And by that, I mean this current mess of higher, unsustainable property taxes, a direct cause of revenue sources repealed by a bunch of selfish, cruel, power hungry elected “officials” who have seemingly taken a perverse pleasure in hurting those who they are supposed to “represent.”

Sorry for the run on sentence . . .

Here’s a good recent example that Gov. Ayotte rushed to put her signature on, HB 1815. Brought to us by one of the most vocal advocates for voter suppression, Rep. Bob Lynn (scored a “B” with Liberty Alliance) and Free Stater Rep. Dan McGuire (“A”), this bill is another means of raising property taxes (again) while turning a blind eye to the repeated decisions of the courts on the state’s responsibility of funding an adequate education for public school students. The bill passed on March 5, 188-162. Rep. Dave Luneau, the Ranking Member on the House Education Funding Committee had this to say, "If you think your property taxes are bad now, just wait. By eliminating the state's obligation to fund public education, Governor Ayotte and Republicans have thrown students under the bus to save a dime and pass the buck onto property taxpayers. Instead of utilizing existing revenue sources to properly fund education, Republicans have cut corporate taxes by over a billion dollars over the past decade. People are struggling while large, multinational corporations use the Granite State economy to line their pockets. It is past time for Republicans to support local taxpayers and comply with the New Hampshire Constitution. Weakening our education standards helps no one.” Rand Decision Finds State Funding Deficient. A reminder that since 2015 business tax rate reductions have cost the state nearly a billion dollars in revenue! 

How did your representative vote? Click here to see.

On Tues., April 14th, the Senate will be holding a public hearing on HB 1793, the guns on college campuses bill that the House passed on Feb. 5th, 188-165. How did your representative vote? Click here to see.

To voice your online opposition to this bill click here, select the date - April 14;
select the committee - Judiciary;
select the bill - HB1793;
select who you are and then oppose the bill.

And one more call to action request for another book ban bill, this time from the Senate. The House Education Policy and Administration Committee is holding a public hearing on April 8th.  SB 434 wants to regulate public school materials. (Notice how it’s always the public schools, not the private, religious schools.) 
Click here, fill in your name, address;
select the date – April 8;
select the committee – Education Policy;
select the bill – SB 434;
select who you are and then oppose the bill.

So far, there are 138 who oppose this nonsense with only 6 in support. 

“Education is for improving the lives of others and leaving your community and world better than you found it.”

                               Marion Wright Edleman - an American activist for children’s and civil rights. She is the founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund.

 

"We don't always agree, but we respect one another and work together for the common good. That's the New Hampshire way."

So said former Senator John Sununu back in Oct. when he was announcing a run for retiring Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s seat. I don’t know where he’s been during the last decade but “working together for the common good” is not what the Republican Free Staters in the New Hampshire State Senate or New Hampshire House have been doing. Perhaps he can clue them in.

How about some history. . .

The White House Effect is a documentary released in 2025 focusing on what was referred to as “global warming” back in the latter part of the 20th century. Scientists had been studying the effects of what was happening to our environment and climate and were banging the warning drums. George HW Bush was running for president, promising to be the “environmental president.” He acknowledged what was then called the “greenhouse effect”, that fossil fuels were emitting excess carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, leading to global warming. According to the documentary (a 2 min. link) Bush actually seemed interested in addressing this global issue.

Fast forward to the Bush White House where he named John H. Sununu his Chief of Staff, governor of NH at the time. Sununu served as Chief of Staff from 1989-91. During those brief few years, Sununu, who was an ally of corporate lobbyists, worked against bringing Bush on board for any climate action. In Nov. 1989, he prevented the signing of a 67-nation commitment at the Noordwijk Climate Conference to freeze carbon dioxide emissions, with a reduction of 20% by 2005. The documentary clearly shows corporations who diminished and discredited scientific evidence in order to protect their profit. Remember this from 1984, an internal Exxon document: “We can either adapt our civilization to a warmer planet or avoid the problem by sharply curtailing the use of fossil fuels.”

I guess we all know what they chose . . .

