What Just Happened? May 4-5, 2022 NH House Session Wrap-Up

On Wednesday and Thursday May 4-5, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted on the remaining bills already passed in the Senate. Complicating matters were potential “poison pill amendments” added to several bills seeking to revive controversial legislation passed in the House, but killed in the Senate. Here were some of the key votes from this week’s session.

Reproductive Health Care

Following the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would strike down Roe vs. Wade, House Republican legislators successfully blocked several attempts by Democrats codify the right to an abortion under NH law and to roll back abortion restrictions signed into law in 2021 by Governor Sununu.

SB 399, a bill that would have modified the ultrasound requirement for all NH women seeking abortions, was tabled 177-156 and is dead for this session. The motion to table was made by House Majority Leader Jason Osborne to prevent an attempt by House Democrats to amend the bill to codify the right to an abortion into NH law. A similar amendment was also rejected in the Senate. The good news is that a separate bill, HB 1609, has been passed by both the House and Senate and is awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill amends the state’s 24-week abortion ban to create an exception for fetal abnormalities incompatible with life and shifts the mandatory ultrasound requirement for women seeking abortions from 8 weeks to 24 weeks. However, the bill leaves the 24 week abortion ban itself largely intact along with harsh penalties for doctors convicted of performing abortions after 24 weeks. More from the Associated Press and NHPR
CACR18, an amendment to the NH Constitution that would ban the state from passing laws that infringe or unduly influence the right to make reproductive medical decisions, is dead for 2022. House Republicans, who had tabled the bill earlier to avoid going on the record against it, defeated a motion by House Democrats to take it off the table by a 157-174 vote.
Similarly, HB 1674, another bill codifying reproductive rights that also had been tabled earlier, was left on the table and died after a 157-174 vote.

Also worth noting is that Senate Republicans by a 12-11 margin passed HB 1625. The bill repeals a law that established a “buffer zone” around abortion clinics to shield patients from protesters. The bill now moves over to the governor, who promised to veto it if it passed. More from NHPR. Something that should give the governor extra incentive to veto the bill is the unhinged rant a Rochester state representative made on the steps of the State House. Rep. Susan DeLemus yelled at pro-choice protesters and called them “murderers”—precisely the sort of behavior that led the legislature to establish the buffer zone law in the first place.

Redistricting

SB200, a bill that establishes new congressional districts in NH, passed 178-158. The new map moves Portsmouth and other Seacoast communities from CD1 to CD2. It also puts both of New Hampshire’s current members of congress in the same district. Governor Sununu has promised to veto it. With a possible veto pending, candidate filing deadlines less than a month away, and a lawsuit already in progress, the courts have gotten involved. More on the vote from APNews and more on the court case from InDepthNH

Public Health

SB319, a bill that would have allowed insurance carriers to offer a financial incentive to people choosing to be vaccinated for COVID-19, was killed 179-150. The bill was an attempt to address vaccinate hesitancy. During the debate, we heard insurers support the bill because of the high cost of COVID treatment. A non-complex COVID case requiring hospitalization can run up an average of $62,000 in charges, while a complex case requiring a longer stay and more intensive treatment averages $256,000.
SB 407, which passed 295-28, is a very good bill endangered by a poison pill amendment. The bill expands Medicaid to include certain post-partum services. However, an amendment offered by House Majority Leader Jason Osborne was tacked on that allows students in colleges and other post-secondary educational institution receiving public funds to be exempt from any vaccine mandate if they have a medical, religious, or “right of conscience” objection. It also includes a similar provision allowing any person working for public or private employer receiving public funds to obtain an exemption from vaccine requirements. House and Senate conferees must agree on a final version of the bill or it will die.
SB 422, establishing an adult dental benefit under the state Medicaid program, passed 205-109 and is on the way to Governor Sununu for signature. In 2020, the governor vetoed a similar bill over cost concerns.

Government Transparency

A series of bills that would have given more flexibility to state and local boards to conduct public meetings remotely were shot down.

SB 344, which would have established ground rules for remote participation in public meetings in NH’s Right to Know law, was killed 176-155. Democrats favored the bill, citing the dramatic increase in public participation in meetings during the COVID state of emergency. Republicans argued that face-to-face, in-person attendance is a NH tradition.
Also killed and dead for this session were SB 339 and SB 222, which would have allowed remote participation in meetings of boards and commissions in the Department of Safety and state licensing boards.

