The New Hampshire Revised Statutes Annotated, RSA’s, are the codified laws of the State of New Hampshire. They are published in hardbound volumes, plus an index volume. At the end of every legislative session each volume is either reprinted or updated with a supplement. Most of the supplements fit in the pocket at the back of the hardbound book, but some have grown so large that they have to stand as a separate softbound book.
The RSA’s are divided into: title, chapter, subdivision, section, paragraph and subparagraphs as follows:
A TITLE is a
main grouping of chapters dealing with related subjects.
For example, the first main group of chapters deals
with "The State and Its Government" and consists of chapters 1 through 21-P, thus, chapters 1 through 21-P constitute Title I. Titles are almost never cited. When you see a typical citation such as "RSA 41:11", the number "41" is not the title but the chapter number. The Revised Statutes Annotated consist of 64 titles.
A CHAPTER is the most-used
division of the RSA’s and is a collection of sections dealing with the same subject. Sometimes the Legislature has squeezed a chapter between two existing chapters, and it is designated by a number followed by a hyphen and a capital letter; e.g., RSA 31-A.
SUBDIVISION is a portion
of a chapter which contains sections that deal with
the same general subject, i.e., a sub-heading within
a chapter. A subdivision is not separately numbered
and is indicated only by the presence of a bold
face unnumbered line preceding the first section
of the subdivision and, like titles, a subdivision
is not often cited. For example, preceding RSA 31:19
is the line "Trust Funds". Since the next place in which a similar line appears is after RSA 31:38, RSA 31:19 through 31:38 consists of a subdivision of RSA 31 entitled "Trust Funds".
A SECTION is the main division
within a chapter and is indicated by the number
following the colon. For example, section 2 of chapter
31 is cited RSA 31:2. When the Legislature squeezes
a section between two existing sections it is designated
by a number followed by a hyphen and then a lower
case letter, e.g., a section in chapter 31 between
sections 2 and 3 is cited as RSA 31:2-a.
The main division within a section is a PARAGRAPH,
indicated by Roman numeral; e.g., the third paragraph
of RSA 31:39 is cited as RSA 31:39, III. All divisions
of a paragraph are referred to as SUBPARAGRAPHS and
are indicated by a letter enclosed by parentheses:
e.g., RSA 31:39, I(a). In summary, the citation RSA
676:4, I(g) means subparagraph g of paragraph I of
section 4 of Chapter 674.
Land use regulation statutes are contained in Title LXIV (64) Planning and Zoning. This title is divided into 6 chapters each dealing with a particular area of land use regulation.
Chapter 672 General Provisions outlines the general
purpose of planning and zoning regulations and defines
word and phrases. Go to Ch 672 …
Chapter 673 Local Land Use Boards sets forth the
establishment of land use boards; the appointment
and terms of board members; general provisions for
meetings, alternates, member disqualification and
removal, witnesses, staffing and meeting records;
and the process for the abolition of boards, a zoning
ordinance or building code. Go to Ch 673 …
Chapter 674 Local Land Use Planning
and Regulatory Power addresses the master plan; capital improvements
program; official map; zoning; emergency temporary
zoning and planning regulation; manufactured housing;
board of adjustment and building code board of appeals;
subdivision regulations; site plan review regulation;
heritage commissions; historic districts; building
codes; land affected by municipal boundaries; and
governmental use of property. Go to Ch 674 …
Chapter 675 Enactment and Adoption
Procedures addresses
the methods and procedures for enacting land use
regulations. Go to Ch 675 …
Chapter 676 Administrative and
Enforcement Procedures deals
with how the planning board, zoning board, historic
district commission operate; the use of building
permits; what happens when state and local regulations
conflict; and various types of penalties and relief
for violations. Go to Ch 676 …
Finally, Chapter 677 Rehearing and Appeal Procedures addresses the
rehearing procedures for the board of adjustment, board of appeals
and local legislative body; appeal and court review of board of adjustment,
local legislative body, planning board, building code board of appeals
and historic district commission decisions; and the process for a
court to deal with invalid ordinances. Go to Ch 677 … |