Now to the son running for the Senate. Does he feel the same way as the father when it comes to issues of climate and the environment?  Americans for Prosperity (a conservative, libertarian Koch brothers organization) has endorsed him. His record from his one earlier term should make NH voters a little wary. For example, while in the Senate, he voted 4 times against lowering prescription prices. In July 2010, Sununu joined one of the largest law and lobbying firms in Washington, DC. Akin Gump hired him as a Senior Policy Advisor and he remained until 2019. Akin Gump also represents domestic and international gas and oil leaders in their transactions. Remember the Keystone XL Pipeline? Akin Gump was hired to lobby on behalf of the Pipeline.

The documentary is about 90 mins., well worth every one of them. Check out Americans for Prosperity and research all candidates. Nov. will be here before we know it. 

On Sat., March 28th, an estimated 8-9 million people gathered on streets, town squares, state houses, all over the country to express YET AGAIN their displeasure with the many ways the current regime is destroying our democracy. From Boston to Los Angeles; from St. Paul to New York City to Palm Beach, hundreds of thousands of American citizens turned out bearing signs and feeling the camaraderie of others. 

Here in New Hampshire was no different. Thousands showed up at the State Capitol in Concord, nearly 2,000 in Keene, Wolfeboro and Walpole hosted about 850 and 300 people respectively. Hinsdale put on its first ever rally and drew a little over 30 people, while the numbers in Rindge rose to about 80. And that’s how it went on Sat., with town after town coming together in solidarity with their concerns about the future. Most expressed these concerns were for their families, what kind of country can they expect their loved ones to be living in? 

In Keene, lots of talk turned to state issues. Mostly what the Republican Free Staters have done to exponentially repeal revenue while raising property taxes. Because where is the revenue going to come from if not from the property owner (and renters) to make up for the shortfall? 

Did you know that since 2015 business tax rate reductions have cost the state between $795 million and $1.17 billion in revenue? In just ten years, NH’s state revenue has gone DOWN by nearly a BILLION dollars??!! Money that should have gone to public education, health care, or seeing to our infrastructure to give a few examples. How could this happen? And year after year . . .?

Free Staters.

They have slowly but consistently voted to repeal one source of state revenue after another while simultaneously voting to divert property tax dollars in support of their school voucher program. 

Spoiler alert: this is not sustainable.

So, while Saturday’s “No Kings” rallies were taking place in NH protesting the selfish wants of America’s wannabe mad king, we were also protesting the selfish and destructive Republican Free Staters. House Majority Leader and Free Stater Jason Osborne acknowledged the state’s protests, “Democrat activists can screech until their faces turn as blue as their hair. While they’re concerned with the mythical ‘No Kings’ movement, Republicans are focused on actual causes that matter: no income taxes, no inspection schemes, and no Democrat majorities.”

Here, I’ll fix it. “While they’re concerned with the mythical ‘No Kings’ movement, Republicans are focused on actual causes that matter only to us: no income taxes, no inspection schemes, the destruction of public schools while advocating for segregated ones, no school lunches for low-income children, no more easy access to voting, a fee for Medicaid, minimum wage will not be raised, continue to make it harder for teachers to teach, target immigrants and asylum seekers, work towards promoting fossil fuels while we repeal the solar energy tax exemption and continue to take away your local control.”

We need to turn out in Nov. so we can fix the majority in Concord.

There are more than 4,400 colleges and universities across the country that prohibit carrying guns on campus. New Hampshire is among them:
Keene State College prohibits possessing guns, ammunition and other weapons (air/BB/paintball guns, bows and knives) on campus. Violations result in disciplinary actions and confiscated weapons turned over to the Keene Police Dept. by Campus Safety. Who carry no weapons, by the way.

Plymouth State University strictly prohibits possessing or using firearms, explosives or other dangerous weapons on all university property. Violations result in disciplinary and possible legal actions.

University of NH prohibits possessing all manner of firearms and other dangerous weapons on all campuses, Concord, Durham and Manchester. Exceptions require written permission from UNH Police Chief and weapons may be stored with the UNH Police. 

Some recent data from Best Colleges:
~Since 1966, there have been 17 shootings at colleges where at least three people were killed.

~Outside of mass shootings, there have been roughly 385 instances of gunfire on college campuses since 2013, killing 111 people and injuring 266.

~Researchers have found that gun access on college campuses may increase the risk of suicide and turn aggressive incidents more deadly.

~Most college students surveyed say school shootings impact their sense of safety on campus (65%) and favor stricter campus gun policies (63%).

