Rep. David Meuse
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Updates

State House Updates

It’s Bill Signing (or Veto) Time!

While legislators are enjoying a few weeks off before campaign season starts into full swing, those among us who sponsored bills that passed in both the House and Senate are casting a wary eye towards the governor as he decides whether to sign or veto them. As Gov. Sununu’s vetoes and bill signings start to become public, a shout-out to some of the New Hampshire House Democrats who wrote and shepherded some of the key bills already signed into law through the gauntlet of public hearings and committee votes to get them to the finish line.

  • “Water Warrior” Rep. Wendy Thomas (D-Merrimack)—the sponsor of HB 398, which will require property owners to disclose PFAS, radon and arsenic contamination to potential buyers in New Hampshire. More.

  • Rep. Mark Paige (D-Exeter)—the sponsor of HB 1264, which will end legalized discrimination against voters with disabilities by requiring municipalities to “ensure that each polling place has at least one accessible voting system” during every election. More.

  • “Water Warrior” Rep. Rosemarie Rung (D-Merrimack)—the sponsor of HB1143, which provides a mechanism for granting funds and developing rules to control dangerous cyanobacteria blooms in NH Lakes. More.

  • Rep. Cassie Levesque (D-Barrington)—who saw her tireless efforts to end child marriage in NH finally pay off with the passage of SB359. More.

  • Rep. Catherine Rombeau (D-Bedford)—the sponsor of HB1296 which prohibits insurers from imposing co-payments, deductibles, or other cost-sharing requirements on diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations. More.

  • Rep. Ellen Read (D-Newmarket)—the sponsor of HB261, which clarifies lease protections for tenants who are victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking and establishes a procedure for residential tenants to terminate their lease in such cases; and HB 283, which limits the rental application fee and other fees charged by a landlord as part of the rental application process for a residential property.

  • Rep. Mike Cahill (D-Newmarket)—the sponsor of HB332, which increases building aid funding for New Hampshire public schools.

  • Rep. Loren Selig (D-Durham)—the sponsor of HB1214, which establishes a legislative committee to study best practices for the development of a restorative justice model for misdemeanor-level behavior and hate crimes committed by juveniles under the age of eighteen.

  • Rep. Joe Shapiro (D-Keene)—the sponsor of HB1190, which helps address a workforce shortage of social workers by allowing them to practice across state lines. More.

Additionally, I was pleased to see that the governor also recently signed one of my bills—HB1319. This bill expands New Hampshire revenge porn law by prohibiting the dissemination of deepfake, computer-generated images and videos that portray a real person engaged in sexual activity they never participated in.

This is just a small sampling of how New Hampshire House Democrats are working to address real NH issues. Thanks to David, Wendy, Cassie, Rosemarie, Catherine, Ellen, Mike, Loren, and Joe for their service and their leadership!

Unsigned But Still In the Mix

Other key bills prime-sponsored by Dems awaiting the governor’s signature at this writing include:

  • HB 1415 (Rep. Nancy Murphy, D-Merrimack): Holds owners of PFAS polluting facilities, like Saint-Gobain in Merrimack, liable for its contamination of six southern New Hampshire towns’ drinking water.

  • HB 1649 (Rep. Karen Ebel, D-New London): Restricts the use of PFAS chemicals in certain consumer products sold in New Hampshire.

  • HB 1613 (I am the prime sponsor): Establishes a trust fund for money from soil and water environmental contamination court settlements that haven’t been specifically designated for use by the legislature. The absence of a law like this allowed $25 million received from Monsanto as part of a PCB lawsuit settlement to be diverted to the General Fund rather than used for PCB monitoring or remediation.

  • HB 596: (I am also the prime sponsor for this bill): Prohibits the use of racial profiling by New Hampshire law enforcement officers. It would also gather data on sentencing disparities between the length of sentences received by members of different racial groups for the same offense.

  • HB 1197 (Rep. Chris Muns, D-Hampton): Authorizes more state agencies to use fingerprinting devices for criminal background checks and (thanks to a late addition) also requires insurers to provide coverage for intrauterine insemination, a procedure that is less costly than IVF that will help more people have families.

  • HB 1596 (Rep. Angela Brennan, D-Bow): Requires disclosure of deceptive artificial intelligence/deepfake usage in political advertising.

  • HB 1678 (Rep. Alexis Simpson, D-Exeter): Establishes a New Hampshire farm-to-school local food incentive pilot program. The program would use grants to reimburse New Hampshire school administrative units for money spent to purchase food from New Hampshire and New England producers.

  • HB 1688 (Rep. Tom Cormen, D-Lebanon): Prohibits state agencies from using artificial intelligence to manipulate, discriminate, or surveil members of the public.

David Meuse