Week Ending March 15 in the NH House

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.

Bill Removing Local Control at Pease Killed

HB 1513 defeated in Committee

“We all hear on the floor of the House and throughout New Hampshire that local control is very important to us,” said Rep. Dennis Malloy, D-Greenland, who testified against the bill. “We've built the state on that premise. And this is one of those opportunities to live up to that premise.”

On March 13, Greenland/Rye State Representative Dennis Malloy led a group of residents and officials from Greenland, Newington and Rye to kill HB 1513 that would remove the authority of our communities to appoint representatives to the Pease Development Authority Board of Directors.

HB 1513 would have put the Governor and Executive Council in charge of deciding who should represent Portsmouth, Newington, Greenland, Rye and New Castle on the PDA.

Representative Malloy said, “For our perspective on this, Greenland is a town that contains one of the major arteries that feeds Pease. And there are thousands of people every day, twice a day that drive up and down (Route) 33 through our town and we support that. We are in complete support of all the developments Pease has brought to the area, and we want to help that. It's been important for us to be in the room and at that table with some degree of authority.”

PDA Board Chair Steve Dupree surprisingly recommended that the Resources Recreation and Development Committee in the House kill this bill so that another bill could be presented. Mr. Dupree was appointed to the PDA Board of Directors by Governor Sununu.

Nearly 90 people signed in to oppose this bill and the Committee voted unanimously to kill it.

It is likely that we have not heard the last of this. I want to assure the Seacoast residents that our local communities will be fighting to make sure we continue to appoint our own representatives to the PDA Board of Directors.

I want to thank everyone who wrote to the committee to argue for our continued representation on the board.

Results in the NH House February 22, 2024

The NH House

Right to Work, minimum wage, vacation benefits, PFAS protection, and suicide prevention were top priorities.

Defeating the so-called “Right to Work” is the epitome of what House Democrats believe: the right to join a labor union, promote an economy that rewards hard work, invest in the middle class, and so much more. “Right to Work” aims to prohibit bargaining of agency fees between employers and employee organizations, which cover collective bargaining and contract maintenance expenses. This interference by the government undermines agreements between employers and unions. Employees benefiting from union services without paying fees is unfair to dues-paying members and the union.

A fair economy in New Hampshire is what Granite Staters deserve. HB 1322 rewards hard work and is an investment in the middle class. This bill would have gradually increased the state’s minimum wage to $17 by 2029, matching the current living wage for New Hampshire. Such a raise is essential, as over 126,000 workers in the state earn less than $17 per hour, and a third of our residents struggle to make ends meet.

Once again, the House has passed legislation to protect workers from losing vacation they've earned but were unable to use due to circumstances beyond their control. This can occur due to layoff, change of ownership, or the business closing. Granite Staters deserve to be compensated for their hard work, and implementing this policy is a small but significant step in ensuring that for our workforce.

On a voice vote the NH House passed HB 1649, a bill enabling New Hampshire to join other states by prohibiting the sale of select products that contain PFAS we use daily, such as food packaging, children’s products, cosmetics, carpets, and furniture.

Tragically, suicide is the leading cause of death for young people in New Hampshire. For years, House Democrats have proposed legislation to institute safeguards to reduce impulsive acts of gun violence and have been blocked each time in partisan lockstep. This bill would establish a voluntary firearms do-not-sell list for people who wish to suspend their firearms rights of their own free will. This completely opt-in policy should not be a divisive one and similar bills have already been passed in Utah, Virginia, and Washington State with success. The simple fact is people who experience suicidal ideation or other mental health challenges know themselves and their vulnerabilities far better than we do, and they should be equipped with the tools to prevent a rash action of self-harm at a time when they may not have total control of their emotions. It is deeply disappointing to see House Republicans block this lifesaving legislation today from any future discussion this term in such a misguided manner.

The Hidden Costs of the Expanded Voucher Program

Every year since the voucher program was established, it has run millions of dollars over budget because contrary to its intended purpose as a poverty program, the vast majority of applicants have been students who were already attending private school at no cost to taxpayers.

Representative Mel Myler (D-Hopkinton), Ranking Democrat on the House Education Committee, said “Republicans are clearly scared that public opposition to the school voucher program will grow even stronger if the financial impact to taxpayers becomes known. Subsequently, the Chair of Finance waived referral of the bill to the Finance Committee which means there will be no review of the fiscal impact on the state budget.

