New Hampshire

Situated in the New England Region, New Hampshire was the first US state to establish its own State Constitution, and the first to establish a government which was independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain.

The largest city is Manchester and the state capital is Concord. Residents don’t pay state or federal taxes on personal income, and no sales tax is charged in the state. There is however a 9% tax on meals, and 5% tax-rate income tax rate on dividends. And, the 8.5% business enterprise tax serves to tax sole-proprietors in the state. During Presidential elections, the New Hampshire Primary is the first during the election cycle.

In terms of state laws and legislation, same-sex marriage was legalized in January 2010, replacing civil unions, and made the state the first to accept same-sex marriage entirely through the legislative process.

Although the state ranks 40th in economic production $66 billion (2014), it is the 7th highest in terms of median household income, with families earning nearly $50K in salaries. Agricultural outputs including dairy, cattle, nursery stock, eggs, and apples, are among the leading production-areas in the state.

The government was formed by the New Hampshire State Constitution, put in place in 1783. New Hampshire has an executive branch, a legislative branch and a judicial branch.  Both the executive and legislative branch are bicameral, with the executive branch divided into the governor’s office and the executive council.  The legislature consists of a House of Representatives and the Senate, with 400 representatives in the House and 24 senators.  Most of the individuals holding these positions are retirees and volunteers.

In terms of the judiciary, New Hampshire ’s sole appellate court is the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The Superior Court has general jurisdiction, and provides jury trials in both civil and criminal cases.  Additionally, New Hampshire has a Probate Court, District Court, and the Family Division.

Coverage of federal and state news from New Hampshire is added to the National Law Review regularly. Pharmaceutical and healthcare, federal agency news, bio and energy sector news, workplace laws, harassment, marijuana legalization, data security, biometrics, and technology news stories, are some of the topics covered by the National Law Review. Visitors looking for updated content, as it relates to the state, the federal circuit, and the US in general, can find it when visiting the NLR website.