In NH, the overall gun death rate rose by 10% from 2014-2023. According to EveryTown for Gun Safety an average year in NH will see 140 people die by gun violence. So rather than attempt to reverse this statistic, Republican Free Staters opted to make the problem worse. And what better place to start than with state colleges and universities?

On Feb. 5 HB 1793 came before the House for a vote. There is no other legislation is ALL of the United States that is THIS extreme. Even Wyoming’s Republican Gov. Mark Gordon recently vetoed legislation that he felt went too far in its extremism. This bill not only forbids colleges and universities from prohibiting weapons on campus, it grants people the right to sue these institutions if they failed to allow Junior to have his gun with him in class or anywhere else on campus. 
To the tune of at least $10,000.

Would you feel safe sending your child to a college that allows open carry on campus? 

Online opposition to this deranged piece of legislation was 643 to 231 who supported it. The bill passed in the House anyway, 188-165. On its legislative journey it was then referred to the House Finance Committee who waived it on to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Where it waits for more action, before heading back to the House and ultimately the governor’s desk.

This is where We, the People come in. Using information and statistics from not only this article but the links included, drop an email to the Senators on the Judiciary Committee and the Governor expressing your concerns. Public input does make a difference occasionally.
Sen. Bill Gannon, chairman; William.Gannon@gc.nh.gov
Sen. Daryl Abbas, vice-chair; Daryl.Abbas@gc.nh.gov
Sen. Debra Altschiller; Debra.Altschiller@gc.nh.gov
Sen. Tara Reardon; Tara.Reardon@gc.nh.gov
Sen. Sharon Carson; Sharon.Carson@gc.nh.gov
Gov. Kelly Ayotte; GovernorAyotte@governor.nh.gov

Who sponsored this deranged, gun happy bill? Republican Free Stater Sam Farrington, who scored an A+ with Liberty Alliance and is currently a student at UNH. Why would he willingly jeopardize the rights, lives and safety of fellow students, professors and staff members just because he wants to have a gun on campus? 

Article 1; Section 8 of the United States Constitution states (in part): The Congress shall have Power To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

As we can see from this one small example from our Constitution the current regime has ignored any and all manner of it. From blowing up “alleged” Venezuelan drug dealers/smugglers in open waters to starting an unprovoked war in Iran, the current regime has thumbed its collective nose at the very document that has shaped our nation’s existence to this day. 

While there’s so many aberrations resulting from government run by morons, the focus in this article is oil and the cost thereof. Since the start of this illegal war, (not an "excursion") the cost of putting gas in your vehicle has jumped ever higher in a short amount of time. Half the nation's 50 states have seen average gas prices spike by over $1 a gallon in the last month. Examples:
Colorado +$1.31/gallon
New Mexico +$1.31
Arizona +$1.27
Illinois +$1.25
California +$1.20
Utah +$1.19
Kentucky +$1.18
Indiana +$1.13
Wisconsin +$1.13
Idaho +$1.13

The price of diesel surged over $2 a gallon in 30 days. Examples:
Tucson +$2.21/gal
Phoenix +$2.10
Orange County, CA +$2.06
McAllen, TX +$2.01
Madera, CA +$2.00
Napa, CA +$2.00
The Villages, FL +$2.00
Prescott, AZ +$1.99
Sarasota, FL +$1.98

Here in New Hampshire, we’re averaging about $3.26 a gallon, an increase of nearly 50 cents. The state has also experienced a higher  increase in extreme weather since 2011. Our utility bills have risen nearly 12% in the past year. What’s being done to address this? Address anything even related to clean energy, environment, climate?

Well, not much with Republican Free Staters in the majority.

Last year they voted against establishing a commission to determine the financial costs of climate change. They rejected all offshore wind energy projects, while declaring “the development of advanced nuclear energy technology to be in the best interest of NH.” They voted down a bill for electric vehicle funding for charging stations. FYI, this was a local control bill which would have allowed towns to establish a revolving fund for building these stations and marking dedicated spaces for these charging spaces.

This year they repealed the solar energy tax exemption. Voters in 153 NH cities and towns had previously voted they wanted to use this tax exemption, which is an incentive to “go solar.” That is NOT what the Republican Free Staters or Americans for Prosperity want! So they tabled the bill, 187-157. 

