State House Dome: Will new pitch for legal pot see same ending?

Feb. 16—THE INK WAS barely dry on the latest proposal to legalize recreational use of marijuana when some insiders declared it dead on arrival in the state Senate.

That's been the fate of most such proposals in the the past, though 2024 could be different.

At the State House, it's much easier to kill a bill than to pass one.

Over close to two decades, lawmakers have offered an assortment of reasons for the time not being right to make it legal for adults to smoke pot recreationally.

The opioid epidemic, COVID-19, even the last great recession were among the arguments made by critics wanting to keep the Senate in the "no" column.

For the longest time, stiff opposition by the New Hampshire Association of Chiefs of Police and the State Police was all it took.

They still wield a lot of influence in the upper chamber, perhaps even more in an election year, when it's not considered smart to defy law enforcement while trying to punch a reelection ticket.

Gov. Chris Sununu has often said this is a reform that appears at some point to be inevitable.

Once the proposal gets to the Senate, the issue will likely come down to Senate President Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, who has long opposed it, and Republican state senators who backed the idea when they served in the New Hampshire House.

Sen. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, has gone back and forth and back on the proposition. He carried the campaign for a legalization model as a House member and in the Senate helped lead the opposition after the House chose a different model.

This time the House has a different leading voice: two-term state Rep. Erica Layon, R-Derry, whose hybrid proposal embraces the free market while imposing heavy state controls, including a ban on advertising and limits on store ownership.

This may come down to whether Sununu is willing to spend political capital on something he is willing to accept but is hardly passionate about.

Soldati steps up

Somersworth business owner Emmett Soldati announced he will run for the Executive Council District 1 seat currently held by Wakefield Republican Joe Kenney.

Soldati claimed his video announcement had more than 100,000 views on social media.

Before the last redistricting, Soldati's city was in Council District 2.

In 2020 he finished third in his primary run for the open seat eventually won by Councilor Cinde Warmington, D-Concord.

His past campaigns include a bid for chairman of the state Democratic Party against longtime incumbent Raymond Buckley.

Soldati is the owner of Teatotaller Cafe, a multi-location cafe company he started in his hometown.

He also prevailed over Meta (formerly Facebook) in a six-year court battle to force the tech giant to delete his business's Instagram account.

Soldati's Concord location was also the scene of anti-LGBTQ+ protests that resulted in state civil rights fines against protesters who tried to disrupt his business

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Soldati's campaign kickoff will be Feb. 29 at Flight Coffee in Dover.

House Dems rule for a day

Last Thursday, House Democrats seized control for a day, thanks to strong attendance.

After Sununu's State of the State speech, when the House took its first vote, there were 181 Republicans and 181 Democrats in the seats.

For House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, the day went downhill from there.

By the end of a five-hour session, 181 Democrats remained, but only 168 Republicans.

Ten days ago, the House by a single vote approved expanding eligibility for families to receive Education Freedom Accounts, taxpayer-funded education grants.

On Thursday, two EFA bills went down to defeat — one (HB 1652) to allow school districts to devise their own local EFA programs and the other to tie eligibility for them to student test scores (HB 1677).

The Democrats maintained their momentum, with the House voting to kill and then indefinitely postpone a bill on obscenity in public schools, a death sentence for the topic in 2024.

This bill would have banned school districts from disseminating materials harmful to minor children and would require school boards to set up procedures for parents to lodge complaints about a specific book they considered to be obscene (HB 1419).

A chief proponent, Rep. Glenn Cordelli, R-Tuftonboro, drew protests from House Democrats as he read sexually graphic material on the House floor.

Bill supporters said if it's objectionable to read this material before the full House, it should be objectionable for it to be in public schools.

Among the six House Republicans who voted with all Democratic opponents were House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Chairman John Hunt, R-Rindge, and Science Technology and Energy Chairman Michael Vose, R-Epping.

Plug pulled on IT guidelines

The Department of Information Technology had its viral moment this past week when its new guidelines for state government-run websites came under fire.

The Washington Times first reported on an internal memo from Kathryn Michener, director of user experience, titled, "Embracing Inclusive Language."

The guidelines banned words like "elderly" and "normal" and advocated the use of "they" as a singular pronoun to replace gender-specific terms.

The memo went beyond gender, saying terms like "citizen" could potentially exclude foreign tourists, and "brown bag" lunches could unintentionally reference discriminatory practices, the memo warned.

"Older" and "senior" were considered preferable to "elderly," the memo said.

It also discouraged use of the word "normal," saying the term "implies that anything that deviates from that is abnormal or inferior."

On Thursday, Sununu deep-sixed the directive.

"I thought the post was nuts," Sununu said. He said he contacted Information Technology Commissioner Dennis Goulet, who agreed to take it down.

