Concord update: NH Legislature begins work on over 1300 bills
If you have any questions or would just like to spend a few minutes chatting, I will be having open “office hours” on Saturday, Feb. 17, between 12 and 2 p.m. at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton. In the meantime, please do not hesitate to contact me at chris.muns@leg.state.nh.us.
In addition to wrapping up work on 68 bills from the 2023 legislative session, the Legislature has begun work on the over 1300 bills that have been introduced for the current (2024) session. We have a tradition in New Hampshire of giving every bill a public hearing and a vote in at least the body (House or Senate) in which it was originally introduced. With so many bills, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for the Legislature to give each of them the careful consideration they should receive. This is something that future legislatures are going to need to address.
If you are interested in following the work of the Legislature, go to https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us where you can:
Access the House’s and Senate’s weekly calendar
Follow testimony in House and Senate committee hearings and full sessions
Provide on-line testimony to House and Senate committees
In the meantime, here is an update on the work the N.H. House has completed in several important policy areas.
Medicaid expansion
SB 263-FN would have eliminated the need to re-authorize N.H.’s Medicaid expansion program (known as the “Granite State Advantage Program”) first approved in 2014 every five years. Removing this “sunset” provision would eliminate uncertainty for providers, enabling infrastructure and workforce growth necessary to meet the long-term medical needs of Granite Staters. Defeated, 183 in favor (Hampton state Reps. Mike Edgar, Chris Muns and Candice O’Neil) to 191 opposed (Hampton State Reps. Tracy Emerick and Jason Janvrin).
Public education
There was a moratorium on public school building aid grants from 2009 until 2020. Over that period, some school districts (including Hampton) had no choice but to proceed with building projects without state grants, placing the full costs on local taxpayers. Public school districts have submitted new building grant requests totaling more than $200 million. There is only $22.5 million in new building aid grants available per year in the two-year budget approved last June.
HB 546-FN would have increased the funding for new building grants to $50 million per year. The House initially voted in favor of this bill 189 in favor (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil) to 186 opposed (Emerick), but final action was tabled by a vote of 190 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 187 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil). Tabling the bill means that it can be brought back for further debate and subsequent votes.
HB 354-FN allows charter schools to participate in the state’s limited school-building aid program. Charter schools are managed by private boards with no fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers. Before we begin to provide a portion of those limited funds to those schools, we should ensure that the needs of schools governed by publicly elected school boards are handled first. Passed, 190 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 177 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil).
On Feb. 8, the House voted on three bills that would have expanded the scope of the state-sponsored school voucher program, which diverts state aid for public education to families who wish to home-school or send their children to private and religious schools. These schools can discriminate against students because they do not receive federal funding and are thus exempt from federal laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex and other circumstances. The three bills were:
HB 1561 – FN expands the program to almost every student who might be able to claim a concern or reason they are not comfortable attending a public school (including concerns about catching a cold or seasonal flu). Defeated 185 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 197 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil).
HB 1634-FN removes the household income criteria from the eligibility requirements for a voucher. When the program was introduced, it was advocated as a program to assist families under 300% of the federal poverty level. It was later amended to 350%. This bill would have opened the programs to all families with no limitations whatsoever and with an indeterminate – but significant - fiscal impact. Defeated 186 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 194 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil).
HB 1665-FN expands eligibility to families making up to 500% of the federal poverty level (about $150,000), again with an indeterminate – but significant – fiscal impact. Despite that, in a procedural move, the House Finance Committee declined to review the bill and determine its exact impact. The vote on this version of the voucher program expansion took place after the other two bills and after a lunch break called by the Republican speaker and passed 190 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 189 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil).
Voting rights
HB 115 changes the date of the state primary from the second Tuesday in September to the third Tuesday in August. Doing so will avoid a potential problem– particularly in the event of recounts - sending out mail-in ballots to service persons and others eligible for them. It will also provide a little more time for primary candidates to pivot to the general election. Passed, 281 in favor to 82 opposed in a “Division Vote” where the votes of each representative are not recorded. I voted in favor.