There is bi-partisan legislation coming before the House on Thursday. HB 1602 will establish a statewide battery stewardship program requiring the safe collection, recycling, and management of covered batteries and battery-containing products, administered through producer participation and oversight by the Dept. of Environmental Services. It will cost the state nothing. NH Fire Chiefs testified to millions of dollars in fire damage at transfer stations from batteries and support this bill. Naturally the Republican Free Staters/Liberty Alliance members on the House Finance Committee want to “kill the bill.” They think of it as a hidden sales tax. Which it isn’t. It’s protecting the environment.

Another bi-partisan bill was recently vetoed by the governor who says it would create a sales tax. HB 451called for paint manufacturers to participate in a stewardship program, which manages end-of-life paint in an “environmentally sound” way while educating people about the program. This program would be similar to PaintCare programs in 12 other states and the District of Columbia. PaintCare is funded by a fee on each container of architectural paint sold in a PaintCare state as follows: Retailers — PaintCare. This fee pays for all aspects of operating the paint stewardship program. The PaintCare fee is not a tax, nor does it go to the state. The PaintCare fee is not a deposit, customers don’t get it back when dropping off paint. It goes to support a program whose goal is to protect the environment.

But not in New Hampshire . . .

We’re still stuck with a majority party whose focus has been on  elevating school vouchers at property owner expense, destroying public schools, getting rid of life saving vaccines, eroding local control, needlessly attacking not just immigrants but the transgender community, making it harder to vote for just about everyone, proposing their cruelty with bills calling for hard labor and four (YES, four!) death penalty bills, banning books in schools and libraries that THEY don’t like, attacking free speech and turning just about everything a teacher does or doesn’t do into a punishable violation!  Cruel and mean-spirited.

Sick of it? Then do something about it and vote in Nov.!

Actor Robert DeNiro, "The original No Kings protest was 250 years ago. Americans decided they didn't want to live under the rule of King George III... Now we have a would-be king who wants to take it (democracy) away.” 

The first nationwide "No Kings" protests took place on June 14, 2025, organized to protest the second regime (and birthday) of Donald Trump, a wanna-be king, with more than five million protesters from all 50 states in attendance. The second nationwide “No Kings” protests were held on Oct. 18, 2025, with nearly seven million people protesting. Both protests were some of the biggest single-day protests held in US history. While these protests occurred mostly in the United States, “No Kings” rallies took place around the world going by “No Tyrants” or “No Dictators.” 

On Sat. March 28, there will be a third nationwide protest where we proclaim yet again, that America has No Kings! Find one close to you and join us in New Hampshire:

• Concord – 12:00-4:00, State House, 107North Main St.
• Hancock – 10:00-12:00, Moosebrook Lane
• Jaffrey - 1:00-3:00, Rtes. 124 & 202 (former Rite-Aid)
• Keene – 12:00-2:00, Central Square
• Peterborough – 1:00-2:30, Rtes. 101 & 202
• Rindge – 10:00- 12:00, Rtes. 119 & 202
• Swanzey – 12:00-2:00, Simeneau Lane
• Walpole – 3:30-5:00, 8 Huntington Lane

Vermont:

• Bellows Falls – 1:00-2:30, 17 Depot St.
• Brattleboro – 10:00, Preston Lot, Flat St.

The one thing the government fears is the day we stand together. Come stand with us!

A “Constitutional Amendment Concurrent Resolution” (CACR) is a proposed constitutional change requiring a 3/5 majority vote in both the House of Representatives and Senate. If passed in both chambers, the CACR ends up on the ballot of the state’s voters at the next general election. But before being ratified into the state Constitution, it must receive a 2/3 majority from the voters. 

So far, a lot of these terrible CACR’s are not getting on the ballot in Nov. due to a lack of 3/5 majority. Here’s some examples brought to us by Republican Free Staters:
CACR 9 is sponsored by perennial voter suppression advocate Rep. Bob Lynn, but this one will raise the mandatory retirement age for NH judges from 70 to 75. Currently, the law reads: “No person shall hold the office of judge of any court, or judge of probate, or sheriff of any county, after he has attained the age of seventy years.” This was tried in 2024 and failed. Lynn, a former judge, wants to have the words, “judge of any court, or judge of probate, or” removed and replaced with “No person shall hold the office of judge of any court after the person has attained the age of seventy-five years.” Lynn scored a “B” on last years Liberty Alliance scorecard, which should be a red flag for voters. The amendment failed to gather the 3/5 majority; 185 no, 136 yes.

