New Hampshire Civics: How Your State Government Works

by bam

A practical, non-partisan guide to how the state of New Hampshire governs itself, and how you take part where you live. New Hampshire runs government unlike anywhere else: its House of Representatives has about 400 members (one of the largest legislative bodies in the English-speaking world) and legislators are paid just $100 a year, making it a true volunteer 'citizen legislature.' You'll learn New Hampshire's Constitution of 1784 (the second-oldest in the nation), its elected 5-member Executive Council that must approve the Governor's appointments, its 2-year governor term, its lack of a state income or sales tax ('the New Hampshire Advantage'), its appointed judiciary, its town-meeting tradition, and its protected first-in-the-nation presidential primary. Time-sensitive facts are flagged, pointing to sos.nh.gov. Cited to New Hampshire's own official sources (gencourt.state.nh.us, sos.nh.gov, courts.nh.gov).