What Just Happened? May 23, 2024 NH House Session Recap: Last Minute Bag ‘O Tricks Edition
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.
First The Numbers
With the unexpected but welcome resignation of Rep. Ross Berry —the former chairman of the House Election Law Committee who was booted off his committee after pulling a stunt even Speaker Packard couldn’t ignore—there are officially 5 vacant seats, 2 seats held by independents who typically lean Democratic, 194 actual Democrats, and 199 Republicans. On Thursday, Republicans had slightly better luck with attendance and enjoyed a numerical advantage of about 5 or 6 votes throughout the day. While this came into play on several of the more partisan bills, there were also bills with supporters (and opponents) on both sides.
Setting the Scene
This is the time of year when bills passed in one chamber “cross over” to be voted on in the other chamber. Although the finish line may be in sight, it’s a risky time for the dwindling number of bills that are still alive. To go to the governor’s desk for signature, a bill not only must be passed in both chambers, but both chambers must also agree on an identical version with identical language. In a best case scenario, a bill passed in the Senate that also is passed in the House without being changed or amended, more or less goes straight to the governor for signature. But if the bill is amended and then passed, a request goes out for the other chamber to sign off—or concur—on the changes. The other chamber has three options:
To concur (in which case the bill goes to the governor),
To non-concur (which kills the bill outright), or
To non-concur with a request for a committee of conference (which keeps the bill alive for often feisty discussions). If members of the conference committee agree on the same set of changes, the bill goes back to each chamber for a final vote. If they can’t or won’t agree on the same language, the bill dies.
Making things even more interesting: Both House and Senate rules allow bills that were passed earlier but rejected by the other chamber to be added to other bills as last-minute amendments. The result? On Thursday, there were multiple attempts in both chambers by members of both parties to bring priority bills back to life by adding them as amendments to bills that were still alive—which made for tension conventions in both chambers.
So here’s what happened.
Resuscitations
The Mental Health Reporting Background Checks Bill is Still Alive. After a disappointing Senate vote last week to table HB 1711 , Rep. Terry Roy and Rep. Linda Harriott-Gathright brought forward a floor amendment adding the bill to SB 476 —a bill that makes an initial appropriation to fund a new men’s prison. Built not long after the Civil War, the men’s prison in Concord is an aging, dangerous, mold-ridden relic that is a lawsuit waiting to happen. Although there is general agreement among legislators in both parties that the prison needs to be replaced, adding the mental health reporting bill to the appropriations bill funding start-up construction of the prison proved to be more contentious as Rep. Roy nearly came to blows with another GOP legislator who shouted “Liar!” as he made the case to end New Hampshire’s status as one of only three states that doesn’t report people who have been found by a judge to be severely and dangerously mentally ill to the FBI firearms criminal background checks database. What happened after the bill was passed was unfortunate. But what shouldn’t get lost is Rep. Roy’s floor speech in support of mental health background check reporting was a master class in crafting an argument and countering misinformation. It was also a winning argument as the bill passed 212-155. The bill now heads back to the Senate where it faces an uncertain future. The Senate can choose to concur with the House’s changes (unlikely), non-concur with a request for a committee of conference (possible), or simply non-concur, killing the entire package (possible but irresponsible). More.
Landfill Moratorium Comes Back to Life as Part of Senate Bill to Pay Disability to Public Safety Employees Injured by an Act of Violence On the Job. SB 134 passed by voice vote. The underlying bill repairs a glaring omission in a state law that pays the families of state employees killed on the job $100,000, but doesn’t provide compensation for disabling injuries suffered as the result of a violent act at work. The landfill amendment, which was originally HB 1620, seeks to place a moratorium on permits in New Hampshire until 2028. Initially, sponsors of the bill had proposed a freeze until 2031. The amended bill heads back to the Senate, which must agree to the changes for the bill to become law. More.
Obituaries
Constitutional Amendment Dies that Would Have Required NH to Hold the First Presidential Primary. Although CACR 22 won a 195-164 vote majority vote, it died because it failed to reach the required 3/5 majority to pass an amendment to the state constitution. More.
House Rejects Senate’s Abortion Statistics Bill. SB 461 was killed 201-164. It would have required abortion providers to tell the state where and when they’ve performed abortions; the age and state residence of the patient; and the method they used to end the pregnancy. Planned Parenthood opposed the bill because of its lack of privacy protections and concerns about how the data would be used. More.
Bill Dies that Would Have Doubled License Suspension Length for Impaired Drivers Who Refuse a Chemical Test. SB 418 was defeated by a large 253-101 margin. The bill was requested by the Department of Safety because of the high percentage of first-time offenders who refuse to take a breathalyzer or other chemical test after being stopped for impaired driving. While supporters claimed stiffer penalties would incentivize more people to take the test, opponents said the real issue is inadequate communication that has led many drivers to misunderstand the severe consequences of the existing penalty for refusing to be tested—which already include a six month loss of driving privileges. More.
Attempt to Invalidate Out-of-State Drivers Licenses Issued to Undocumented Workers Fails. SB 358 was killed by a close 176-174 vote. Enforcement of this law would have made people who had not violated any law subject to criminal charges. More.
Two Efforts to Address Critical Workforce Shortages Die on Party Line Votes
SB 217 was defeated along party lines 184-172. It would have created a grant payment program for educators choosing to work in New Hampshire’s most economically disadvantaged school districts.
