NH General Court
Vouchers, divisive concepts, reading, redistricting, and public health and safety were voted on this week in the NH House. Results of the vote on most bills were of no surprise, and followed a familiar pattern. A pleasant exception was the Freedom to Read bill.
Voucher Accountability Fails
The House rejected HB 1512 which would limit the EFA voucher program to budgeted amounts, and HB 1594 which would require annual review and qualification to determine eligibility to participate in the EFA voucher program.
Every argument that Republicans make to justify treating the EFA voucher program different than other government assistance programs is completely disingenuous. From the moment the voucher program was first introduced, Republicans have misrepresented who it would benefit and how much additional taxpayer money would be required to fund it.
Despite claiming the voucher program’s intent was to provide choice to low-income students who were struggling in public school, Republicans wrote the bill to include students already in private education, who were not funded by taxpayers until that point. To no one’s surprise, those already in private school flocked to the voucher program, which has led to exponential overspending every year since it began. In just three years, over 3,000 private education students have been added to the taxpayer rolls resulting in the massive overspending that Democrats sought to reign in today.
Repeal of Divisive Concepts Law Fails
Backed by nearly unanimous Republican opposition in the New Hampshire House, legislation which would repeal the “divisive concepts” law restricting teaching in public schools (HB 1162) was blocked from advancement. The ‘divisive concepts’ law, which restricts the teaching of honest history in public schools, has been a black eye on our state since Republicans first enacted as part of the state budget three years ago.
The fact that this law only applies to public schools, but not private institutions that now receive taxpayer funds through the school voucher program, shows just how disingenuous this Republican attempt to silence public school teachers really is. This is simply just another attempt to weaken and dismantle public education.
Freedom to Read Approved
We are grateful to our colleagues for passing our Freedom to Read bill, HB 1311, in a vote of 194-180. It was carefully drafted as commonsense bipartisan legislation to help us prevent discrimination, preserve local control, and guarantee concerned parents and guardians due process. This bill strikes the right balance between parental and students’ rights, first amendment rights, and local control in our school library collections, and we encourage our Senate colleagues to send it to the governor’s desk as soon as possible.
Independent Redistricting Commission Rejected
The House voted to indefinitely postpone CACR 19, with Republicans leading the charge, which would give New Hampshire voters the opportunity to amend the state Constitution to end gerrymandering through enactment of an independent redistricting commission. This proposal was straightforward. It would give the voters of New Hampshire – the constituents we represent – the opportunity to decide for themselves whether partisan gerrymandering should be allowed to continue in our state. I have never met a voter who thought the deliberate manipulation of districts for political gain was right or fair.
Brass Knuckles, Slungshots and Blackjacks Approved
HB 1276, would legalize brass knuckles, slungshots, and blackjacks. Republicans are ignoring the many things we need in New Hampshire like affordable housing and childcare. But something we don’t need is a bill that makes our streets, our gathering places, and our schools any more dangerous or any less safe. This bill was opposed by the NH Chiefs of Police because we can only assume they know the danger that these weapons present in circulation in our state.
Gender Affirming Health Care Banned
The New Hampshire House voted to pass HB 1660, a bill to ban gender affirming care for youth on Medicaid. This session we have seen over a dozen bills attacking the LGBTQ+ community and specifically targeting LGBTQ+ youth. We know that this legislation is a part of a larger fabric of attacks aimed at discriminating against trans, non-binary, and gender diverse people nationwide and are damaging to an enormous amount of Granite Staters and their families.