What Just Happened: February 20, 2025 NH House Session Recap—Special Wind, Smoke, and Brass Knuckles Edition
Rep. Wendy Thomas (D-Merrimack) arguing that the passage of HB 682 “removes us from the table of any discussion about offshore wind.”
A good day for cannabis fans and street thugs, but a sad day for gun safety, transparency in political advertising, wind energy, energy policy in general, and gun safety. Here’s a slightly delayed quick summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly from last week’s session of the NH House.
The Good
Cannabis Bills Continue to Win Bipartisan Support. The fact that Gov. Kelly Ayotte has already announced she will veto any attempt to legalize cannabis didn’t deter reps from passing three cannabis-related bills.
HB 75-FN, legalizing cannabis for persons 21 years of age or older, passed by voice vote after a committee recommendation to kill it was rejected. The bill would legalize the consumption of cannabis by adults age 21 and over, but it would do it without regulating sales or taxation—two issues that have repeatedly sunk previous legalization attempts. More.
HB 196-FN , relative to annulling, resentencing, or discontinuing prosecution of certain cannabis offenses, passed by voice vote on the consent calendar. It would allow for older convictions for simple marijuana possession to be annulled and removed from people’s records. Given the change in society’s attitude towards cannabis, legislators agreed it makes no sense to allow our fellow citizens to be denied access to housing, jobs, or military service because of something that would likely not be a crime if they did it today.
HB 53, permitting qualifying patients and designated caregivers to cultivate cannabis for therapeutic use, passed by 328-42 vote. It would allow therapeutic cannabis patients or their caregivers to grow limited amounts of cannabis for personal use, with certain restrictions. This bill acknowledges the fact that patients in some areas of the state live far away from the closest dispensary, forcing them to travel long distances to obtain medically approved cannabis. Prices at New Hampshire alternative treatment centers (ATCs) tend to be relatively high, making home cultivation is a more cost-effective alternative for many.
Public Outcry Makes a Difference. The House quietly killed two bills that generated an enormous amount of heat from the public earlier in the month.
HB 283, relative to the list of subjects that comprise an adequate education, was killed by voice vote. The bill would have removed the arts, world languages, engineering, technology and computer sciences from the state statute defining what makes up an “adequate education” in New Hampshire. The bill drew universal condemnation at its public hearing and a staggering 30,108 people weighed in against it on the House Online Testimony Submission System, while only 77 supported it. More.
HB 415-FN, removing requirements that schools provide menstrual products in restrooms, was also killed by voice vote. The bill would have repealed a commonsense New Hampshire law that has been in the books since 2019 that simply requires New Hampshire public middle and high schools to provide menstrual products in restrooms to students. Students living in poverty are most impacted by the lack of access to menstrual products—and no student in New Hampshire should have to miss school because they cannot afford these products. Over a thousand people signed in opposing the bill while just over 20 supported it.
THE BAD
Energy Independence Takes Another Hit. HB 682, relative to the office of offshore wind industry, the offshore and port development commission, and the office of energy innovation, was passed 206-163. The bill peels back parts of government aimed at encouraging the development of offshore wind. If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, the bill would remove “offshore wind industry development” from the Office of Offshore Wind Industry Development and Energy Innovation. It would also repeal the Offshore Wind Industry Workforce Training Center Committee, and the Offshore and Port Development Commission. By removing key provisions from statute that support offshore wind development, bill would harm New Hampshire’s energy independence, cut the state out of future discussions on this crucial renewable energy source, weaken New Hampshire’s ability to influence regional energy planning, and risks increased reliance on imported energy, higher electricity costs, and lost opportunities for job creation in a growing clean energy sector. More.
Transparency in Political Advertising May Become a Thing of the Past. HB 107, relative to political advertising printed in newspapers, periodicals, or billboards, was passed 209-162. The bill would remove the legal requirement that political advertisements printed in newspapers, periodicals, and on billboards be marked at the beginning or end as “political advertising.” The purpose of this long-standing legal requirement is to help citizens identify printed material that is aimed to persuade their political views from informational journalism. This is especially important because some political advertisers will be predictably tempted to publish material that masquerades as impartial reporting when in fact it is an advertisement. The requirement that political advertisements identify themselves as such would protect citizens from such acts of manipulation and deception.
Sensible Gun Safety Measures Go Down the Tubes Again.