SB 456 , which would have established a state loan repayment program for nurses committing to a 3 year contract to work in underserved areas of the state, was defeated by voice vote after a motion to pass it failed by a handful of votes. Republican leadership then executed a parliamentary maneuver that buried the bill by banning the House from reconsidering the bill for the remainder of the session.
Still Hanging In There…
Bill Passes to Encourage More Sununu Center Victims to Accept State Settlements of Their Cases. SB 591 passed by voice vote. It would add $60 million to increase settlement payments to victims and expand the types of abuse covered. The aim is to encourage more victims to settle rather than sue. Unfortunately, a last-minute amendment was tacked on to the bill by GOP legislators without the review or approval of the Attorney General that removes the ability of the State Treasurer to issue bonds to meet the state’s settlement obligations. While the Senate has the option to concur with the change, it is more likely to non-concur and request a committee of conference to hammer out an agreement.
The NH House Finally Agrees to Feed Children. By a narrow 192-178 margin, lawmakers narrowly approved funding a federal summer food assistance program for children in 2024. SB 499 was approved with $1.1 million in funding, after the House rejected an amendment by just three votes that would have cut the amount to $87,500. If the Senate concurs and the bill is signed by the governor, the program could bring up to $4.5 million per year in additional federal funding to help low income families buy groceries for their children. More.
Headed to the Governor for Signature
Healthcare Screening Bills. Firefighters and parents of infant children will benefit from the passage of two healthcare screening bills:
SB 352 passed by voice vote. It establishes an early detection cancer screening program for active and retired New Hampshire fire fighters, who are at higher risk for certain cancers because of frequent exposure to noxious fumes and hazardous chemicals while fighting fires.
SB 355 also passed by voice vote. This bill requires health professionals who conduct newborn hearing screenings to include the result of a cytomegalovirus (CMV) screening. CMV is the most common congenital infection in the U.S. Most infants have no permanent health consequences, but a small number may develop long-term neurological conditions, such as hearing loss, visual impairment, or seizures
Unemployed Workers Seeking Work-from-Home Job Opportunities Will Now Be Eligible to Collect Unemployment Benefits. SB 330 was passed by voice vote. If fixes a flaw in the law that disqualifies people who are “not available for work outside a home” from applying for unemployment benefits. It will allow remote workers who are laid off to seek another position that will allow them to work remotely without jeopardizing their unemployment benefits. More.
Meanwhile, The Senate Was Busy—And Not in a Good Way
This week while the House was meeting to consider Senate bills, the Senate was meeting to consider House bills. To make a long story short, things did not go well.
Legalizing Discrimination Against Transgender Citizens. The ongoing effort to marginalize transgender and LGBTQ+ reached an inflection point as the Senate passed two horrible bills which will now go to the governor for signature. HB 396 creates an exemption in state anti-discrimination laws that restricts use of bathrooms, locker rooms, and participation on school sports teams to a person’s biological status at birth. It would effectively bar transgender adults and minors who identify as female from using facilities restricted to females or from participating on women’s school sports teams. More. Also heading to the governor for signature is HB1205, which would bar New Hampshire students in grades 5 through 12 from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity. Opponents of passage are lobbying the governor heavily to veto the bills. More.
Senate Rolls Crippled Cannabis Bill Forward. HB 1633, a heavily amended cannabis legalization and retail sales bill, moves back to the House after a 14-10 Senate vote to pass it. The bill would legalize possession of up to two ounces of cannabis and set up a retail sales structure effective January 1, 2026 under the auspices of the State Liquor Commission. Long-time supporters of cannabis legalization have mixed feelings about the Senate’s changes to the bill , which throttles a free market approach in favor of tight government controls. Some are even calling for the bill to be killed. More.
Senate Hijacks “Freedom to Read” Bill, Sets the Stage to Dump More Public Tax Dollars into Private and Religious Schools, and Makes it Easier for Non-Certified People to Teach in Public Schools. The Senate amended and passed a trio of bills that sync with the Senate GOP majority’s quest to undermine and destroy public education. HB 1298 seeks to address a shortage of qualified teachers by allowing unqualified people to teach. It would end the requirement for part-time teachers to hold a state Board of Education credential. Also passing was HB 1665, a bill that would expand the school voucher program by raising the annual household income for families to 400% of the federal poverty guidelines. Meanwhile, HB 1311 as originally written would’ve required school boards to adopt transparent and clear procedures for addressing book removal requests. It also specified that those policies could not exclude books based solely on an author or subjects’ identity as a member in a protected class like race or sexual orientation. But the Senate amended the bill in ways that will actually make it easier to ban books. More.
Housing Crisis? What Housing Crisis? In a voice vote, the Senate moved to indefinitely postpone HB 1291. The bill would have given property owners the right to develop two accessory dwelling units on their properties and would have overridden any zoning board or planning board regulations that prevent two units. More.
Mask Wars, Nothing But Mask Wars. The Senate approved HB 1093 which prohibits mandatory mask policies in schools. The bill would take away a critical public health tool that could actually help schools stay open during a future pandemic. More.
What to Expect Later This Week
Later this week both the House and Senate will be meeting to decide the fate of amended bills.
Concurring with the changes made by the other chamber means a bill moves forward to the governor’s desk.
Non-concurring kills the bill outright.
But non-concurring while also requesting a committee of conference keeps the door open for a potential compromise.