Keeping Tax Dollars Out of Religious Education
House Democrats continue to support and protect taxpayers by prohibiting the use of public money for religious schools or religious education and put forward HB 1592 to do just that. The New Hampshire Constitution is abundantly clear that no person shall ever be compelled to pay towards the support of schools of any sect or denomination.
The majority could have killed it altogether but a party line vote tabled the bill.
The vast majority of EFA vouchers are devoted to students attending Christian and Catholic private schools. No matter how many shell games are played to move the money from one fund to another, the fact remains that it all comes from New Hampshire taxpayers. The funding of EFA vouchers to religious institutions is a violation of the New Hampshire Constitution and should cease immediately.
A First Step at Lowering Property Taxes
The New Hampshire House voted to pass HB 1279, which requires the state to pay 7.5% toward retirement system costs for municipal employees. The legislation, which seeks to alleviate the burden on property taxpayers by partially restoring the state’s longstanding obligation as a co-contributor to the retirement system, now heads to the state Senate for review.
Property taxes have been skyrocketing ever since Republicans eliminated the state contribution to municipal retirement benefits in 2011. The state has a longstanding obligation to financially support our communities and for the last decade-plus, we have failed to live up to it.
Building Codes Update
The House passed a bill to advance the latest building codes, with amendments adopted by the Building Code Review Board (BCRB). However, House Republicans blocked an amendment to advance the latest energy codes for commercial buildings that address the latest science on human health and indoor air quality following the pandemic.
If New Hampshire does not move to the updated commercial codes, over $4 million in federal funding earmarked for NH in the Inflation Reduction Act will be left on the table. It is disappointing that Republicans refuse to pass energy-saving and money-saving legislation time and time again.
Disclosing Funding of Deceptive Political Advertising
HB 1596 is legislation requiring the disclosure of deceptive synthetic media and deceptive and fraudulent deep fakes usage in political advertising has been referred to the state Senate.
Deceptive deepfakes are manipulated images, audio and video designed to trick the viewer or listener by depicting something that did not actually occur in real life. Artificial intelligence technology has quickly progressed, and deceptive deepfakes can now be created with little or no skill for little to no money.
Bi-partisan Support of Reporting Mental Health Information
In the wake of the tragic murder of Chief Bradley Haas at New Hampshire Hospital the House passed HB 1711 which authorizes the reporting of mental health information to the FBI firearms background check system, representing a small but important victory in the ongoing effort to reduce the risk of gun violence and suicide in our state.
Members of both parties not only came to the table to craft this important legislation, but also that New Hampshire hospital workers and representatives of people with mental illness and disabilities joined us in writing and finalizing the bill. This legislation is a somber reminder of the ongoing struggle of many people in our state to cope with the effects of mental illness—and the cost of previous legislative inaction on this issue to the family of Officer Haas.