HB 56-FN, requiring a background check and mandatory waiting period during certain firearm transfers, was killed 216-154. The bill would have expanded the firearms background check process to include private sales and transfers and would have established a minimum 72 hour waiting period before a transferee could take delivery of a firearm. Currently, a firearms background check is only required when the seller is a federally licensed firearms dealer. New Hampshire doesn’t require background checks for private sales that don’t involve a licensed dealer. This loophole creates a dangerous gap that not only makes it easier for a convicted felon to obtain a firearm, but also for domestic abusers, protective order violators, and others our laws have already determined pose a high enough public safety risk to prohibit them from owning a firearm. In addition to implementing universal background checks, the bill also would have established a minimum 72 hour waiting period between the time a background check is initiated and the transfer of the firearm to the new owner. During testimony of the bill, we heard from a mother whose 21 year old son purchased a firearm, drove home, and committed suicide with a firearm during a moment of crisis that could have had a very different ending had a waiting period been in effect. A psychiatrist from New Hampshire Hospital told us that for people in crisis, a waiting period can mean the difference between life and death because suicide attempts are often impulsive, singular tragedies that involve little planning. Expanded background checks and waiting periods clearly save lives, which is why I wrote this bill and spoke in favor of it on the House floor. More
HB 352-FN, prohibiting possession of a firearm at a polling place, was killed 211-161. This bill was a proactive attempt to make our elections safer for voters, election workers, and law enforcement officers. Under our current law, state and local authorities can’t prevent people from bringing guns into polling places, even school buildings. This bill would have corrected this by prohibiting the carrying of a deadly weapon, out in the open or concealed, within 100 feet of a polling place on the days where federal, state, and/or municipal elections are taking place.
Republicans Pass Bill to Set Up Pro-Gun Constitutional Challenge to Federal Commerce Clause. HB 381 was passed 205-168. This bill is an attack on the federal government’s ability to regulate firearms. On its surface, it would exempt firearms made in New Hampshire and stamped “For NH use only—Not for export outside NH.” from federal regulation under the federal Commerce Clause. The Commerce Clause gives Congress the power to federally regulate objects moving in interstate commerce and associated commercial activities. What supporters of the bill are attempting to do is set the stage for a constitutional challenge that pits the state of New Hampshire’s regulatory authority against Congress’s ability to regulate firearms. Over the years, Congress has used this power sparingly to attempt to limit firearms trafficking and to enforce of federal laws banning the sale of newly manufactured machine guns and armor-piercing ammunition. What the bill essentially would do is set up the New Hampshire equivalent of the Montana Firearms Freedom Act, a 2009 law based on the idea that the federal government has no power regulate firearms that are produced and distributed solely within a state and not exported, sold, or transferred to parties in other states. The 9th Circuit Court ruled that the Montana law was invalid and preempted by federal law. But the bill’s supporters are hoping that a similar case might bring a different result today than it did over a decade ago. It’s also worth noting that if the bill gets through the Senate and is signed by the governor, it would create a litigation obligation for the Attorney General’s office.
THE UGLY
Raise Your Hand if What You Think Our Broken and Divided State Needs Right Now Are More Brass Knuckle Assaults. HB 207-FN, relative to repealing the prohibition on the possession or sale of blackjacks, slung shots, and metallic knuckles except by or to minors, passed 207-162. Contrary to statements that these weapons are “collector’s items” that pose a less lethal alternative to firearms, these weapons continue to be used by aggressors to intimidate, terrorize, and brutally assault their victims. Unlike hammers and other tools that have a productive use, metallic knuckles, blackjacks, and slungshots are specifically designed to be used to assault other human beings. Their very presence typically leads to more violent confrontations than would have occurred without them. While the GOP-controlled House has passed similar legislation in the past, the Senate has always killed it. It remains to be seen if the Senate will block it again. More.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Not all the legislative news happens on session days. Public hearings on legislation also provide a wealth of WTF moments for discerning observers of the New Hampshire House.
Bill Repealing NH Vaccine Registry Moves Forward. HB 524 is anti-vax legislation that would basically rid New Hampshire of a stable and cost-effective supply of vaccines for the state. Sound like a good idea to you? It didn’t to Rep. David Nagel (R-Gilmonton) either. After expressing his opposition to the bill, Rep. Nagel, who is also a medical doctor who once ran a post-polio clinic, was removed by the Speaker of the House from his seat on the House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs committee. The committee’s GOP majority then rubber-stamped the bill, giving it an Ought to Pass recommendation. The full House will vote on the bill in March. More.
GOP Bill Would Force Public High School Kids to Watch Animated Abortions. Sometimes it feels like we’re living in an alternate universe. HB 662 would require all public high school students to view two of three highly graphic animated videos listed in the legislation. One is a medication abortion in the first trimester. Another is a surgical abortion in the first trimester. The other shows the procedure in the third trimester. In addition to HB 662, the Legislature is considering HB 667, which would require public school pupils and public college students to view videos of ultrasounds showing fetal development. More.
GOP Legislator Who Once Shot a Squirrel w/a .50 Caliber Muzzle Loader—and Posted Photos of It—Sponsors Bill to Legalize Owning Pet Squirrels and Raccoons. Citing a New York case where the state apparently seized and euthanized a man’s illegal pet squirrel, Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield, has introduced a bill to allow the ownership of some squirrels (and in an act of meritorious inclusion, raccoons too) in New Hampshire. “I wanted to make sure that we don’t get a black eye in the state of New Hampshire with the same sort of bad press,” said Spillane with a straight face at a hearing on Wednesday. In the “You Just Can’t Make This Stuff Up” Department, long-time state house observers may recall that in 2019, Spillane infamously lost his committee seat after sharing a photo on social media of a squirrel he shot with a blunderbuss. "I shot a squirrel on my bird feeder today with a .50 caliber muzzleloader. Enjoy," he wrote. My guess is that despite his bill, Rep. Spillane won’t be winning any awards from the ASPCA any time soon. More.