Video & Transcript Research : '1189'
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NH
New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Finance Division III (02/13/2026)
Summary:
The House Finance Division 3 work session opened on February 13, 2026, with the chair outlining the committee’s advisory role and the possible motions available under House Rule 45. The committee then took up House Bill 1569, concerning the Philbrook Center/state hospital campus property, and heard extensive testimony from Commissioner Charlie Arlinghouse. He explained that the property is currently one parcel and state law prevents subdivision unless a separate Senate bill, identified as SB 572, is enacted to fix the legal issue. He said HB 2 directed the sale of the property but did not address subdivision or marketing details, and he characterized the $5 million revenue estimate as speculative. He also said the state would first offer the property to the city or county, which he viewed as the most practical buyer and potential partner for any subdivision work.
Members asked whether the building should be retained for transitional housing or sold, what would happen after July 1, 2026, and whether other vacant state buildings could absorb the current occupants. Arlinghouse said there are no firm plans for the building if it is not sold, and that HHS would remain until a sale occurs. He described the building as not especially historic or attractive and noted plumbing issues, while also acknowledging HHS’s view that it could serve as transitional housing. He said there is no reserve stock of office space, that the state already rents substantial office space in Concord, and that some nearby state buildings are either under renovation or only partially usable. He also said the Executive Council would have to approve any sale and that moving costs are usually not budgeted in advance, leaving the using agency to absorb them.
Several members raised concerns about relying on asset sales to balance the budget, citing past examples where projected real estate revenue did not materialize on schedule. Arlinghouse agreed that one-time revenue should generally be used for one-time expenses, but said the state sometimes has legitimate reasons to sell assets and that such decisions depend on the state’s needs. He estimated the state rents roughly 100,000 square feet of office space in Concord at about $25 per square foot, and said he would provide a more exact figure later. In response to a question about whether the state should include a right of first refusal if the property is later resold, he said that idea had not been considered but could make sense, especially if the buyer is the city or county. No votes were taken during this portion of the work session.
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety (02/13/2026)
Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Commerce and Consumer Affairs (02/11/2026)
Commerce and Consumer Affairs
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety (02/11/2026)
Criminal Justice and Public Safety
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Executive Departments and Administration (02/11/2026)
Executive Departments and Administration
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Education Policy and Administration (02/11/2026)
Education Policy and Administration
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Environment and Agriculture (02/11/2026)
Environment and Agriculture
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs (02/11/2026)
Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Resources, Recreation and Development (02/11/2026)
Resources, Recreation and Development
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NH
New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
Commission to Study Stable Tokens (02/10/2026)
Summary:
The meeting began with roll call and approval of the prior meeting minutes, which passed unanimously. Members then introduced the day’s presentations, including one on the Canton network and another on tokenizing real-world assets, with a focus on how blockchain systems can support regulated financial institutions and asset tokenization.
Julie, the director of policy and government affairs at Digital Asset, presented on the Canton network, describing it as a privacy-enabled public blockchain designed for regulated finance. She said tokenization should preserve the same legal and economic rights as the underlying asset, and argued that blockchain-based books and records can shorten settlement times, improve 24/7 trading, and reduce friction in capital markets. She identified three main barriers to institutional adoption of public blockchains: lack of privacy, limited throughput/scalability, and lack of control for compliance purposes such as freezing assets, pausing transactions, and meeting AML/sanctions obligations. She explained Canton’s structure as a public, permissionless network with application-level privacy controls, a global synchronizer, and super validators chosen by vote. She also highlighted current ecosystem participants and use cases, including Broadridge, Circle, and the DTCC’s planned tokenization of U.S. Treasuries on the network.
Members and online participants asked about the relationship between tokenized assets and the Clarity Act, tokenized deposits, safeguards for faster settlement, and whether the platform could be used for municipal or property records. Julie said Digital Asset was not taking a position on rewards, but supported clearer statutory definitions because tokenized securities should carry the same rights as the underlying assets and investors need to know whether a token is a true tokenized security or a synthetic/reference token. She said the company is agnostic on whether the cash leg is stablecoins or tokenized deposits, though it expects both to develop. In response to concerns about rapid settlement, she pointed to institution-level permissions and SEC disclosure expectations as safeguards. She also said the technology could be used for other records, including potentially property-related records, if those assets can be tokenized.
NH
New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Municipal and County Government (02/10/2026)
Municipal and County Government
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Environment and Agriculture (02/10/2026)
Environment and Agriculture
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services (02/10/2026)
Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
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New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session
House Children and Family Law (02/10/2026)
Children and Family Law
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