Session Update - 3/11 & 3/12

Two long days with a few hard-fought wins and troubling legislation moving forward.

I honestly don’t even know where to start.

As I wrote last week, we had close to 200 bills to get through before yesterday’s key House deadline.

First, it’s important to note how the calendar was structured. Republican leadership determines which bills come to the floor each week and the order in which they are heard. They divided this week’s calendar into two sections — the first section was bills Republicans wanted to pass, and the second section was bills they wanted to kill. Due to the deadline, any bills not acted on by the end of session on Thursday simply go away, meaning the majority would get what they wanted one way or the other.

The Republicans’ first order of business on Wednesday was to limit debate on all bills, setting the tone for what would become a marathon session.

The morning was marked by delay tactics and general shenanigans by some members of the Democratic caucus. While a lot can happen on any given day, our sessions are usually fairly well planned. But Wednesday morning was chaotic — with members making all sorts of motions to slow down the process, refusing to press their voting buttons, and generally trying to make things harder for Republican leadership.

By lunchtime, everyone was frustrated, and there were threats from the Speaker about locking the doors and keeping us there until the work was completed. (Yes, apparently they can do that.)

Luckily, the tone shifted in the afternoon, and we were able to get through a good number of bills before adjourning around 9 pm. Then we were back at it at first thing on Thursday. We got through the Republican priorities around 3pm and then were given some time to bring some of our bills forward until we adjourned at about 4:30.

By the end of these two session days, we left about 75 bills not acted on — no debate, no vote.

We did have some wins this week. We stopped some bad legislation: a repeal of buffer zones at reproductive health care facilities, another union-busting bill, and a ban on students from China attending New Hampshire public colleges.

And we passed some good bills: easing requirements for commercially zoned daycare centers, stopping the state from taking Social Security payments from foster children, and providing protections for agricultural soils from PFAS contamination.

But a lot of bad legislation made it through as well. Here are a few:

• HB1279 - broadening the scope of when someone can use deadly force.

• HB1121 - limiting the elements used to cost an adequate education.

• HB1132 - prohibiting flags or banners from being displayed in public schools.

• HB1817 - allowing EFA students to ALSO attend classes, play sports and attend CTE programs in their school district.

• HB1788 - voiding state contracts with DEI related clauses.

• HB1449 - limiting vaccine clinics in schools.

• HB1706 - repealing the refugee resettlement program.

• HB1734 - authoring experimental treatment centers.

• HB1797 - increasing requirements for SNAP eligibility.

• HB1447 - another bathroom bill.

• HB1416 - shielding anti-abortion centers.

These bills are all now heading to the Senate - and this is just the tip of the iceberg!

This week was a clear reminder of how much is at stake in the State House. Some harmful proposals were stopped, but many others are still moving forward. The work now is to keep pushing back, keep showing up, and keep fighting for the values we believe New Hampshire should stand for.

As always, I’ll keep you posted on what comes next.