What HB 1343 would have changed, and the gap it leaves

It would have amended RSA 356-B:38 on quorums, RSA 356-B:39-a on voting without a meeting, and RSA 356-B:40-c on budget adoption. The operative language: "the governing body of the organization of unit owners may hold regularly scheduled or special meetings by telephonic, video, or other interactive electronic communication process, provided that all participants are able to communicate with each other simultaneously."

A new RSA 356-B:38, III would have provided: "The governing body may conduct annual or special meetings of the unit owners without requiring physical presence… Participation by electronic means shall satisfy quorum requirements." That sentence — "Participation by electronic means shall satisfy quorum requirements" — would have been inserted in three separate places.

Here is what a New Hampshire board actually has instead. RSA 356-B:37-b, in force since August 1, 2016, reads in full: "When the declaration or bylaws provides, the association, committees thereof, and the board of directors may meet by telephonic, video, or other conferencing process, provided that the requirements of RSA 356-B:37-c are also met."⁴

Read the first clause carefully. Remote meetings are permitted only if the declaration or bylaws affirmatively provide for it. An association whose instruments were drafted in 1985 and say nothing about telephonic or video participation has no statutory authorization, and the statute is silent on whether a remote attendee counts toward a quorum.

That is exactly the gap HB 1343 existed to close, and it is still there. The practical answer for a board that wants reliable remote participation is a bylaw amendment — which requires the vote the bylaws specify, which is the thing remote meetings would have made easier.

What HB 1432 would have changed

This one is narrower and more concrete. It would have amended RSA 356-B:16, I(h), added a new RSA 356-B:45, II-a and a new RSA 378:6-a, and extended parallel rights against rural electric cooperatives under RSA 362:2 and against municipal utilities under a new RSA 38:35-a.

The core provision: "A condominium association under RSA 356-B, which does not permit commercial or business enterprises, may request that the public utility charge the same electric rate as condominium residential units for domestic septic and well pumps."

And the chargeback rule: "Regardless of the condominium instruments, the cost for shared residential meter usage for septic systems and well pumps shall be charged back by the unit owners association only to the residential units that share each meter… The chargeback shall be divided by the association among these units, ensuring that the cost is equally split according to the number of units sharing the meter."

The problem it addressed is real and expensive. A New Hampshire condominium that owns its septic pumps and well pumps runs them off a shared meter, and utilities classify that meter as commercial — so the association pays a commercial rate to move water and sewage for residences. For a community on its own water and wastewater, which describes a great many New Hampshire lake and mountain condominiums, that is a permanent line in the budget at a rate no individual homeowner would pay.

What a board can do now

For remote meetings: amend the bylaws. Do not rely on practice. An association that has been meeting by video since 2020 without instrument authority has been making decisions on a defective basis, and the exposure surfaces the first time someone contests a vote.

For the electric rate: ask anyway. Nothing stopped a utility from reclassifying a meter before this bill and nothing does now; the bill would have created a right, not a possibility. A tariff question to the utility costs nothing.

What to watch next

Neither bill carries over. The 169th General Court ended August 19, 2026, and 2027 opens a new biennium, so both would have to be filed fresh. Neither appears on the 2027 House legislative service request list as filed, and that list contains no bill using the word "condominium" in its title at all.

The House filing window for incumbents closed September 11, 2026. The remaining routes are newly elected members from around November 4 and senators in December.