Score one for free and fair elections! 

In 2024, Republican Free Stater Bob Lynn introduced HB 1569, making it harder for some people to vote by doing away with voter affidavits as proof of identification and repeal the procedures for affidavit ballots. This was a system that had worked just fine for years and now this legislation was designed to block as many voters as possible the right from even being able to register, let alone cast a ballot. 

HB 1569 was nothing more than a bill in search of a non-existent problem. But it passed anyway, then-Gov. Sununu signed it into law and it took effect five days after the Nov. 2024 election.

Let’s revisit that Nov. election in 2024 where 832,549 New Hampshire voters cast a ballot. Twenty-seven used a (now repealed) affidavit ballot, with 3 voters mailing their required documents within the time frame to their city/town clerk. Out of 832,549 voters only 24 ballots were discarded. The system was not only working, it wasn’t even broken.

Fun fact #1: since 2016 there’s been fifteen voter fraud convictions in NH. These convictions consisted of out-of-state people voting in NH, people with a home in NH and another state but voted in both states and people voting in two different NH towns.
Fun fact #2: this new law is now one of the strictest in the nation.
Fun fact #3: NH still has no online voter registration. Forty-two other states do. 

Lawsuits were promptly filed against this new law by the Coalition for Open Democracy, League of Women Voters of NH, ACLU-NH and the Forward Foundation, along with five individuals. The argument was the new law was unconstitutional under the First and 14th Amendments as it creates barriers for lawful and legal citizens from registering to vote and requires first-time voters to show proof of citizenship. Those who favored the law felt it critical to prevent noncitizens from voting in elections; and those who opposed, feared it would hinder legitimate voters who didn’t readily have the newly required documents. 

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, “. . . noncitizen voting is simply not a widespread or even a significant occurrence. And it’s already illegal.” The focus should be on guaranteeing and protecting the freedom to vote for eligible voters.

Today a federal judge overturned the “proof-of-citizenship” voter registration law. Now a voter can use an affidavit if needed and then follow up with their town/city clerk in a week with the required document(s). Going back to a system that was working just fine already. 

The Attorney General's Office plans to file an appeal.

Of course they do . . .

Cost downshifting - the intentional reduction of expenses and consumption in order to lower the overall cost of living, often as part of a broader lifestyle change toward simplicity, sustainability, and personal well-being.

In the case of New Hampshire, it intentionally reduces state funding while increasing state mandates for local spending. This now requires local governments to increase property taxes to make up for the difference. 

A decrease in state funding results in higher property taxes. Can’t be said enough!

During the current reign of the Republican Free Staters, NH has been gutted of approximately $3 billion, (yes, with a B) in local government funding. This funding would normally go to counties, town and school districts. 

Here’s some examples of the revenue that has been cut by Republican Free Staters: 

~Interest and Dividends tax - Brought roughly $180 million per year, mostly from the wealthy making $20,000 or more on “unearned” income; repealed in 2023, took effect in Jan. 2025. 
~The Business Profits tax - The state’s largest revenue source, made up about 35% of General and Education Trust Fund revenues in SFY 2025. This was paid mostly by large corporations, (some from out of state) and has cost the State about $1 billion in revenue since 2016.
~Car Inspections – yeah, I know. A lot of people were happy to see that go, but the roughly annual $6 million state revenue went right along with it.
~Rooms & Meals tax – Republicans screwed over cities and towns by taking a bigger (about $11 million) share of this tax. And of course, tourism has been dropping due to the rising cost of gas, food, everything, thanks to the current federal regime. 

Now, Republican Free Staters are targeting local governments and school boards, claiming “out of control” spending. When the reality is, these same local governments and school boards are having to find creative ways to fund their cities, towns and public schools with less and less state support. That means property owners, landlords and tenants pay more.

To add insult to intentional injury, the Republican Free Staters, looking for a scapegoat and having primed their supporters for many years about the “evils” of government spending, are now blaming these same cities, towns and school boards for their financial woes. There will be no support from Gov. Ayotte who has claimed, “Our towns and municipalities need to get serious about fiscal responsibility.” Republican Free Staters House Majority Leader Jason Osborne and Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell have both blamed the state’s towns and cities as spending too much on public education.

Ahhh, now we’re getting to the crux of this “cost downshifting” issue.

Public education. 

Republican Free Staters want to see an end to it. Or at the very least, segregated.

Did you know, NH ranks dead last in state contributions to public education. In 2024, the state contributed 29% to public education! For comparison, Colorado contributes 40% and New Mexico 68%. Pretty shameful when Free Staters claim to have the best interests of school children in mind.

On the other hand, the hated school voucher program, newly freed from the encumbrance of an income cap, has seen the number of students receiving vouchers rise by 82%, and the total cost of the program has risen by 70%. Where does THAT money come from?

