MUNICIPAL AIRPORTS

RSA tit. XXXIX, ch. 423

in effect

RSA 423:1 Acquisition of Land By Towns.

423:1. Acquisition of Land By Towns. Towns are authorized and empowered to construct, own, manage, or provide by contract or otherwise for the management of aircraft landing areas, either within or beyond the boundaries of the town, and for that purpose any town may take land in fee by gift or purchase, or by right of eminent domain as hereinafter provided, or may lease the same, and may erect thereon and maintain such buildings or other structures as may be necessary more fully to carry out the purpose hereof. Two or more towns may join in such action. Source. 1929, 90:1. RL 51:72.

RSA 423:2 Land in the Town.

423:2. Land in the Town. The officials of towns authorized by law to take land in the town for highway purposes are authorized and empowered to take land by eminent domain for the purposes of aircraft landing areas, following the same procedure as respects notice, assessment and payment of damages, and appeal as is provided for in the case of taking land for highway purposes. Source. 1929, 90:1. RL 51:73.

RSA 423:3 Land Outside the Town.

423:3. Land Outside the Town. Whenever a town finds it necessary to acquire land for the purposes hereof beyond its boundaries and is unable to acquire it for a reasonable price by purchase or lease, the town may institute eminent domain proceedings by petition to the county commissioners, and the procedure followed by the commissioners as respects notice, assessment and payment of damages, entry and appeal shall, so far as applicable, be the same as that prescribed for the public utilities commission in the case of taking land by a public utility as provided in RSA 371:1-13, inclusive. Source. 1929, 90:1. RL 51:74.

RSA 423:4 Adjoining Lands.

423:4. Adjoining Lands. The provisions of RSA 423:2 and 423:3 shall apply to the acquisition of partial rights in lands adjoining the landing areas in order to prevent any use of such lands as would hinder the proper use and development of the landing field. Source. 1929, 90:1. RL 51:75.

RSA 423:5 Use of Landing Fields.

423:5. Use of Landing Fields. Any town acquiring aviation facilities under the provisions hereof is authorized to provide for the use thereof by contract or lease to individuals or corporations, and may establish reasonable tolls, charges, rents, or fees for such use. Source. 1929, 90:1. RL 51:76.

RSA 423:6 Authorization, Use and Transfer of Town or City Aeronautical Funds.

423:6. Authorization, Use and Transfer of Town or City Aeronautical Funds. Towns and cities are hereby authorized to establish an aeronautical fund for the purposes hereinafter set forth. All tolls, charges, rents or other fees collected by towns or cities for the use of the landing area under the provisions of this chapter and all unexpended balances of appropriations for aeronautical purposes shall be paid into said fund. The moneys in said aeronautical fund shall be kept in a separate account and not intermingled with other funds of the municipality. Said town or city aeronautical fund shall not lapse and the unexpended balance of said fund shall be carried forward and added to the appropriation for the subsequent year. Source. 1951, 188:1, par. 76-a.

RSA 423:7 Restricted Use of Town or City Aeronautical Funds.

423:7. Restricted Use of Town or City Aeronautical Funds. These funds shall be used solely for aeronautical purposes, including but not limited to the acquisition, construction, maintenance, operation and management of any air navigation facility jointly, individually or severally owned or operated in whole or in part by the town or city or an instrumentality thereof, the state or any political subdivision thereof or the United States or its instrumentalities or political subdivisions. Source. 1951, 188:1, par. 76-b, eff. July 25, 1951.

RSA 423:8 Transfer of Aeronautical Funds.

423:8. Transfer of Aeronautical Funds. Any town may, by vote at the annual meeting, authorize the transfer of any part of its aeronautical fund to the department of transportation for use for purposes authorized under RSA 423:7. The town or city transferring such funds may specify the purpose for which such funds may be expended. A city may authorize such transfer by vote of the city council. Source. 1951, 188:1, par. 76-c. RSA 423:8. 1985, 402:6, I(c)(3). 1996, 23:4, eff. June 14, 1996.