I need to correct what I had previously written about CACR 14, requiring candidates for the office of governor, state senator and representative be citizens of the United States. The state already has that requirement under RSA 655:1. An effort in redundancy failed to get 3/5 majority, 182 yes, 157 no.

CACR 15 is just another gun rights bill disguised as “the constitutional right to hunt, fish, and harvest game and fish, subject to restrictions existing in law” for NH citizens. There is no need for this bill because every citizen with a hunting license already has the right to hunt, fish and trap. If this had passed, a person accused of domestic violence could argue if courts try to remove their guns, “my rifle is my hunting rifle and I have a constitutional right to hunt. You can’t take my gun.” Additionally, if a person is a convicted felon or convicted of domestic violence, this amendment can be used by that person to have a gun returned. This amendment failed to get the 3/5 majority, 199 yes, 128 no.

CACR 21 is another effort in redundancy. This requires “only legal residents who are at least 18 years of age or older who reside in the place they claim as domicile shall be eligible voters.” Duh. Here it is already in RSA 654:7. 184 yes, 146 no, failed to get 3/5 majority.

Who knew we parents didn’t have any rights pertaining to the education of our kids? All these years being blissfully ignorant. . . Anyway, parents and guardians already have rights in the educating of their children. Republican Free Staters brought forth CACR 24, an amendment that could be used against public education and public schools. And we all know how they feel about public education. Luckily, it failed to get 3/5 majority, 181 yes, 156 no. 

Here’s one brought by Democrats, seeking to have “the right to marry 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.” CACR 25 was killed (ITL) in the House, 176-162. 

Here’s a couple more relating to taxes that didn’t make the cut; CACR 10 and CACR 18. A huge effort by Republican Free Staters this Session to mess with the state’s Constitution. 

This one was a Democrat effort for Medicare for All. HCR 12 (House Concurrent Resolution) called upon “the federal delegation from NH to support Medicare for All, a universal health insurance program that guarantees all people the health care they need.” Not caring about any fellow human beings in the least, the resolution failed, 180-151.

Oh, and one more bill that was effectively killed (ITL) was HB 1171, my attempt to protect apartment tenants (seniors) who have had their Social Security payments unexpectantly interrupted, 186-155. Maybe next time . . .

So, the good news is that all these unnecessary and terrible constitutional amendments will not be on our ballots in Nov. A reminder to know who you vote for. Vet your candidates carefully. Government power comes from We, the People. It should work for all of us.

Picking up where we left off on the Thurs. March 5thSession, here’s a few more bills to review that came up before the House.

Given the current state of ICE gone wild and detention centers cropping up all over the country with little to no oversight, Democrats proposed a bill to require twice yearly reporting about the number of people detained for civil immigration violations by any state, county, or local law enforcement or correctional facility who are working with ICE. HB 1822 seeks transparency in the number of people held for “violations” and how long they are held. This reporting would then go to the Attorney General’s Office. 

Rep. Terry Roy made a motion to table the bill, which passed, 193-155. Nope to transparency again, now concerning detainees, whether they’re American citizens or not. A shout out to the town of Merrimack for holding firm and publicizing a proposed detention center for their town. ICE lost. Score one for the good guys!

Here’s another Constitutional Amendment looking to solve a non-existent problem. CACR 14 requires candidates for the office of governor, state senator and representative be citizens of the United States. New Hampshire already has that requirement under RSA 655:1 which simply states, “–To hold any elective office in the state, a person must be a citizen of the United States, either by birth or by naturalization.” Talk about redundant. The bill passed, 182-152, so this question will probably appear on our Nov. ballots where it will need a 2/3 majority to pass.
Fun fact: Not one non-citizen has ever filed to run or ran for office.
EVER. 

Here’s one that thankfully failed. Hunting with your pet ferret. The sponsor of HB 1167, Rep. Joe Barton (got an A on the Liberty Alliance scorecard), is just going to have to find a better hunting buddy. After all, are ferrets capable of field dressing a deer?

Doubt it . . .