HB 350 would have established rank choice voting (RCV) in all state and federal elections. RCV lets the voice of all voters be heard and ensures that candidates who are elected are supported as either the first, second, or third choice of a majority of voters. RCV has been used successfully for at least 40 years in Ireland and Australia and has been in effect in Maine for several election cycles now. Defeated, 128 in favor (Muns) to 248 opposed (Edgar, Emerick, Janvrin, O’Neil)
HB 463-FN directs the N.H. Secretary of State to develop an online portal to make registration easier for citizens eligible to vote in New Hampshire, especially those with disabilities and active-duty members of the armed forces passed, 195 in favor to 172 opposed in a “Division Vote.” I voted in favor.
Individual rights
HB 264-FN would have simplified the process of changing one’s gender on a birth certificate from requiring a court order to requiring a notarized statement by a licensed and qualified health care provider. Courts have been inconsistent in their application of current law, and having a birth certificate with a gender included on it that is inconsistent with an individual’s gender identity creates unnecessary legal and emotional consequences for that individual. Defeated, 185 in favor to 191 opposed in a “Division Vote.” I voted in favor.
HB 368-FN would have protected the rights of families to make their own health care or gender-affirming transgender care and services for minors. The bill also protects the confidentiality of those health care decisions and health care providers from subpoenas by other states of those medical records. Defeated, 185 in favor (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil) to 190 opposed (Emerick, Janvrin).
HB 619-FN prohibits gender reassignment surgery for minors. While that is a monumental and life-changing decision, the bill also limits the rights of parents to participate in the decision-making process even if they are convinced it is in the best interests of their children. Passed, 199 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 175 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil).
HB 396 permits the state to discriminate against someone whose gender identity differs from their “biological sex” in lavatory facilities or locker rooms; in athletic or sporting events; and in prisons, juvenile detention or commitment centers, mental health hospitals or treatment centers. The bill was originally passed on January 4, 192 in favor (Emerick, Janvrin) to 184 opposed (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil). An attempt to reverse that decision on Feb. 1 was defeated 187 in favor to 190 opposed in a “Division Vote.” I voted in favor.
CACR 23, an amendment to the N.H. Constitution to explicitly protect the right to abortion before 24 weeks and trust patients and providers to make the personal, private decisions right for them without government interference. Defeated. The vote on the amendment was 193 in favor (Edgar, Muns, O’Neil) to 184 opposed (Emerick, Janvrin), but because it is an amendment to the constitution it required a 3/5 majority of those present, which it did not attain. Had the amendment passed, it would have gone to the N.H. Senate, and if it had passed there, it would have gone to the voters to have the final say.
HB 1248-FN placing a ban on all abortions after 15 days. The bill was so outrageous that even Republican leadership in the N.H. House did not want a straight up or down vote on the bill. Instead, they moved to indefinitely postpone consideration of the bill; effectively killing it. The vote to kill the bill was 363 in favor (Edgar, Emerick, Janvrin, Muns, O’Neil) and 11 opposed.
CACR 13 is an amendment to the N.H. Constitution to ban slavery and involuntary servitude in New Hampshire. 159 years – to the day – after Congress approved the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution (banning slavery) and President Lincoln sent it to the states to ratify, the N.H. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the N.H. Constitution not only banning slavery and involuntary servitude but also banning the exception included in the U.S. Constitution permitting slavery when it is used as punishment for a crime. Passed, 355 in favor (Edgar, Emerick, Janvrin, Muns, O’Neil) to 5.
Ocean Boulevard Improvements public information meeting
The New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) will host a Public Information Meeting to discuss potential corridor and intersection improvement options for Ocean Boulevard (Route 1A) in Hampton. The event is scheduled for Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. at the Seashell Complex Banquet Room at 180 Boulevard, Hampton. This is your opportunity to provide feedback on the potential improvement options to the 3.3-mile Ocean Boulevard corridor between the Hampton Beach State Park Driveway and High Street (Route 27). For more information, visit https://www.dot.nh.gov/event/ocean-boulevard-route-1a-public-information-meeting.
Thank you and I hope to see you on Feb. 17. Stay warm!
Chris Muns is one of Hampton's five N.H. state representatives. He currently serving his second term, having previously served between 2012 and 2014.
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Concord update: NH Legislature begins work on over 1300 bills