Elections

SB 418 passed 164-155. It requires the Secretary of State to create provisional ballots for people voting without ID. Under the bill, the votes must be verified within 14 days or they will be removed from the total. Democrats argued that the bill would make it impossible for the Secretary of State to comply with federal laws requiring general election ballots to be mailed to armed services personnel servicing overseas 45 days before the election. Moreover, concerns were also expressed that voters could also lose their constitutionally-guaranteed anonymity because of identifying marks placed on their ballots. The bill is now headed to the governor for signature.
SB 366, a bill requiring the Secretary of State to purchase two high speed scanners at a cost of $100,000 to audit 2022 election results, passed again 177-139 and now heads to the governor.

Criminal Justice

SB 277, a bill providing a death benefit for first responders who die from suicide, was passed by voice vote. However, GOP legislators tacked on an amendment containing the full text of a controversial civil asset forfeiture bill which the Senate had previously killed. The House and the Senate will now need to come to agreement on the final bill or it will die.
SB 294, an attempt to fix issues with the bail system that has drawn fire from police and prosecutors, was tabled 209-121. The bill had drawn bipartisan support and opposition from members of both parties. But constitutional concerns and questions over the impact and cost of the proposed solution sealed its fate, despite a flurry of last-minute amendments. Worth noting is that while SB 294 is dead for 2022, another bail reform bill, HB 1476, has been amended in the Senate to include much of the original language of SB 294–so stay tuned.
SB 376, which creates a review board to review police incidents involving citizens with mental health issues, passed by voice vote. The bill also appropriates over $1 million to reimbursement smaller communities for police officers who take critical incident training (CIT) to help them better handle interactions with people having mental health issues.
SB 401, a bill making appropriations for local highway and bridge aid along with body-worn and dashboard cameras, passed by voice vote. However, a last-minute floor amendment was tacked on by GOP legislators reducing unemployment benefits.
SB 458, which will fund the construction of a new 6 bed unit to replace the current Sununu Center, passed by voice vote.
SB 393 passed on the consent calendar and now goes to the governor. It codifies best practices currently in place at the NH Department of Corrections that place strict guidelines on the use of restraints and shackles on pregnant prisoners. The bill also applies to county jails and will sharply curtail the practice of shackling pregnant people while incarcerated or under arrest in NH.

Housing

SB 400 was tabled 170-159 and is likely dead. The original bill included a number of regulatory changes to either incentivize or require towns to speed up permitting processes for new developments. But GOP legislators also tacked on several poison pills, including amendments allowing voters to impose budget caps over their school districts, a measure to ban municipal mask mandates, and an amendment to reduce the responsibilities of town health officials and remove their authority over pandemic responses. More from New Hampshire Bulletin
SB 217, which would have required landlords to give tenants a 60-day notice when an eviction occurs before the end of a lease due to circumstances that aren’t the fault of the tenant, was killed 178-140.
The prospects of SB 329, which would establish a commission to study barriers to housing development in New Hampshire, dimmed with the addition of an amendment that makes it more difficult for local boards to override a municipal tax cap. Although SB 329 passed by voice vote, the amendment could cause the bill to die if House and Senate can’t agree on the final changes.

Education

SB381 passed 170-155. The bill creates the office of Advocate for Special Education. Opponents argued the office is redundant with the Office of the Child Advocate and is an inefficient approach to addressing parent concerns about special education.
SB 420, a bill establishing an extraordinary need grant for schools having difficulty funding special education services, passed by voice vote. Unfortunately, GOP legislators had the votes to also pass a controversial amendment that increases the annual household maximum for the state’s education tax credit. The move makes more higher income residents eligible for the credit at a time when some lower income families are already on a waiting list to get the credit.

Child Labor

SB 345, a bill expanding the allowable workweek for 16 and 17-year olds to 35 hours and repealing limits on night work, passed 185-152. A floor amendment offered by Democrats to limit school night work to 9 p.m. and non-school night work hours to 12 a.m. failed 154-181. While there was bipartisan support for clarifying the state’s child labor statutes, Democrats drew the line at passing legislation that potentially jeopardizes the futures of NH children in order to partially fill demand for lower-paid workers.

Energy and Environment

SB 263, which would have established a NH youth environmental education and conservation council, was killed 174-150. Democrats argued that the council would provide a new opportunity for young people to provide input to the state legislature on energy issues. Republicans argued that young people can already do that through the Legislative Youth Advisory Group and that nothing prevents young people from forming “clubs” to work on issues.
SB 271 passed by voice vote. It allows the Burgess BioPower plant in Berlin to get another cap-free year of ratepayer subsidies. A House amendment changed the bill from one that would have forgiven a debt to ratepayers, to one that provides the plant and the legislature a year to come up with a long-term solution to address the plant’s financial issues. The plant, which burns low-grade wood to create electricity, is a major employer in the North Country. Without the bill, the economic viability of the plant would have been in doubt.
SB 447, a bill establishing a dedicated fund to collect federal monies to build electric vehicle infrastructure, was tabled 183-149 and is dead for 2022.

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