A Democrat sponsored bill proposing to protect employees at work from extreme temperature related injuries and deaths was motioned to be tabled by Rep. James Creighton (B+ Liberty Alliance score). HB 1451 called for extra rest periods during extreme temperatures, initiates emergency procedures for employees showing symptoms of cold or heat distress and calls for a review of these safety procedures at least once a year. The party of Republican Free Staters passed the motion to table, 178-152. 
Work outdoors? Well, take your chances in extreme weather, hot or cold, because the party of cruelty cares nothing about your safety. 

Fun Facts: on July 24, 2009, the federal minimum wage rose from $6.55 per hour to $7.25, stagnating there for nearly 17 years now. That's the longest amount of time the federal minimum wage has gone without an increase since the US started the pay standard in 1938.
Conn. - $16.94
Maine - $15.10
Mass. - $15.00, non-tipped; $6.75, tipped
New York - $16-17.00 (depending on the region)
RI - $15.00
Vermont - $14.42
NH - $7.25
As usual, we stand regressively alone.

Democrats introduced HB 1484 to initiate a state minimum wage, raised incrementally. Testimony online showed 407 people supported this bill and 17 opposed it. Rep. Creighton made the motion to table, which passed, 180-153. 
And NH remains standing alone.

HB 1256 removes the authority of the state librarian to award scholarships to students attending graduate library schools. Republican Free Staters are the sponsors, including Rep. Noble who wants segregated schools. These graduate library schools are accredited by the American Library Association, a non-profit accrediting masters programs in library science. It is also NOT a political action committee. The bill passed, 189-162. Education and students lose again.

Fun fact: there is 1% or less transgender people living in NH, yet attacks on them continue: HB 1442 opens the door for all sorts of unnecessary problems for a tiny sliver of NH’s population. Online testimony showed 660 opposing, 17 in support. When the bill came up for a vote to refer it for further study, it failed 182-163. 

A motion by Rep. Alice Wade to table it failed, 186-163. A floor amendment was added and passed, 183-162. This is the wording:
I.  "Female" is defined as an individual with a reproductive system of the type which in normal function produce ova and specifically defined as an individual who lacks a functional Y chromosome.  A functional Y chromosome is a Y chromosome which expressed the SRY gene during fetal development. A person with 46,XX/46,XY and functional ovarian tissue is a female.  

II.  "Male" is defined as an individual with a reproductive system of the type which in normal function produce sperm. Male shall include any person who does not meet the definition of female.

Got that?

All this to hurt a tiny sliver, 1% or less of NH’s population who just want to live their lives in peace. The floor speech by Rep. Wade is below. She is courageous and an inspiration!  

Thursday, March 5th was a very challenging Session day. Why? The Republican Free Staters practically fell over themselves to defeat or table bills calling for accountability for their precious public education destroying school vouchers. Here’s a few examples:

HB 1578 was an effort brought forth by Democrats for the school voucher program to give quarterly reports listing the number of applications and withdrawals, use of funding along with parental reimbursements. In other words, transparency for public funds used in this out-of-control program! Rep. Rick Ladd (who scored an A on Liberty Alliance scorecard), Chairman of the Education Funding Committee, made the motion to “table” the bill, which passed 182-162. So, what does this mean? For that answer I turn to my colleague Rep. Anita Burroughs who wrote in her Substack article; “If a motion to table succeeds, debate on the bill ends immediately. Only a simple majority is required. If the bill is never taken off the table, it effectively dies.” And “Occasionally, however, a bill is removed from the table when one party realizes that changes in attendance have shifted the vote count and they suddenly have a chance to pass legislation that once seemed unwinnable.”

So, they killed the bill anyway. No transparency for the use of public funding.

HB 1264 was another Democrat effort at bringing accountability and transparency to the school voucher program. It also required the oversight committee to meet monthly and for these meetings to be live broadcast and recorded on the general court website. Since 2022, this wasteful program has gone from $8 million to a projected $52 million this year. In just under four years! 

Rep. Kristin Noble, who thinks schools should be segregated, made a motion to table the bill. A roll call was requested and the bill was tabled, 186-165. Nope, no accountability for school vouchers. Business as usual.

HB 1820 sponsored by Democrats, would require the NH Dept. of Education to administer the education freedom account program, making it more accountable to auditors, lawmakers and NH citizens. At a projected cost of $52 million taxpayer dollars, having the NHDOE manage this program would give much needed accountability, oversight and transparency. Currently, this program is managed by Children's Scholarship Fund, which costs an additional $5 million each year. Rep. Noble again motioned to table this bill, which passed, 179-157. Nope, NHDOE won’t be overseeing public funds that are rerouted to private school vouchers.

