In 2025, the Levin Center conducted a study of all 50 states to examine how legislatures ensure government programs work effectively for citizens. Factors such as legislative oversight committees, routine engagement with executive agencies, collection of casework data, digital transparency tools, and user-centered policy evaluation were of particular importance. The full report can be found here.
State Summary #
The New Hampshire General Court performs some oversight work and is supported by the Office of Legislative Budget Assistant, though the Levin Center’s fifty-state study on legislative oversight noted that reports produced by this office were not used in oversight activities as much as they could be.[1] Our research did not uncover significant evidence of repeated and meaningful citizen testimony in oversight. In terms of its ability to conduct people-centered oversight, however, the New Hampshire House of Representatives boasts a membership of 400 representatives (nearly twice the size of the next largest state legislative chamber in the country) and, as a result, the smallest ratio of constituents to legislators in the nation and more direct connection to its constituents.
[1] Lyke Thompson and Marjorie Sarbaugh-Thompson, “Checks and Balances in Action: Legislative Oversight across the States” (Wayne State University, 2019), http://go.levin-center.org/50state, 617.
