What Just Happened: Mar 28, 2024 NH House Session Recap
Rep. Terry Roy (R-Deerfield) defends HB1711—a bill we co-authored that requires the courts to report certain people with severe mental illness to the FBI firearms background check database. This is something 47 other states already do. Our state’s failure to do this may have contributed to the death of NH Hospital security guard Bradley Haas.
With the deadline to act on House bills looming, Thursday’s session of the New Hampshire House of Representatives was a long one with over 150 bills on the calendar. While news continues to be bad on the school voucher/public education front, there was lots of good news this week on housing, gun safety, election protection, and much more. Here’s a quick recap of the good, the bad, the ugly.
The Numbers
On a day when absences to start the day were evenly distributed, showing up and staying in your seat for the duration of a very long day can sometimes be the path to some very close victories. Bolstered by two new Democratic reps (Erik Johnson and Jennifer Mandelbaum), we saw some tough losses early—but racked up some good wins as more Republicans than Democrats appear to have left early.
The Good
The legislative housing stalemate becomes slightly less stale. Over the course of the day, a series of bills were passed that seek to expand housing in the state by overriding some of the powers of local zoning boards. HB1291 , prime-sponsored by Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket), passed 220-143. It would increase the allowable number of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) per property from one to two. An update to laws governing what used to be called ‘in-law” apartments, the bill would also allow for detached units located on the same lot as a single-family dwelling. Also passing by a 220-140 vote was HB1399. This bill, authored by Rep. Rebecca McWilliams (D-Concord), seeks to address the shortage of “missing middle housing” by enabling homeowners to expand existing single-family homes into duplexes or build new duplex homes on smaller lots in single-family residential zones. Also receiving legislative approval by voice vote was HB1400. Under the bill (also authored by Rep. McWilliams), municipalities would be able to regulate accessory parking for vehicles. But no more than one residential parking space could be required per unit. More.
A small but important step forward for gun safety. After last-minute attempts to table it, kill it, and amend it in ways that would have caused HB1711 to lose support from the bipartisan coalition that collaborated on it, the bill known as “Bradley’s Law” finally passed in a 204-149 roll call vote. Named for New Hampshire Hospital Security guard Bradley Haas, who was shot to death by a gunman with a history of mental illness, the bill authorizes the state to report individuals adjudicated for non-emergency involuntary mental health commitments, deemed not competent to stand trial, or found not guilty by reason of insanity to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Checks System. This was a bill that Rep. Terry Roy and I authored with input from New Hampshire Hospital workers, the Attorney General’s office, the National Rifle Association, and representatives of the mental health and medical communities. Patterned after similar laws in place in 47 other other states, the bill now heads to the Senate for a hearing before the Judiciary Committee. More.
Countering the risk of deepfake political ads. HB 1596, a bipartisan bill authored by Rep. Angela Brennan (D-Bow), passed by voice vote. It requires disclosure when deceptive artificial intelligence, (AI) is used in political advertising. The use of so-called deepfakes to falsely simulate candidates saying or doing things they never said or did is expected to ramp up during the 2024 election cycle. The bill advanced after New Hampshire voters received robocalls in January, ahead of our presidential primary election, that included an AI-generated voice falsely depicting President Biden asking voters to stay home. It carves out exceptions for satire and parody and contains numerous provisions to address first amendment concerns. More.
Trash wars: the sequel. After seeing the Senate kill or neuter multiple legislative efforts in 2023 to rein in private landfills, the House passed two new bills that would give state and local governments more control over the level of out-of-state trash flowing into New Hampshire. Authored by Rep. Peter Bixby (D-Dover), HB1145 would put future landfills in the pubic domain by requiring them to be owned by the state, a county, or a municipality. This would allow them to control how much trash comes in from out-of-state, while increasing the landfill’s lifespan for disposal of local trash. Also passing by voice vote was HB1632. This bill places a 15 percent cap on the amount of out-of-state solid waste that future solid waste facilities in New Hampshire can receive. But worth noting is the cap doesn’t apply to currently permitted solid waste facilities or potential future expansions of those facilities. More.
Making health insurance cover more when you need it. HB1296, a bill expanding coverage for diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations, passed by voice vote. Authored by Rep. Catherine Rombeau (D-Bedford), the bill would ensure that medically necessary and appropriate follow-up examinations to a screening mammogram would be covered by fully-insured employer-sponsored health plans without cost sharing. Currently, while the cost of screenings is covered under the Affordable Care Act, follow-up care is the patient’s responsibility until cost-sharing obligations—such as deductibles—are met. There was also some good news for Medicaid recipients and ambulance/emergency services providers. HB1568 passed 237-136. It requires Medicaid to pay for emergency care a patient receives from EMTs, even if the patient doesn’t require transport to a medical facility. Increasingly, EMT’s stabilize and successfully treat patients in their homes, occasionally making the need to transport them to a hospital unnecessary.
