What Just Happened? Recap of Apr 13, 2024 NH House Session
NH Representative Linda Ryan challenges the narrow House majority after their unconscionable vote to table a bill increasing the number of students eligible for free meals in public schools. Shortly afterwards, many of the same legislators were seen chowing down a free lunch provided in the State House Cafeteria by a corporate sponsor.
On Thursday, bills ranging from cannabis legalization, to bail reform, to school meal programs came up for final votes in the full House.
The bills addressed many different issues but all had two things in common: 1) They had all had been passed earlier by the House and 2) All had been referred to the House Finance Committee for additional review, more public hearings, extra number-crunching, and yet another recommendation. While some survived the gauntlet to live on in the Senate, others were killed or tabled.
Here’s a quick recap of the good, the bad, and the ugly on a mixed-results day, where important progress was made on some critical issues—but we still didn’t manage to #FeedTheKids.
The Good
Ending PFAS contamination at the source. After several failed attempts to neuter it with pro-industry amendments, HB1649 passed by a comfortable 233-140 margin. The bill would prohibit the sale of consumer products containing PFAS and targets items like food packaging, cosmetics, carpets, children’s products, and furniture. The ban would take effect three years from now on January 1, 2027. The legislation comes in response to the increased financial burden the state and local public water utilities are facing because of widespread PFAS contamination of drinking water and tighter EPA guidelines when it comes to allowable amounts. More.
Bipartisan bail reform survives. When one of the harshest critics of the legislature’s work on bail reform does a 180 and endorses the final result, you know you’ve achieved something. HB318 combines three previously passed bills that were part of a historic compromise—and months of hard work by the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee on which I serve. If approved in the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill would improve public safety by ensuring bail hearings for the most serious felony-level offenses will decided by the people with the most serious qualifications—judges and 10 newly appointed magistrates who will be available for weekend hearings. The bill also reduces the maximum time anyone can spend in jail without a bail hearing to 24 hours, funds an electronic connection between the courts and law enforcement that will let police officers know if the person they’re arresting is out on bail, ensure judicial equity by ensuring that no one can be held in jail simply because they can’t afford cash bail, and adds protections for victims of domestic violence. Additionally, it will help with recruiting and retention of bail commissioners, who would continue to make bail decisions for most offenses, by funding additional training, state identification cards, and a bump in pay. More.
Education funding gets a boost. After a move by GOP leadership to table it failed, HB1583 passed 205-177. The bill would increase the per-pupil adequacy aid from $4,100 to $4,404 and boost the fiscal disparity aid by $39 million to property poor communities. The increase comes as the legislature faces two superior court decisions telling the state it is not covering the cost of an adequate education and is unconstitutionally administering the Statewide Education Property Tax. The money to pay for the additional aid to school districts would come from the Education Trust Fund, which currently has about a $200 million surplus. More.
Cannabis is legalized (again). The House once again approved HB1633, which legalizes the recreational use of cannabis and establishes an agency store model under the control of the NH Liquor Commission for sale and distribution for those over 21 years of age. Under the bill, the number of stores statewide would be limited to 15, but expansion would be possible in the future. The bipartisan bill was originally crafted as a potential alternative to a legalization bill a legislative committee was appointed to create. The committee’s goal was to draft a bill along lines that would be acceptable to the governor, who has vetoed prior legalization legislation. But when the committee dissolved without producing a bill, HB1633 became the only legalization bill left standing. Expect drama—and a stonier reception—as it moves on the the Senate. More.
Farm-to-school pilot food program moves forward. After attempts by GOP leadership to table and kill it both failed, the House passed HB1678 191-182. The bill appropriates $120,500 annually to fund pilot programs in all New Hampshire counties that would provide schools with heathy, locally grown food products.
Losing a job may no longer mean losing vacation hours. After a motion to kill HB1178 failed, it was ultimately passed by a 198-183 vote. The bill protects employees from loss of earned, but unused vacation time when employment ends through a layoff, change in ownership, a company closing, or whenever employment ends through no fault of their own. Currently, employers are allowed to have and enforce policies absolving themselves of responsibility to compensate employees for unused time at termination.
Bill allowing “independent audits” of ballot results is shelved. By a close 193-188 vote, HB1577 was tabled. Championed by an alliance of election deniers and conspiracy theorists, it would have allowed any citizen to carry out their own unofficial recounts and tests of voting machines. Opposed by the Secretary of State’d Office, the bill would have compelled local election officials to provide electronic copies of all ballots and would have created a costly, unfunded administrative burden on cities and towns.
The Bad
No help coming for Office of the Child Advocate to deal with child homelessness. After a dizzying series of close votes and failed motions, GOP leadership finally succeeded in indefinitely postponing HB1199 by a very close 192-190 vote. The bill would have funded a position to gather data and make recommendations to the legislature specific to young people experiencing homelessness. The money for the position would come from available American Rescue Plan Act funds that need to be spent by the end of the year. More.
The Ugly
Bill extending eligibility for free and reduced-price school meals gets shelved. In a move that InDepth NH Statehouse Reporter/columnist Garry Rayno framed as symbolizing the “upside down” priorities of GOP members of the legislature, HB1212, a bill sponsored by Rep. Muriel Hall and championed by the late Rep. Art Ellison was tabled by a 192-191. House Speaker Sherman Packard cast the tie-breaking vote against it less than an hour after Rep. Mel Myler’s moving eulogy to Ellison, who along with organizations ranging from New Futures to the American Heart Association fought hard for the bill’s passage. The bill would have given food insecure students (who constitute 24% of New Hampshire public school kids) more access to nutritious food at school, reducing child hunger and improving academic performance. Two attempts later in the day to remove it from the table so it could be debated were opposed by Republican leadership and failed again, once by a single vote and a second time by three votes. Also worth noting is that not long after the initial tabling vote, legislators chowed down on a free lunch in the State House provided by a corporate sponsor (Wal-Mart). More.