2026 SESSION
26-2767
12/09
HOUSE BILL 1035
AN ACT making the chapter relative to the register of deeds gender neutral.
SPONSORS: Rep. Morse, Merr. 3
COMMITTEE: Municipal and County Government
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ANALYSIS
This bill amends sections of statute relative to the register of deeds to include both male and female pronouns.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
26-2767
12/09
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty-Six
AN ACT making the chapter relative to the register of deeds gender neutral.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Registers of Deeds; Addition of Gender Neutral Terminology. Amend RSA 478:1 to read as follows:
478:1 Duties. The register of deeds shall carefully keep in the office provided by the county at all times, except when he or she may be required by a court to produce them as evidence or when the same may be removed for the purposes of repair, all books, records, files and papers belonging thereto, and when not in use shall keep them in a safe location where their protection from fire, theft, water and the elements is insured, and he or she shall permit no paper there deposited for record to be taken from his or her office before it is recorded. Whenever any of the volumes of records in his or her office shall be in need of repair, he or she shall seasonably cause them to be suitably repaired at the expense of the county, and, if necessary, he or she may allow such volumes to be taken out of his or her office for a reasonable time for that purpose.
2 Register of Deeds; Deputy Registers. Amend RSA 478:2 to read as follows:
478:2 Deputy Registers. Registers of deeds may appoint deputies to perform the duties of their offices in cases of sickness or the temporary absence of the officer making the appointment. The appointment shall be made in writing, shall be approved by the bondsmen of the officer appointing and by the county commissioners, and shall be for a length of time not exceeding 2 years. The register of deeds shall be held responsible for any neglect or official misconduct of his or her deputies. The deputy shall be qualified in the same manner as the officer appointing him or her. The salaries of the deputies shall be paid by the county.
3 Registers of Deeds; Assistants; Adding Gender Neutral Terminology. Amend RSA 478:2-a to read as follows:
478:2-a Assistants. The register of deeds may employ individuals to assist him or her in the performance of his or her official duties. The salaries of the assistants and any other expenses of the office of register of deeds shall be paid by the county.
4 Registers of Deeds; Disability; Addition of Gender Neutral Terminology. Amend RSA 478:3 to read as follows:
478:3 Disability of Register. When the register, by reason of sickness, absence, or other cause, is disabled from executing the duties of his or her office, his or her deputy shall execute the same until such disability is removed or a register is chosen in accordance with the provisions of RSA 661:9.
5 Register of Deeds; Copies of Conveyances for Tax Purposes. Amend RSA 478:14 to read as follows:
478:14 Copies of Conveyances for Tax Purposes. Every register shall, upon request, in an acceptable media, send copies of all deeds, mortgages, and other conveyances of real estate which have been recorded in the registry during the preceding 3 months to the selectmen of each town and to the assessors of each city in his or her county quarterly, each year, between January 1 and January 5, April 1 and April 5, July 1 and July 5, and October 1 and October 5. The register shall send, between April 1 and April 5, in an acceptable media, copies of all deeds, mortgages, and other conveyances of real estate which have been recorded in the registry during the preceding tax year to every town and city in the county which did not request the quarterly copies.
6 Registers of Deeds; Penalties; Adding Gender Neutral Terminology. Amend RSA 478:16 to read as follows:
478:16 Penalty for Neglect of Duty. – If the register shall neglect any duty imposed by this chapter, he or she shall forfeit $20 to be recovered by an action of debt in the name of the treasurer for the use of the county, and shall also be liable to an action on his or her bond.
7 Registers of Deeds; Distribution; Adding Gender Neutral Terminology. Amend RSA 478:17-i to read as follows:
478:17-i Distribution. Each register of deeds shall pay over once a month to his or her county treasurer, for use of the county, all fees received by him or her as such register and all charges paid to him or her for services arising out of or because of his or her office, including but not limited to payments for duties under RSA 78-B:8.
8 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.