An enhanced penalty for no-show defendants. In response to convicted murderer Adam Montgomery declining to appear in court for his trial or sentencing on charges that he killed his daughter Harmony and illegally disposed of her body, the House passed HB1713 by a loud voice vote. Authored by Rep. Steve Shurtleff (D-Pennacook), the bill requires defendants charged with felonies punishable by a period of incarceration from 15 years to life to appear in court during their trial and to be present during sentencing. More.
A big win for taxpayers and municipalities. After unsuccessful GOP attempts to kill or table it, HB 1279 finally passed by voice vote. The bill, authored by Rep. Mike Edgar (D-Hampton), would require the state to pay 7.5 percent of retirement contributions for municipal teachers, police and firefighters. It would restore a small part of the 35% state support for local pension costs that a GOP-controlled legislature did away with in 2011. At the time, the move shifted pension costs to municipalities, blowing a gaping hole in their budgets that still exists to this day. More.
An easier pathway to a clean record for people with cannabis possession offenses. By a substantial 283-80 margin, the House passed HB 1539. If passed in the Senate and signed by the governor (both big “ifs), it would create an automatic annulment process for all cannabis possession violations and misdemeanors for which sentences are complete. People incarcerated for cannabis-related crimes would also be automatically resentenced. Annulments for broader cannabis-related offenses, meanwhile, would be available through a petition process once an individual has completed their sentence. With the governor sending smoke signals that he may finally sign a bill that would allow cannabis to be legally sold by the state, this bill would ensure that people previously convicted of a cannabis possession offense would no longer carry the weight of a conviction on their criminal record for possessing a substance that the state would be in the business of selling. More.
An unexpected win for local school districts struggling to update aging schools. In a triumph of vote-counting and smart maneuvering, Democratic leadership pulled HB546 off the table and passed it late in the day by a slim 182-179 vote. The bill requires a minimum of $50,000,000 per fiscal year to be transferred to the school building aid fund. The move comes after the state reopened applications for building aid in 2022 after a decade long pause. Proponents of the bill Thursday argued that the additional funding would relieve strains on taxpayers to fund projects that had been put off. More.
Attempt fails to remove local members of the Pease Development Authority Board of Directors. HB1513 was killed by voice vote. The bill would have taken away the authority local governments in Portsmouth and the towns of Newington and Greenland to each appoint a member to the Board. With the governor already appointing one member, and two others appointed by the Senate and the House of Representatives, there was no justification to take away this authority by the three towns most impacted by activities at the tradeport.
New Castle causeway rebuild project makes it back into the state 10-year transportation improvement plan. After being inadvertently removed from the plan in 2023, funding to reinforce and raise the causeway connecting New Castle and Portsmouth was restored. As sea levels have risen in recent years, the causeway frequently becomes submerged during king tides and large coastal storms. This leaves emergency vehicles with no way to access the community because flooding also often closes the only other access route. HB2024, the revised plan, was passed by voice vote.
Two nice wins for people who don’t go to bed immediately after watching NH Chronicle on WMUR. By voice vote, legislators approved HB1227 which would extend the default time for bars and restaurants to stop serving alcohol from 1 to 2 a.m. Authored by Rep. Jessica Grill (D-Manchester), the bill would also give cities and towns the option to extend closing time until up to 3 a.m. by passing an ordinance or warrant article. More. In related news that’s sure to please members of noisy wedding parties (but maybe not the guests trying to sleep in the rooms next to them), HB 1151 also passed. It allows a hotel guest to buy a drink at a hotel bar or restaurant and bring it back to their room.
The Bad
The attack on public education bears more poisoned fruit. Maximizing their very slight numerical advantage early in the day, Republicans successfully tabled a series of key education reforms sponsored by Dems. Chief among them was HB1592 , authored by Rep. Tim Horrigan (D-Durham), which would have prohibited public taxpayer dollars from being used to fund so-called “education freedom account” vouchers for use in religious schools. Under the New Hampshire Constitution, use of taxpayers funds to support religious schools or religious education is supposed to be prohibited. Other bills falling victim to tabling motions included:
HB 1084, a bill from Rep. Loren Selig (D-Durham) that would have established minimum qualifications and experience levels for a person who serves as Commissioner of Education.
HB1452 from Rep. David Luneau (D-Hopkinton) would have established similar qualifications for school district superintendents and business administrators.
HB1087 from Rep. David Paige (D-Conway) would have set up a commission to look at ways to add media literacy instruction in public schools.
The Ugly
Putting the future health of kids and teachers at risk to keep alive pandemic-era grievances. HB1093 passed by a very tight 187-184 margin. This dangerous and irresponsible bill would end the ability of local school districts to impose a mandatory mask policy during a future public health emergency. The good news? The bill is identical to one Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed in 2022 as a violation of local control. More.