New state flag design

State Rep. Tim McGough, R-Merrimack, has taken on the task of trying to add the state motto, "Live Free or Die," to the state flag.

The North American Vexillological Association has ranked New Hampshire's flag as the 10th-worst in the country, including all states and U.S. territories.

"It's been described as a blue bedsheet with the state seal on it," McGough said.

Of the all the state flags, 31 contain the state seal or coat of arms, and 27 have a blue background.

Londonderry student Andrew Flockton, a member of the North American flag societal group, came up with a design that incorporates the Old Man of the Mountain and the state motto.

"What is more New Hampshire than the Old Man and 'Live Free or Die'?" Flockton asked the House committee.

A year ago, Flockton started an online petition seeking suggestions for a redesign and came up with this new look.

The Legislature traditionally has rejected proposed changes to the flag on the basis of tradition and the cost of replacing all state flags.

DCYF under House scrutiny

House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, has formed a 10-person special committee to deal with due process in the state Division for Children, Youth and Families.

Rep. Leah Cushman, R-Weare, will chair the panel, which is evenly split by party

Other committee members are Reps. Alicia Gregg, D-Nashua; Rep. Gaby Grossman, D-Exeter; Jim Kofalt, R-Wilton; Layon; Pat Long, D-Manchester; Sandra Panek, R-Pelham; Sheila Seidel, R-Goffstown; Mary Jane Wallner, D-Concord; and Lucy Weber, D-Walpole.

New round of Prescott backers

Starting earlier this time, 1st Congressional District Republican candidate Russell Prescott of Kingston continues to attract more GOP activists to his campaign than he did in 2022, when he finished a distant fourth.

The new batch includes House Election Law Committee Chairman Ross Berry of Manchester, Hampton businessman Chuck Rolecek, Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin of Amherst, and Stephen and Jean Matthieu of Manchester.

Manchester businessman Ben Gamache, Keene GOP leader Jerry Sickels and former Franklin Mayor Tony Giunta also have come aboard.

Pitch for flood reimbursement

State Sens. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, and Bill Gannon, R-Sandown, led a bipartisan pitch for legislation to reimburse Seacoast communities for recent flooding from winter storms.

Local officials put damage estimates at $700,000

Dean backs Warmington

Former Vermont Gov. and former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean endorsed Warmington at a recent house party in Keene.

"Republicans don't want to face Cinde in November because she will lead Democrats to victory up and down the ballot," Dean said.

During his remarks, Dean at times referred to the "Executive Committee" rather than the Executive Council and said he was "shocked" to learn New Hampshire was "behind the eight ball" as the only New England state without a law expressly supporting a woman's abortion right.

"Only a Democratic governor is going to be able to do something about that," Dean said.

DGA parody video

In honor of Valentine's Day, the Democratic Governors Association posted a snarky video on X, likening the GOP primary for governor to a "messy" game show.

"Our candidates on tonight's show are well-established losers," the announcer stated.

It concluded with, "Who is going to be crowned the losing Candi-Date?"

Maya Harvey, campaign manager for GOP candidate Chuck Morse, said, "Whether it's Joyce Craig letting homelessness, crime, and drugs run rampant through Manchester, or Cinde Warmington pocketing big money from big pharma at the expense of New Hampshire families — perhaps the DGA should spend less time on useless videos and more time vetting their candidates."

John Corbett, Ayotte's spokesman had a similar reaction.

"This is just the latest proof that Joyce Craig and Cinde Warmington are being propped up by out-of-state special interests who want to turn New Hampshire into Massachusetts," he said.

NH-Irish pact on whiskey

The Consul General of Ireland to New England will be in the state on March 7 to celebrate a partnership that will offer exclusive whiskeys to customers at the state's Liquor & Wine Outlets.

State officials worked for more than a year with Bord Bia and other distillers to make New Hampshire the first retailer in the U.S. to feature a collection of 20 ultra-premium Irish whiskeys.

Irish whiskey sales in the state went up 16.1% in 2023.

"N.H. Liquor & Wine Outlet has been named one of the top ten retailers in the country and recognized as one of the best places to find rare spirits," said Commission Chairman Joseph Mollica.

The announcement obviously was timed for St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

Name that capital

A House panel considered a proposal (HB 1095) from State Rep. Eric Gallagher, D-Concord, to enforce the proper pronunciation of the state and the capital city according to the International Phonetic Alphabet so Concord is said, "CON-kerd," rather than "CON-cord."

A day later, the House Executive Departments and Administration Committee had a second public hearing on a proposed 112-page amendment to Gallagher's bill that would entirely scrap his in favor of rewriting the state's occupational licensing laws and putting recent regulatory changes into statute.

Kevin Landrigan is State House Bureau Chief for the New Hampshire Union Leader and Sunday News. Contact him at klandrigan@unionleader.com.