Legislative Update - 4/20/26
Some big issues to watch - open enrollment, SNAP funding, Campus Carry & more.
It was another busy and revealing week at the State House. Several major bills are moving forward despite significant public opposition, while others raise broader questions about legislative priorities from education policy to food access. Here’s some things to know as we prepare for the week ahead.
CACR12 - Calling for a constitutional amendment prohibiting an income tax in NH
The House Ways & Means Committee held a hearing on CACR12 last week, a proposal to amend the Constitution to prohibit an income tax in New Hampshire. I wasn’t able to attend in person, but watched online as one Republican member after another testified that decisions like this should be made by voters—not lawmakers.
For context, the House voted on another proposed constitutional amendment last month. CACR25 “provides that the right to marry is 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.”
Shockingly, only 5 Republicans voted in favor of CACR25. I guess only tax policy should be decided directly by the voters?
SB101 - Open Enrollment
After hours of testimony and over 2000 people signing in to oppose, the committee voted OTP in favor of open enrollment along party lines and it heads to the House this week. Whatever you think about school choice, this level of public engagement here is significant and worth noting.
This Op-Ed in InDepthNH highlights many of the concerns with this open enrollment proposal, including this:
Looking at the bigger picture, who will be able to participate in the new open enrollment scheme? Probably not a single parent — most likely a mother — who has to work one or two or three jobs to support her children, or poor families with both parents working.
There is a lot of rhetoric about open enrollment providing the best educational experience for children, but that is only true if you can afford to and have the time to transport their children to another school district.
Campus Carry
The Senate Judiciary committee heard over 5 hours of testimony on HB1793, a bill that would prohibit public colleges and universities from regulating firearms and other weapons on campus - in dorms, lecture halls, childcare centers and arenas.
Find your State Senator here and ask them to OPPOSE this bill.
SNAP Funding & extending Free and Reduced lunch
HB1574, a bill I sponsored, would extend Free & Reduced Lunch to qualifying students over age 21. The Senate Finance committee added a non-germane amendment that would appropriate $4.4 million to restore SNAP program administrative funding that was cut by the Federal government after the NH Legislature passed its budget.
HB1574 has moved forward in part because of its low cost, but the amendment will make passage more challenging.
While the amendment was introduced by the Republican Chair of Senate Finance, not everyone in the Legislature supports restoring SNAP funding. That’s concerning because ensuring Granite Staters have access to healthy, nutritious food should be a basic priority.
Senate Finance is expected to vote next week.
SB603 is another bill that will help to ensure funding for SNAP administration costs by directing the Department of Health & Human Services to transfer funds within its department. Both bills aim to solve the same problem, just in different ways.
Bathroom Bans
Several bills restricting access to bathrooms are continuing to move through the legislature.
HB1442 passed the Senate last week with amendments and will return to the House for concurrence before heading to the Governor’s desk.
Three other bills, HB1217, HB1299 and HB1447 all have hearings in the Senate Judiciary committee this week. Sign in to oppose and/or submit testimony here.
Contact Governor Ayotte and ask her to veto any anti-trans bathroom bills that come to her desk.
Some good news - a couple bad bills were defeated.
HB1635 - which would have reduced suicide prevention training for school personnel.
HB1272 - which would have required candidates’ party affiliation on town and school district ballots.
Looking for more? Find the updated bill tracker here.
Public input continues to play an important role—whether through testimony, outreach to legislators, or simply staying informed.
I’ll keep you updated as things move forward and decisions are made in the weeks ahead.
Thank you for this.