Legislative Update - 3/8/26
A BIG week ahead.
With a looming deadline, the House has an extraordinary number of bills to address this week — around 200!
To be clear, Republican House leadership has known since the beginning of the session how many bills were filed and what the deadlines would be. Still, a surprising number of bills are being compressed into this final stretch before “Crossover”, the deadline for the House to act on its bills before they go to the Senate.
As I’ve been tracking legislation on my list, it struck me as odd that several bills received committee votes weeks ago but hadn’t been scheduled for a House vote until now. The bills I follow represent just a small snapshot of the total filed this session — yet 19 of them (almost half) will be voted on this week alone.
It’s unclear whether this is strategy or simply poor planning, but either way, cramming so many votes into such a short window doesn’t serve the people of New Hampshire well.
Last week we also saw Republicans move to “Table” bills they didn’t want to pass. This maneuver limits debate while still achieving the desired outcome. Because the Dems don’t have the votes to remove a bill from the table, tabling it effectively kills the legislation.
Based on that pattern, I expect we may see more of the same during the TWO FULL House session days scheduled this week.
Looking Ahead
Committee work will be lighter over the next two weeks as we approach Crossover. After that, attention shifts to legislation coming over to the House from the Senate.
To help keep track of everything, I’ve updated the chart and added some color coding to make it easier to follow.
A few things to note:
The 19 bills I mentioned above are on the chart.
While there isn’t an online form to register support or opposition, I encourage you to reach out directly to your State Representatives if there are bills you care about.
Here a few bills to watch this week:
CACR 25 - establish marriage as a fundamental civil right and that the state shall protect the right of every individual, regardless of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or race, to marry and to have their marriage legally recognized.
HB1034 - prohibiting carrying a firearm on school property.
HB1590 - 20 week abortion ban.
See the rest here:
(I color coded the chart to keep myself on track, let me know if you find it helpful!)
*****DOWNLOAD THE CHART AT THIS LINK BELOW*****
Here’s an example of the chart to show you what it looks like now - 50+ bills, with links, action items and bill status:
With so many decisions happening in such a short time, public engagement matters more than ever. If you have thoughts on any of these bills, this is the moment to reach out to your representatives and make your voice heard.