Veto day is set, Sununu seeks home heating aid

Aug. 7—THE LEGISLATURE WILL return to session at the State House on Sept. 15 to take up the bills Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed and to handle other pressing business.

The House will meet at 1 p.m.; the timing of the Senate session has not been announced.

The timing is politically delicious because it comes on the Thursday after the Tuesday state primary.

Will Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, return as the conquering winner of the jam-packed U.S. Senate primary or will he be just another lame duck leader with a gavel?

The same can be asked of House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, who faces a primary challenge of his own. But you won't find any political observers who believe the speaker will be unable to get past two GOP opponents and make the cut of seven that GOP voters will nominate for House seats in his hometown.

Only one of two greater Manchester Republican House members will be celebrating after voters in state Senate District 16 decide between Goffstown Republican Barbara Griffin and Hooksett Rep. Michael Yakubovich.

Here's the bad news, lawmakers. In line with Part II, Article 15 of the state Constitution, mileage is not paid for coming to Concord for a veto day.

The five that matter

When it's all over, the best bet is Sununu will prevail on all his veto fights. There will be some Republicans in an election year, particularly in the Senate, who will defer to the boss, especially since this comes at the kickoff of the general election campaign.

Still, some debates will be robust. Here are the five to watch:

—Ivermectin Standing Order (HB 1022): The anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate activists are in a lather about this one. All of Sununu's health care experts pushed him to nix this bill, which would require doctors and pharmacists to give out this medication upon request without a prescription.

—Declaration of Emergency (HB 275): This is the bill that spawned the renegade, likely doomed move to try to censure Sununu before the Republican State Committee.

Senior GOP legislators insist that after the state budget deal wrapped up in June 2021, Sununu invited them to offer additional reforms to change how state emergencies remain in place. Sununu said this bill, that would limit any governor to three 21-day extensions of emergency, went too far.

—Landfill Siting (HB 1454): Opponents of the proposed landfill near Forest Lake in Dalton are pushing for an override of Sununu's veto of this bill, which tried to make developers ensure their siting plans don't threaten nearby water supplies. Sununu said it would lead to over-regulation and higher property taxes.

—Face Coverings in Schools (HB 1131): Sununu cited local control in rejecting this outright ban on local school boards requiring students to wear face coverings in the future.

—Abortion Clinic Buffer Zones (HB 1625): Abortion opponents wanted this bill to eliminate the buffer zone that keeps protesters at a distance from clinics. A federal judge struck down as unconstitutional a Massachusetts buffer zone that was bigger than New Hampshire's.

Sununu said the clinic operators and protesters have been playing nice for years, and no change is needed because there has been no hard-and-fast enforcement of the buffer zone law at these sites.

Energy bill relief on Sununu's agenda

Sununu is hopeful lawmakers embrace his response to rising utility bills for New Hampshire consumers.

Packard and Morse got squarely behind Sununu's idea to give all New Hampshire ratepayers a $100 refund on their monthly electric bills.

Three of the state's four largest utilities already have dramatically raised their cost-of-power charges.

Utility executives have pledged to administratively carry out this one-time break, but you still need special legislation to get it done.

Sununu confirmed he's working on a second relief plan lawmakers can take up next month, this one for winter home heating assistance.

State officials already are working on setting aside more federal money for the Low Income Home Heating Assistance Program, but Sununu wants to go further than that.

Energy Commissioner Jared Chicoine has been tasked with developing a plan to expand the eligibility so that more moderate-income families can get relief.

This gets tricky because states don't have the ability to revise LIHEAP criteria.

New Hampshire needs to reinvent the wheel if more of its citizens are to get this home heating help.

"We are looking at creating a program that will layer on top of LIHEAP," Sununu said last week.

Hey, Mowers is winning

Here's a pithy memo to the crowded field of Republican candidates running in the 1st Congressional District.

Matt Mowers, the 2020 nominee, is the frontrunner, and whether it's Tom Brady or Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, you've got to get rid of or discredit the king if you're going to prevail — in this case, in next month's primary.

Gail Huff Brown of Rye had an OK performance at the first debate Thursday, but she was the only one to recognize this critical point.

She attacked Mowers for voting twice during the 2016 presidential primary season, once in New Hampshire and then months later in New Jersey.

Several candidates had solid performances, including Karoline Leavitt of Hampton, Rep. Tim Baxter of Seabrook and former Executive Councilor Russ Prescott of Kensington.

That alone won't cut it. Nor will Leavitt's status as the only candidate to affirmatively declare Joe Biden stole the election.

If Leavitt staying with her denier status helps her get former President Donald Trump's endorsement, that's a great play, but we have no indication yet that is likely to happen.

Hewitt-Morse 'bromance'

Syndicated conservative talk show host Hugh Hewitt has a man crush on Morse.

