Phase Three — The New Hampshire Forum Civic Assembly
From September 25-27, 2026, 56 Granite Staters from across the state participated in a Civic Assembly hosted by The New Hampshire Forum. Over three days, these delegates drafted, deliberated, and voted on policy directives, with six receiving supermajority support.
Representing the geographic, political, and demographic diversity of New Hampshire, the delegates gathered to tackle critical issues surrounding housing affordability and ownership. Working alongside nonpartisan facilitators from The New Hampshire Forum, as well as independent subject matter experts, the delegates transformed months of statewide public input into actionable legislative recommendations.
The New Hampshire Forum Civic Assembly's delegates were randomly selected and represent the diverse demographics of the state's adult population.
The Civic Assembly featured four in-depth working sessions over three days. Six independent experts on housing briefed the delegates and answered questions to inform their discussions.
More housing choices
Housing rules and decisions
Housing funding, taxes and incentives
Delegates passed six housing policy directives, with each receiving supermajority (>70%) support.
The policy recommendations below contain the exact text approved by the Civic Assembly, including any notes or clarification the delegates made. They have not been altered or summarized in any way.
Three days at the Graponne Center in Concord. Six working groups, four deep-dive working sessions, three rounds of voting, one final set of ratified directives.
In the voices of Granite State, what they thought about the experience.
"Productive and empowering — I didn’t just learn about the needs of the state and policies, I learned that I belonged in the conversation and part of the solution."
— Delegate, leans Republican
"I learned that things here in NH are not all about us versus them. It’s much, much more than that."
— Delegate, leans Democratic
"It was very productive and I was amazed at how smooth we all worked together. No one person was left out."
— Delegate, no party lean
"I feel like a lot of things need to change, and if I don’t open my mouth and participate, they are not likely to change in the way we need."
— Delegate, Republican
48 of 55 delegates were highly positive about the event; they gave 9 or 10 out of 10
rated the Civic Assembly’s decision-making fair, 8 or higher out of 10
believe The New Hampshire Forum will positively impact the state
From April 2 to May 25, 2026, Granite Staters answered this question: If New Hampshire's state leaders and residents could solve one problem, what should it be? More than 18,000 Grantite Staters contributed issues, reactions, and votes, surfacing the top four issue areas.
Read the full reportIn June and July 2026, 326 Granite Staters signed up for eight online conversations and two face-to-face conversations in Concord and Nashua. They discussed four issues, based on the input of thousands of residents in Phase One.
Read the full reportThe New Hampshire Forum Civic Assembly isn't the end of our process. In fact, our work to translate citizen-led recommendations into state legislation is just getting started. Here's a snapshot of the road ahead:
Goal: Partner with bipartisan legislators to sponsor a bill and submit a Legislative Service Request (LSR).
Action: Build initial support and bring constituent priorities into the legislative agenda.
Goal: Finalized text is approved and signed by the sponsor, given a formal bill number, then officially introduced and shared with committee for review.
Action: Promote the public hearing and executive session, encouraging the committee to send the bill to chamber.
Goal: Drive public support throughout the entire legislative process.
Action: Empower Granite Staters to contact elected officials and advocate for the bill's passage.
Take Action
Citizen-led recommendations only become law when Granite Staters push for them. Sign up to help advance our housing affordability recommendations through the upcoming session of the New Hampshire State Legislature.
