What Just Happened? February 15 NH House Session Recap, Post-Valentines Day Edition
Be still my foolish heart! On Thursday, we killed a book ban, slowed down the relentless assault of school vouchers on property taxpayers, overturned a GOP effort to starve hungry kids, and passed a resolution condemning unnecessary restrictions on medication abortions.
Embracing the Expectation of the Unexpected
All in all, Thursday was a great day. But things didn’t start out looking that great. As a matter of fact, it looked like it was going to be another long, glum and disappointing day for Democrats.
Our session started auspiciously with the annual state-of-the-state speech from Gov. Sununu. Predictably, his final state-of-the state speech before leaving office largely amounted to a self-congratulatory victory lap.
And that’s fine. Serving four terms, leading the state through COVID, and at least pretending to try to be the sane one in a party whose dominant trait has become the inexplicable fondness its members have for a disgraced would-be authoritarian facing 91 felony counts are all things to be proud of. But then there were the things things he failed to mention: like his role in signing the first abortion ban in state history, the sharp declines in public school test scores during his years in the corner office, scrawling “veto” on every gun safety bill to reach his desk, his enthusiastic pumping of millions in public tax dollars into private and religious schools with a school voucher program in the middle of a public school funding crisis, and last but not least, the coupe de grace—it turns out that on the very day he was speaking to us, he apparently allowed New Hampshire through his own inaction and misguided priorities to become one of 14 states that will not take advantage of a federal program to feed low-income kids over the summer.
It was a speech with lots of recycled claims and no real surprises—which left us more than ready to get down to the business of debating and voting on the day’s bills.
But first: A Few Words About Losing…and Leaders
Losing votes that matter is inevitable when you’re in the minority. But as our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have seen in this particular session, losing some tough ones is also not outside the realm of possibility for the majority.
As of this writing, there are 201 Republicans, 193 Democrats, 2 Independents, and 4 vacancies in the NH House of Representatives. One of the more amazing things about this session is that the exceedingly small separation in numbers between the Republican majority and the Democratic minority makes for lots of drama, twists, turns, eye-rolling, and heavy sighs on session days. Absences, late arrivals, early departures, and unexpected but welcome allies mean that no one really knows which party might have the advantage—at least until after the first few votes are taken. And even then, a legislator or two making a trip outside the chamber to use the bathroom at the wrong moment can sometimes be enough to produce a surprising result (not to mention a suitably red-faced legislator).
In that sort of environment, paying attention to everything and assuming nothing are necessities. But even more important is having leaders who are prepared, ultra-observant, ready to take advantage of the unexpected, knowledgable when it comes to parliamentary procedure, and decisive in the moment. Yesterday, it was especially gratifying to see all of this and more in Democratic leaders Matt Wilhelm, Alexis Simpson, and Lucy Weber.
So What Just Happened?
To sum it up, it was a pretty awesome day-after-Valentines-Day.
After the door somehow failed to hit the governor on the way out, we started with a nail-biter—losing a 188-187 vote on HB1212—a bill that would raise the eligibility cap for free school meals to 350% of the federal poverty level from the current 130-185%. It was a dispiriting loss—especially after watching a number of noticeably well-fed and well-dressed GOP legislators nitpicking away at the nutritional value of the food and the cost of the program IN A STATE WHOSE GOVERNOR HAD LITERALLY JUST TOLD US IS SUCCEEDING LIKE GANGBUSTERS. But as it turned out, what looked like a disappointing loss on HB1212 wasn’t the end of the story. Later in the day, a motion to reconsider the bill passed 187-181. After two motions to kill the bill failed in various ways, a motion to pass the bill was finally approved 193-175. Bottom line: somehow between the start of the day and the end of the day, leadership recognized we had the votes to revisit a painful and very close decision—which resulted in a very different outcome. The only bad news? The Speaker referred the bill to the Finance Committee, which will likely return it to the House floor with a recommendation to kill it—which we may or may not be able to defeat depending on attendance, illness, and ill-timed bathroom breaks.
Up next was HB1419, a censorship and book banning bill masquerading as a child protection bill. After a spirited debate, which included a dramatic reading of graphic material featuring rape and sexual intercourse by the aggrieved GOP sponsor, the House then voted to table the bill 192-181. But it didn’t stay on the table for long. Like the first bill, we found ourselves revisiting this one from a stronger position later in the day. After voting to “take the bill off of the table”, a motion to pass the bill failed 162-187. Then the House passed a motion to “indefinitely postpone” the bill 187-162. This blocks it or similar material from coming before the House again until the end of the term in December.
Putting the “Ouch” Back Into Vouchers
Equally critical were votes on two of the most important pieces of legislation on Thursday’s calendar. Both would have dramatically expanded school voucher programs in New Hampshire—along with their cost to taxpayers. Not only were both voucher bills killed, but thanks to some adept parliamentary maneuvering (e.g. the failure of reconsideration motions for both), neither bill can be considered in any form by the House for the remainder of the 2024 session.
HB1652 would have enabled local school districts to offer taxpayer-funded local “education freedom accounts” in addition to the ones currently already offered through the state (which also raid local property tax coffers). It was killed by a 194-179 vote.
Shortly afterwards, HB1677 was killed 192-174. This bill would have opened up eligibility for vouchers beyond low income students to include any student—public, private, or home-schooled—who resides in a lower-performing school district. Instead of fixing the performance issues, it would have compounded the problem by defunding public schools to let families that already send their kids to expensive private schools access public funds because they live within an under-performing district’s geographic boundaries.
The Fight for Abortion Rights
Also receiving a thumbs up was HCR 11, a resolution that passed with more than a few Republican votes by a 196-151 margin. Unlike a bill—which seek to make a change in New Hampshire law—a resolution seeks to influence policy outside our state. HCR11 condemns medically unnecessary restrictions on medication abortion and miscarriage management. The resolution comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to take up a case filed by anti-abortion advocates that could severely restrict the use of mifepristone—a safe, highly effective prescribed pill for medication abortion which is now available up to the 11th week of pregnancy.
Other Votes
HB1560, a bill that would allow any money left over in the Education Trust Fund at the end of every fiscal year to be transferred to the General Fund (where it could be used for non-education purposes), was tabled 346-74.
HCR 8, a resolution calling for an Article V convention calling for a constitutional amendment addressing campaign finance issues, was tabled 247-99.
HR19, a resolution calling on the federal government to repeal the Jones Act, which mandates that goods moving between US ports be transported on ships built and crewed by US citizens or permanent residents, was killed by voice vote.
HB1363, a bill allowing legislators to participate in the Department of Health and Human Services Employee Assistance Program, passed 184-168.