Updates

From the passing and signing of a dismal dumpster fire of a state budget that is already triggering lawsuits—to the approval of legislation that erodes voting rights, imposes unfunded mandates on NH communities, further marginalizes immigrants, and denies gender-affirming health care to children—our legislature and our governor hit new lows last week. Here’s what you need to know.

Public service should never be a hazardous activity. But neither should walking in a mall, strolling down the street, watching a movie in a theater, shopping for groceries, or sitting in a classroom.

As the legislative session inched closer to the end on Thursday, GOP majorities in the NH House and Senate are ensuring manufactured GOP priorities like “parents rights”, “election security”, and “education freedom” for the wealthy are passing—and actual voter priorities like housing and childcare receive lip service. Here are the lowlights and a few highlights.

While no one seems to have told Mother Nature that the month of March was over almost two months ago, a quick look at the calendar shows that with June approaching, the 2025 legislative session is nearing a merciful end. Here’s a quick summary what happened to key legislation during the week of May 18-24.

As the 2025 legislative session nears the end, the New Hampshire House and Senate will vote this week on bills that have already passed in the other chamber. But to get to the governor’s desk for signature, both chambers must agree on and then pass identical versions of a bill—or the bill dies. Here’s a progress report on some of the more controversial bills.

While many of the most harmful elements of a toxic state budget will now move over to the Senate, the good news is that a few of the worst things were stopped dead in their tracks.

Last week, Portsmouth and State House legend Laura Pantelakos passed away at the age of 89. Here is the memorial speech I delivered in her honor last Thursday in her home-away-from-home—the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Showing up Saturdays “Hand Off” protests was awesome. But to drive real change, we need to keep showing up again and again. Here are some ways my NH peeps can make a difference.

As elected Republicans in Washington ignore the rule of law, the Constitution, and national security, their NH counterparts spent this week using their majorities to pass new laws that inflict pain, cruelty, and stupidity on the very people our laws are supposed to protect rather than gaslight. Here’s a wrap-up of this week’s odious 2-day session of the NH House.

On Thursday, the NH House of Representatives debated 44 separate bills, made some historically awful decisions, and opened the door to a new era of Jim Crow-like discrimination in New Hampshire. Here’s a quick recap of the litany of horrors that took place on a day when I’ve never been prouder to serve in the minority.

In the aftermath of a disappointing May 13 session of the NH House, our legislature is well on the way to further crippling public education, eroding individual rights, increasing the risk of gun violence and suicide, and expanding our dependence on out-of-state energy sources. Here’s a quick wrap-up of the good, the bad, and the ugly.

It was a good day for people who drive rust buckets and an even better day for landlords with lead paint problems. But it was a pretty awful day for public health, laid-off workers and, worst of all, NH kids. Here’s a quick summary of the questionable, the ugly, and the horrendous things that happened during the March 7 session of the NH House.

A good day for cannabis fans and street thugs, but a sad day for gun safety, transparency in political advertising, wind energy, energy policy in general, and gun safety. Here’s a slightly delayed quick summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly from last week’s session of the NH House.

A big win for labor, the governor unveils her proposed budget, and other highlights and lowlights from the Thursday, February 13 meeting of the NH House of Representatives.

On Thursday, the first NH House session where reps voted on actual legislation took place up at the State House. With few exceptions, it wasn’t anywhere near as pretty inside as it was outside as the lightly falling snow decorated the State House Plaza. Here’s a quick summary.

Democracy not only dies in darkness. In New Hampshire, it also apparently withers in Republican-controlled state legislatures.

As Election Day draws closer, New Hampshire Republican politicians have gone into full smokescreen mode. Here are some prime examples of some of the smokescreens we’re seeing—and what you need to know to clear the air.

As vetoes and bill signings start to become public, a shout-out to some of the New Hampshire House Democrats who wrote and shepherded key bills signed into law through the gauntlet of public hearings and committee votes to get them to the finish line.

Thursday was moment of truth day as final votes were taken on over 60 bills sent to conference committees late last month by the New Hampshire House and Senate. Here’s a quick recap of the good, the bad and the ugly.

The end of the legislative session is where deadlines and desperation enter the chat. On Thursday, there was a lot of maneuvering in both the House and Senate to get priority bills across the finish line, to trip up bills with significant opposition, and to bring dead bills back to life. Here’s a quick recap.