouth, one of the eight Ivy League schools, founded at Hanover in 1769; St. Anselm (Manchester; 1889); and Colby-Sawyer (New London; 1837).