8: How much power do voters at a Deliberative Session have to amend a warrant article?

Warrant articles may be amended at the Deliberative Session, but such amendments are subject to four primary limitations. First, an amendment may not add a new subject matter to an article. RSA 39:2. Second, a warrant article whose wording is prescribed by law may not be amended. RSA 40:13, IV(a). Third, the Deliberative Session cannot increase the overall budget, including warrant articles, by more than 10%. RSA 32:18. Finally, amendments that would “eliminate the subject matter” of an article are forbidden. RSA 40:13, IV(c). The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently provided clarity with respect to this last prohibition in Cady v. Town of Deerfield, 169 N.H. 575, 579 (2017), when it declared that RSA 40:13, IV(c) “only prohibits amendments that eliminate a warrant article’s textual subject matter, not amendments that may change the intent or purpose sought to be achieved by the article’s drafters.”