The New Hampshire house voted 190-189 to pass HB 1665 which raises the income cap for the EFA school voucher program to 500% federal poverty level, $150,000 for a family of four. The bill will now go to the NH Senate where there may be a chance to kill it.

Expanding the voucher program to households up to 500% poverty ($150,000) will make thousands of additional private school students eligible and balloon the cost of the program even further. Instead of having an honest review of what this bill would mean to taxpayers, Republicans have decided to stick their heads in the sand and hope that the public is too busy to pay attention.

This bill further breaks away from the voucher program’s intended purpose as a poverty program by raising the income limit to $150,000 annual income for a family of four, which is much higher than practically every other government assistance program. Republicans have even rejected efforts to provide school meals to students above 185% poverty. This voucher expansion is extremely misguided and the decision to skip Finance Committee review is the height of fiscal irresponsibility,” according to Representative Myler.

Democrats Stop Two Voucher Bills From Advancing

Removal of income cap would cost taxpayers an additional $100,000,000 per year

The New Hampshire House voted to defeat two bills, HB 1561 and HB 1634, that would greatly expand the EFA school voucher program. HB 1561 sought to expand the program to students from specific categories, including those who had a fear for the common cold. HB 1634 would eliminate the income cap altogether, opening the program to all 21,000+ students currently in private education.

House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester) said, “The school voucher bills just defeated were misguided attempts to drastically alter the program from its intended purpose, at great expense to taxpayers. When the voucher program was first enacted three years ago, it was touted as a way to help students from low-income families, who were struggling in public school, find alternative options that their families could afford. HB 1561 and HB 1634 would have eliminated the income cap each in their own way, putting taxpayers on the hook for an additional $100,000,000 a year to subsidize private education for the ultra-wealthy.

Private and religious schools are exempt from anti-discrimination guidelines and not required to protect or even accept students from marginalized communities. It feels completely disingenuous for Republicans to claim that they are trying to protect LGTBQ+ youth today, on the heels of voting to enable state-sanctioned discrimination against them just last week.

Trying to expand this program to include all 21,000 students already in private education, which currently costs taxpayers nothing, is the height of fiscal irresponsibility. Democrats are committed to protecting hardworking Granite Staters from these irresponsible bills that our state cannot afford.”

NH Property Tax Payers Can't Afford More Corporate Tax Cuts

Corporate tax rates for New Hampshire businesses have drawn even with our neighboring states after years of cuts, and NH businesses are showing record profits along with nearly every established business in the United States thanks to a robust economy.

As introduced, House Bill 1422 called for yet another cut to the business profits tax (BPT), the rooms and meals tax and the communications tax that could reduce revenue to New Hampshire by over $2 billion dollars over the next 6 years, according to an analysis by the NH Department of Revenue Administration. The hearing on HB 1422 produced no evidence that recent tax cuts have either enticed new businesses to come to New Hampshire or encouraged material expansion of those already here. In fact, the continuation of years of tax cuts may even destroy the economic momentum we have recently seen by depleting state resources that both residents and businesses rely on.

Smart businesspeople in NH know that the best way to keep growing our economy is to fill the vacant jobs, with a healthy, educated workforce who can afford to live in this state. The BIA has made this clear to the Ways and Means Committee year after year and our committee heard NO testimony from the Business and Industry Association (BIA) or any business endorsing the continued tax reduction proposed in HB 1422. Property taxes are a bigger concern than reducing the BPT. In fact, only 20 percent of businesses pay 80 percent of the business profits tax with most NH businesses paying nothing at all.

The annual corporate tax giveaway of $350 million proposed in HB 1422 will cost as much as it takes to fund the very agencies and services that business and our citizens rely on including the Dept. of Safety, Veterans Home, University and Community College systems combined, Child Protection Services, Housing and Homelessness services, Mental Health Services, and Drug and Alcohol Services combined at HHS, and the Division of Medicaid Services.

The tax issue we should focus on is the regressive and punitive property tax situation faced by both business and personal property taxpayers. Bills like HB 1422 may only force local communities to raise property taxes to cover for the many services the like public education, public workers’ pensions, and vital health services now provided by NH Department of Health and Human Services, to name a few.

Today, 52 percent of New Hampshire’s tax base comes from the property tax. While the state of NH has little to no control over these taxes, HB 1422 will further reduce statewide revenue forcing businesses and Granite State property taxpayers to pay even higher property taxes.

HB 1422 has temporarily died in the Ways and Means Committee after House Republicans said that this should be looked at next year when we put together the budget. Several members of the House Republican leadership signed off on this bill so I’m sure we will see this again.