House rejects proxy, remote voting on 2023 opening day
Jan. 5—CONCORD — In a civil manner, the closely divided House of Representatives rejected proxy voting and remote committee meetings during opening day of its 2023 legislative session Wednesday.
Republicans hold a tiny 201-197 advantage in the House, the smallest majority in modern history.
House Democrats did score a procedural victory when the full House refused to change tradition and let a Republican committee chair set the floor strategy when a committee deadlocks over a bill.
This is a key issue since Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, has created equal party membership on all but two committees.
House Majority Floor Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, said giving the chairman more options would make the House run more smoothly.
"It just allows a little bit more of a process to move forward," Sweeney said.
House Democratic Floor Leader Lucy Weber of Walpole said the move would end a long tradition and give committee chairs too much power.
"We are in unprecedented times," Weber began. "This rule completely turns that bipartisan agreement on its head because it gives all the power to determine how a bill will proceed...to one person on the committee."
The House rejected that change, 191-184.
This means when a committee deadlocks on a bill, the first motion allowed before the House is whether to pass it.
Over in the Senate, the brief session ended with no disputes over operating rules.
Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, said he's confident with a 14-10 GOP majority and a collegial atmosphere the upper chamber will not fall into partisan warfare.
Bradley noted he has served in two of the largest political bodies in the free world, the 435-member U.S. House of Representatives and the 400-person New Hampshire House.
"The difference between large bodies and small bodies is that we may disagree and we do disagree a lot (but) I don't think you will find us to be disagreeable," Bradley said.
Parties lay out priorities
Passing a balanced state budget without a broad-based tax, promoting more energy supply and addressing needs in the fields of mental health, housing, developmental disabilities and childcare are top priorities for the Senate GOP this year, Bradley said.
Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy of Manchester said her group will release its agenda next week, but she made clear support for abortion rights will continue to be a major focus.
"Protecting the civil rights of women should be one of the top priorities of the Legislature and the Senate Democrats will never back down from supporting women making their own reproductive health care decisions," Soucy said.
House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm of Manchester had urged the House to permit any member to vote by proxy for someone who can't attend due to a medical condition, illness or caring for a loved one.
"We all know that attendance will matter more than ever this term. Just as important as our vote is our ability to keep everyone healthy and safe as citizen volunteers, legislators and Granite Staters," Wilhelm said.
And Wilhelm said given the GOP has the edge, the majority should want proxy voting.
"Being the minority leader, the caucus I lead has the least to gain but it is the right thing to do," Wilhelm said.
House Deputy Speaker Steven Smith, R-Charlestown, said no state legislative body now permits proxy voting and the U.S. House under Republican control is getting rid of it.
"Functionally this gives a member of the House two votes," Smith said, adding there's no guarantee the person voting by proxy will honor an absent legislator's wishes on a bill.
The House turned down Wilhelm's plan, 201-174.
Remote meetings fail
State Rep. Karen Ebel, D-Newbury, said Packard should be able to move committees to all remote or hybrid in the event there's a larger outbreak of COVID-19 or other health threat over the next two years.
"One never knows what the legislative session will bring," Ebel said, noting the state Supreme Court has advised the speaker has this power to allow for remote voting or attendance at committees.
Smith said during the pandemic Packard used existing authority for committees to permit remote voting as long as legislators were visibly present when they cast a vote online.
The House turned down that idea, 195-180.
Gun carry rights affirmed
Gun control advocates lost a bid to get rid of the House rule that permits members to carry concealed weapons onto the House floor and in other legislative offices.
For 40 years, the House rule was you could not carry a concealed weapon into the State House.
A House GOP supermajority first changed it in 2011 and the policy on guns went gone back and forth whenever partisan control in the House changed over the past decade.
"It's become sadly apparent that more guns in more places isn't part of the solution, it's part of the problem," said Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth.
Opponents said House rules do not trump the Constitution that protects someone's Second Amendment right.
The vote to get rid of the gun permissive rule failed, 197-177.