HB 1834 limits the number of school vouchers allowed through 2027. Estimates put 13,750 students in the program next year, up from this year’s count of 10,510. This was a Democrat sponsored bill looking to protect the already overburdened property owner. And, wanting only to protect their voucher program, Rep. Noble again motions to table the bill, which passes, 180-157. Nope, come one, come all to the Republican school voucher trough. 

Two other Democrat sponsored bills, HB 1402 and HB 1403 would codify into statute the NH credentialing standards for (respectively) superintendents and school business administrators. This pertained to knowledge, skills and competency to perform those duties. HB 1402 was tabled, 184-150 by Rep. Noble and HB 1403 was tabled, 196-152 by Rep. Margaret Drye (B+ on LA scorecard). 

HB 1635 sponsored by Republicans, reduces the amount of suicide prevention training administrators, teachers and staff receive from once a year to every other year. The committee heard concerns from mental health associations, a parent who lost a child to suicide and organizations working to reduce suicide. Testimony online was 238 who opposed this bill with 12 who supported it. Not caring about children who are now out of the womb, the bill passed, 183-167. Did you know what the second leading cause of death for people aged 10-24 in NH is? Yup, you guessed it. Suicide. 
Fun fact: one of the Republican sponsors is an EMT. Go figure . . .

There were plenty more good bills that were either killed or tabled (same ending, basically) and terrible bills that were passed. But those are for a future article.

In the meantime, be sure to get out next week and vote at your town meetings. Look over your warrant articles. Vet your candidates. Remember, the Republican Free Staters start at the local level; school boards, select and planning boards, trustees . . .

NHCADSV is an established organization assisting women and men experiencing abuse in their lives. Whether it’s domestic, financial or sexual abuse, the coalition and their crisis centers are there for the victims. Now, the coalition finds itself in a position of needing the public’s help. 

A bill will be coming to the House floor next week that will remove the privacy protections victims rely on at New Hampshire’s domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers throughout the state. HB 1675 wants to form “a commission to investigate the NH Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence and require funding only be provided for the direct services materially benefitting survivors of sexual and domestic assault.” This would force the Coalition and twelve crisis centers to turn over private records belonging to victims of abuse. Yes, the organization helping survivors of rape, domestic violence, stalking, and trafficking could be forced to respond to public requests for information about their work and the victims they serve. Victims call crisis centers because they believe their conversations are confidential. Which they are and stay that way! That trust is what allows survivors to come forward, make safety plans and access life-saving services. HB1675 puts that very trust at risk. 

This bill is not about accountability. Should it pass, it would: 

• Allow people to flood crisis centers with requests meant to harass and overwhelm staff;
• Discourage victims from looking for help for fear their information could be exposed;  
• Strip NH of federal victim-services funding that mandates crisis centers to provide confidential support.

As an aside, no other nonprofit victim service organizations in NH are subject to Right-to-Know requests. Why this one?

So, here’s the “call to action part:” (email) contact your state representative letting them know of your opposition to this dangerous (for abuse victims) bill. Here is a sample message to use. The more legislators hear from their constituents, the more likely they are to understand how serious this threat to victim safety really is.  

The online testimony shows 1,148 who oppose this bill with 256 who support it. I’ll leave you with some examples of testimony:
~The legislature should be protecting victims, not trying to silence victims and, not investigating an outstanding non profit organization.

~I oppose HB1675 because it hurts people who need help. The NH Coalition Against Domestic Violence& Sexual Violence advocates for victims. The legislature should not have investigative authority over non-profit organizations because our justice system has authority and procedures to deal with problems. The legislature should not pass this bill but work together to solve problems of protecting victims of abuse.

~Domestic and sexual violence is nonpartisan and affects all of us. The Coalition does amazing work to fight against it and serve all kinds of victims. Like most nonprofits they already have extensive scrutiny and oversight, which is why everyone should oppose this Bill. It is nonsensical and wasteful.

~Survivor services and prevention work must be protected. My daughter is a survivor and the local crisis center was essential to her getting help and safety. Protect victims!