What Just Happened: Feb. 6, 2025 NH House Session Recap—Legislating in a Snowstorm Edition
On Thursday, the first NH House session where reps voted on actual legislation took place up at the State House. With few exceptions, it wasn’t anywhere near as pretty inside as it was outside as the lightly falling snow decorated the State House Plaza. Here’s a quick summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly—and one bill that turned out to be a mix of all three.
THE GOOD
GOP-Sponsored Abortion Restriction Bill Withdrawn. By a 335-18 vote, the House voted to allow HB 476 to be withdrawn by the sponsor. The bill would have banned elective abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy with exceptions for medical emergencies and fetal abnormalities. It did not include exceptions for rape or incest. The bill was filed despite numerous pinky promises from House GOP leadership that if elected no bills would be filed further attacking abortion rights in New Hampshire. Fearing massive public blowback when over 12,000 people signed in against the bill on the House remote sign-in and testimony system when it came up for a public hearing, GOP leaders decided to use a new rule to chuck it. More.
Driving Gets Safer for People With Autism Spectrum Disorder. HB 140 passed by voice vote. The bill would establish a “blue envelope” program that would allow for persons of the autism spectrum to put documents related to their condition in a blue envelope affixed to their driver’s side visor. The envelope would contain information about the person’s condition and guidance for law enforcement on effective communication to help avoid misunderstandings.
THE BAD
The War on Renters Continues. Two bills passed that will further squeeze tenants in the middle of a housing crisis.
HB 60 passed 217-139. It dismantles 40 years of tenant protections by allowing tenants to be evicted without cause at the expiration of their tenancy or lease. Numerous nonpartisan organizations testified that passage of the bill would drive more New Hampshire families into homelessness at a time when our state’s rate of increase in homelessness is the fastest in the nation. More.
HB 444 was killed 213-144. It would have ensured tenants in restricted multi-family residential property receive 30 days notice prior to the sale of their building.
Want to Buy a Single Family Home? Get in Line Behind a Corporation. By a 213-144 vote, HB 623, a bill that would have banned corporations from buying up single family homes, was killed for this session. According to the US General Accounting Office, this trend has likely led to increases in home prices and rentals across the country in recent years. In a floor Speech, Rep. Alissandra Murray (D-Manchester) told legislators that she and her husband have repeatedly tried to purchase a number of homes in Manchester and in every case they were outbid by a corporation. Murray said corporations now own 30 percent of the single-family homes in New Hampshire. In an effort to meet Republicans halfway, Democrats offered an amendment that would have replaced the original bill with a committee to study the issue and recommend legislation. But that attempt was also rejected.
Get Serious About Climate Change? Hah! From NHPR: “In mostly partly line votes, the House’s Republican majority rejected proposals that ranged from adding a climate change division to the state’s environmental services department to studying how much climate change is costing New Hampshire and how to recoup those costs. At a press conference after the votes, Rep. Kat McGhee, the top Democrat on the House Science, Technology and Energy committee, which handles much of the state’s climate-related legislation, said the bills were attempts to gather more information to make better decisions about the future. But, she said, the committee has struggled to make strategic progress on climate change as lawmakers in the Republican majority continue to reject settled climate science. “I'm more than willing to compromise. But in this case, they don't even agree there's a problem,” McGhee said. “When we try to come up with solutions, they don't see them as solutions. They see them as irritations or costs.” More.
THE UGLY
Xenophobic Bill Bans Sheltering Immigrants in Schools (Just in Case!) HB 71 passed 211-146. In a clear pattern that’s emerged this year, the bill is one of several sponsored by Republicans more interested in “basking in little fires everywhere” than solving genuine problems. The bill would prevent public schools from being used to shelter undocumented people, even during times of year when the school isn’t in use—an issue that has never come up because New Hampshire is not a “right to shelter” state, so no large groups are being sent here. The floor debate was especially vituperative with backers citing fear of disease and viruses from immigrants as a reason to pass the bill.
THE MIXED BAG OF ALL MIXED BAGS
When You Have the Votes to Reduce Harm, But Not to Completely Prevent It. HB 511, relative to cooperation with federal immigration authorities passed 351-6. The bill includes a compromise amendment that reduces the potential harm the original bill would have caused to immigrant communities and the trust these communities have built over the years with state and local law enforcement. You can read more about it here.
COMING UP NEXT
Right to Work (for Less). After squeaking through the House Labor Committee with an Ought to Pass recommendation by a single vote, HB 238 will be voted on during the next House session on February 13th immediately following the Governor’s Budget Address at 10:00 AM. According to AFL-CIO President Glenn Brackett, this is the most important piece of legislation for the organized labor community in New Hampshire and passage of the bill could spell the end of organized labor in New Hampshire. For the past four decades, every new legislature has seen this attack on workers’ rights come up and every legislature, regardless of which party has been in the majority, has rejected it. Fingers-crossed we can do it again. More in this commentary.
For a complete list of all bills up for votes on Thursday, see this week’s House Calendar.