RSA 423:9 Tax Exemption.

423:9. Tax Exemption. All property and rights acquired by a city or town outside its boundaries, as provided in RSA 423:1-4, inclusive, or as provided in any other statute relative to aeronautical facilities hereinbefore or hereinafter enacted, if said property and rights are not leased for profit, shall be exempt from taxation therein; but the city or town shall make payments, on or before December 1 in each year, to each city or town in which such property or rights are located, of such sums as would have been assessed against said property and rights if the same had been included in the tax invoice for such year at the tax valuation of the same on April 1, 1940; provided that in case improvements have been made on said property between April 1, 1940, and the date when acquired for aeronautical facilities, the payments to the city or town in which such property or rights are located shall be based upon the assessed value as of April 1 following such improvements. Source. 1941, 117:1. RL 51:77.

RSA 423:10 Acquisition By State.

423:10. Acquisition By State. Whenever the state shall acquire any airport, aircraft landing area, or other aeronautical facility which has been owned by one municipality in another municipality upon which the former has made payments pursuant to RSA 423:9, then the state shall continue to make payment in the same manner to the municipality in which such facility lies as was made by the municipality from which the state acquired it. Source. 1953, 194:1, eff. June 2, 1953.

RSA 423:11 Rural Airport Capital Revolving Loan Fund.

423:11. Rural Airport Capital Revolving Loan Fund. I. There is hereby established in the office of the state treasurer a fund to be known as the rural airport capital revolving loan fund which shall be kept separate and distinct from all other funds. Moneys in the fund shall be nonlapsing and shall be continually appropriated to the department of transportation, and shall be used to provide loans to enhance and rehabilitate all non-commercial service airports open to the public in municipalities with populations of 14,000 or less. Loans to airports from this fund shall be subject to the approval of the governor and council. II. The operator of the rural airport provided a loan under this section shall furnish assurance to the director of the division of aeronautics, rail, and transit by a signed agreement that the rural airport intends to operate as an airport and will remain open to the public for the life of the capital improvement. III. The operator of the rural airport shall repay any loan made pursuant to this section upon such terms and conditions as are recommended by the department of transportation, director of the division of aeronautics, rail, and transit. The term of the loan shall be no less than 5 years and no longer than 20 years, and shall to the extent possible consistent with this section be determined so as to match the useful life of the improvements funded by the loan. The terms and conditions shall be contained in the binding agreement between the state and the operator of the rural airport and shall be sufficient to fully reimburse the state for the principal and interest payments on that portion of the bonds authorized to fund the loan. All money received through reimbursement shall be deposited by the state treasurer in the rural airport capital revolving loan fund. IV. A lien on the property of the rural airport shall be created in favor of the state in an amount which equals the sum of principal and interest to be repaid by the owner or sponsor of the rural airport. The lien shall be recorded in the registry of deeds of the county or counties in which the property is situated and shall not supersede any pre-existing lien created by a mortgage affecting such property. The lien shall expire only when the loan has been fully repaid. V. To provide funds for the revolving loan fund established pursuant to this section, the state treasurer, as may be requested from time to time by the division of aeronautics, rail, and transit, department of transportation, is authorized to borrow from time to time upon the credit of the state such amounts so that the total state obligation shall at no time exceed $750,000 and for said purposes may issue bonds and notes at such time in the name and on behalf of the state of New Hampshire in accordance with the provisions of RSA 6-A. The department shall request and the treasurer shall issue bonds only for such amounts from time to time as are required for the purposes of this section and provided that the principal and interest payments can be satisfied from sums in the fund established in paragraph I. VI. The payments of principal and interest on the bonds issued under paragraph V shall be made when due from the special fund established by paragraph I. Source. 1997, 306:2, eff. Aug. 19, 1997. 2004, 257:30, eff. July 1, 2004.

Source: New Hampshire General Court (gc.nh.gov)URL: https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/NHTOC/NHTOC-XXXIX-423.htmFetched: 10/20/2026