Updates

A House bill that would extend the work of the seacoast cancer cluster commission, provide funds to municipalities for PFAS remediation, require insurers to pay for PFAS blood tests, and that would enact PFAS drinking water contamination limits into state law was approved 5-0 on Tuesday by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

For the September 8, 2020 State Primary and the November 3, 2020 General Election, Portsmouth residents concerned about potentially exposing themselves to COVID-19 in a public polling place may request an absentee ballot staring immediately.

For the first time since the Civil War, the New Hampshire House of Representatives will meet to vote on legislation in a location other than the State House in Concord.

What’s the difference between a COVID-19 diagnostic test and the COVID-19 antibody tests you’ve been hearing about? Where can you get them and how much do they cost? Here are some answers.

If you can afford it, now has never been a better time to show your support for the people who bring us the news by subscribing or making a small donation.

With both a legislative deadline and the COVID-19 crisis bearing down, the New Hampshire House of Representatives met in a marathon two-day session this week that ended shortly before 4 a.m. Friday. Along the way, we dealt with hundreds of bills and managed to avoid the need to meet again next week. Here’s a long but hopefully helpful wrap-up.

In a week where many high profile bills cleared important House votes, the biggest news was that Granite Staters saw that members of our legislature who blow off mandatory sexual harassment training will actually be held accountable.

Last week was a busy one for the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. In a marathon executive session, we gave the green light on legislation that would outlaw “cyberflashing” and reduce the harshest penalties for certain drug crimes. Sadly, we also hit the stop button on a bill that would have required locking safety devices to be included in all commercial firearms sales. Here’s a quick wrap-up.

Last week was one of the more interesting weeks for public hearings on legislation before the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. On Wednesday, sponsors pitched their cases for several bills where privacy, technology, free-speech, and questions about ethics and responsibility all collided. Here’s the story.

New Hampshire has 400 state representatives in the state legislature. Regardless of party or seniority, we toil for $100 a year (plus mileage). While I may not be the most representative of state representatives, I thought that this week instead of posting about a particular piece of legislation, it might be helpful to take a moment and share what a typical week at the start of a new looks like while the legislature is in session.

A busy and productive week in Concord as the legislature took votes on key priorities, including gun safety, fair elections, renewable energy and more. Here’s quick wrap-up.

On January 8, the New Hampshire House of Representatives kicks off the 2020 New Year by voting on bills that were “retained” (or delayed for consideration) in 2019. While many are non-controversial enough to be voted on by voice vote as a single block as part of the Consent Calendar, the House will debate dozens of more contentious bills. Here’s a preview: 

The recent debate over whether bail reform is succeeding or failing in New Hampshire has also cast a harsh spotlight on New Hampshire’s unfair and outdated system to pay bail commissioners. While a separate committee is considering changes to the bail reform law itself, I served on a study committee that looked into the role of bail commissioners and how to ensure they are paid in a more reliable and timely way. Here’s a preview of what we decided and why.

On Wednesday, a compromise state budget was passed overwhelmingly in the New Hampshire House and Senate. This brought an end to a process that, at times, felt more like…well… passing a kidney stone. Here’s what it means for the state, for you, and for Portsmouth.

Earlier this week, 51 of Governor Sununu’s 55 vetoes were sustained in a New Hampshire state legislature where’s a 2/3 majority in both chambers is required to override a veto. Here’s why the “failure” of these bills, most passed by large majorities that included members of both parties, is on the governor—not on the legislature.

With an October 1 deadline looming for a new state budget, a critical issue that hasn’t received much attention is the disastrous impact of Governor Sununu’s veto on funding for reproductive health for New Hampshire residents.

Another 9 people are dead after a mass shooting last night in Dayton after 20 were killed earlier in the day Saturday in El Paso. And neither toll counts the people in hospitals who may still die or who will spend years recovering from wounds. Here are six things you can do to help put public safety first.

While New Hampshire has been fortunate to avoid the plague of mass shootings that have ended thousands of lives and wounded or terrorized countless others, counting on weak laws and good fortune is bad governing and poor risk management strategy.

Thanks to Gov. Sununu’s veto (not an uncommon occurrence these days) New Hampshire is now entering its third week without a budget for the 2019-2020 biennium. The good news? There appears to be some movement towards a compromise. The bad news? If posturing and gamesmanship emanating from the governor’s office could somehow be converted into snow, we’d by plowing six foot drifts of the stuff in 100 degree heat.

Over the past few months, images of children caged in filthy, inhuman conditions have shocked many Americans and have triggered protests at Border Patrol and ICE detention facilities across the country. When I heard we had our own ICE adult detention facility just a few miles away from Portsmouth in Dover, NH, I jumped at the chance to take a tour. Here’s what I found.