"Up in New Hampshire they don't vote for a couple more weeks, but it's a lock Chuck Morse is going to be the nominee in New Hampshire... I cover the Granite State, Chuck Morse is our best bet to take out Maggie Hassan," Hewitt said last week.

Morse's TV buy began airing full-time last week and will continue through the primary.

The Morse camp pounced with a strategy memo last week that insisted the fundraising efforts of GOP rivals Don Bolduc and Kevin Smith have flamed out.

The Smith and Bolduc camps beg to differ.

Sununu told Good Morning New Hampshire host Jack Heath that an endorsement from him in the Senate race was still possible

"Maybe I will. Who said, I'm not?" Sununu asked.

The worst-kept secret is the Sununu team is not fond of Bolduc, who said some unkind things about the governor during the COVID-19 pandemic.

If it looks like Bolduc could win a low-turnout primary, the odds of Sununu taking sides go way up.

Sununu was dead-right about one thing — endorsements are no silver bullet.

"Endorsements in New Hampshire don't carry the weight people think they do," Sununu said.

"It's not some kind of game-changer, slam dunk that people think they are. Voters are smart."

Trump-Sununu proxy war

Right over the border is a battle for the heart and soul of the Republican Party's future.

The winner of the GOP primary for governor in Massachusetts will gain bragging rights at bars, but perhaps not much more.

The heavy betting is that come November, Attorney General and liberal Democrat Maura Healey will replace moderate GOP Gov. Charlie Baker, who passed on trying for a third term.

But the battle between conservative Geoff Diehl and more moderate, self-funding Chris Doughty is attracting a lot of big-name attention.

Trump has endorsed Diehl, who is advised by Corey Lewandowski of Windham, Trump's former campaign manager.

Last week, Sununu went south to raise money for Doughty.

"Chris Doughty is the Republican who will win in November, and as governor, he'll deliver results for Bay Staters to make Massachusetts affordable," Sununu said.

This week, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem will come in to stump for Diehl.

Neither Sununu nor Noem has ruled out a 2024 White House run.

Watch for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tom Sherman to seize on Sununu's move, since the anti-abortion Doughty told the Boston Globe he favors outlawing it except in cases of rape or incest.

Sununu has no pro-choice candidate to pick from; Diehl also opposes legal abortions.

"This is about the future of the Republican Party as much as anything else," Patrick Griffin, a GOP consultant from Bedford, told Politico.

"Kristi Noem's got plans. Chris Sununu's got plans. This is all about standing up for where the party's going and trying to direct it in a way or lead it in a way where we can win more elections, not less."

Rules on the road

House Clerk Paul Smith got plenty of publicity while attending the fall summit of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver last week.

Smith is a national authority on Mason's Manual, the Bible of parliamentary procedure for legislative bodies.

"I was fortunate to speak and moderate a panel on Mason's Manual of Legislative Procedure. It was a surprisingly over-filled room; maybe more and more people like rules than we thought!" Smith quipped.

Other legislators who made the trip included Reps. Matt Wilhelm, D-Manchester, and Maureen Mooney, R-Merrimack.

Potential pickups for Dems

Former Portsmouth Mayor and Democratic candidate for governor Steve Marchand recently highlighted some Democrats he believes can break through and win red seats in the New Hampshire House.

Marchand's Move the Goalposts PAC points out that redistricting gave the GOP a built-in, 228-172 advantage.

"This means Democrats have to win at least 29 seats in districts with Republicans PVIs (partisan voter index). We have done this before. Indeed, Democrats over the past decade have done better at winning in Republican-leaning seats than vice-versa!" Marchand said.

Among those getting a Marchand nod were Natalie Quevedo in Cheshire County, former Berlin School Superintendent Connie Cascadden in Coos County, Tommy Hoyt of Campton and former Rep. Jerry Stringham in Grafton County.

Fenton speaks down South

GOP Senate hopeful Bruce Fenton of Durham was a keynote speaker at Friday's Young Americans for Liberty Conference in Orlando.

Heading the bill were former GOP presidential hopefuls Ron Paul, Tulsi Gabbard and Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.

Tang Williams has Tea Party backing

Lily Tang Williams of Weare won the support of the Tea Party Express for her GOP campaign in the 2nd Congressional District.

"Lily Tang Williams has a compelling story to tell about her narrow escape from Communist China to America, and her message of promoting individual freedom and prosperity has deeply resonated with the people of New Hampshire," said Chairman Howard Kaloogian, a New Hampshire resident.

More Prescott backers

Congressional District 1 candidate Prescott announced more political, small business and law enforcement backers last week.

They include two former colonels of the New Hampshire State Police, Fred Booth and Lynn Presby, state Reps. Patrick Abrami of Stratham and Joe Guthrie of Hampstead, David Welch and Ken Weyler of Kingston and former House Speaker George Roberts of Gilmanton.

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