But yes, Governor, tell us more how “Our towns and municipalities need to get serious about fiscal responsibility” while you and your Free Stater buddies are incrementally reducing state aid, underfunding special education and ignoring court orders.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

This has been quite the ride! And, despite the hits the people of New Hampshire have repeatedly taken at the hands of the government hating Republican Free Staters, it’s been a wonderful experience. I have learned much about the process of rules, laws and procedures (with so much more to learn). I have met many wonderful, knowledgeable people from all over the state and anticipate working with many of them correcting a lot of damage that’s been done.

That said, Thursday’s Session was about concurring or not with Senate recommendations on House bills. We had a little over two dozen to consider. 

Concur: to agree with someone or something. Merriam-Webster
Concur (motion to): A motion made in one house to accept modifications or amendments made in the other house to a bill already passed, requires the approval of a majority of voting members. State of NH New Legislator Orientation Manual

Here’s a good one that had previously passed both the House and Senate with the Senate adding an amendment.
HB 1651 establishes sexual assault orders of protection and updates certain rights for sexual assault survivors. It passed by voice vote.

HB 1610 was passed in the House in March and the Senate added an amendment the following month. In his floor speech urging the House to “non-concur,” Rep. Dave Luneau talked about how this bill rolls back a decade long law used to reduce property tax rate variations. These “surplus” funds are used by school districts to balance budgets, reducing risk to property owners. He noted this bill would do nothing for property tax relief. But it passed anyway, 186-163. Click here to see how your representative voted. To hear Rep. Tracy Bricchi (about 40 seconds long) click here and scroll to 50:44.

HB 1268 is another case of “one of these things is not like the other.” This bill adds “definitions to the chapter pertaining to home education programs and removes certain notification and assessment requirements for parents teaching their children through a home education program.” But the Senate decided to add an amendment which had nothing to do with any type of schooling. Instead, it addressed pharmacy benefits managers, health carriers and examination requirements. The bill passed by seven votes, 178-170.
Every. Vote. Counts!

HB 1358, whose lone sponsor is Republican Free Stater Jason Osborne, will establish a commission to study transitioning all public schools to public charter schools. This bill also amends one of the methods for converting a public school into a charter school. Free Staters have voted down one bill after another sponsored by Democrats to form or create study committees or commissions for various reasons this year and last year. But this one, another nail in the coffin of public schools, they are rabidly in favor of. Online testimony showed an overwhelming opposition to this bill, 1026 to 17 in favor. Free Staters do not legislate for the people, so naturally this bill passed, 184-164. To see how your representative voted, click here.

The state did get a win, though. HB 1792, (note the sponsors), previously called the CHARLIE Act, was amended by Republican Free Stater Sen. Abbas to include language updating the divisive concepts law. Online opposition to this latest attack on public school teachers was 1271 to 353 in support. Rep. Patty Cornell referenced First Amendment concerns with this amendment and that it created concerns of confusion and uncertainty for educators, more possible future litigation. Republican Free Stater Noble (segregate schools) stated students should be taught ABOUT racism and discrimination and not TAUGHT racism and discrimination. (Do teachers do that?) The House failed to concur with the Senate, 127-222. To see how your representative voted, click here.

Other bills passed by voice vote. HB 1269 had to do with the qualifications to practice acupuncture and HB 1312 had to do with the authority of various boards. HB 1523 dealt with disclosure requirements for condominium associations. HB 1705 established an employee assistance program for small town and volunteer first responders.

The day ended with the censure of Republican Free Stater Travis Corcoran, 288-54. You can read/see it here.

This next election is going to be very important. Does your elected official reflect your values? Remember . . .
Every. Vote. Counts!

Non-germane: not relevant or related to the subject being discussed.

Thursday, May 14th was a rather long day at the State House. We had about thirty bills to vote on, some having ridiculous, non-germane, floor amendments attached to them. Those are the ones to be reviewed here because “one of these things is not like the other”!

SB 498 establishes the NH Children’s Behavioral Health Association authorized to collect required assessments from insurers and health plans to fund children’s behavioral health services. There was support for the bill outright and support for sending it for further study. There were five Floor Amendments waiting in the wings to be brought forward by Republican Free Staters. One of whom was Rep. Sam Farrington whose bill HB 1793, the infamous “guns on campus,” passed in the House in Feb. and went on to the Senate. Where the Senate amended it to study whether the idea of allowing full-time employees (i.e. professors), to carry weapons is a practical one or not. 

SB 498 was voted on to go to Interim Study, 188Y-164N, effectively cutting off the waiting floor amendments. 

But wait, Farrington was ready in case he didn’t get what he wanted. 

SB 408 was a bipartisan Senate bill requiring “health insurance policies to provide coverage for adult prosthetics, including activity-specific prosthetic devices.  The law currently requires such coverage for children's prosthetics.” 

Not happy with how the Senate amended his bill, Farrington again attached his original bill (HB 1793) onto a bill providing health coverage for adult PROSTHETICS! His floor amendment failed 159Y-177N. Republican Free Stater Joe Sweeney made a motion to table the bill, which also failed, 148Y-189N. SB 408 then passed by voice vote.

One of these things is not like the other.

Republican Free Stater Yury Polozov was a co-sponsor of HB 1811 earlier this year. The aim was to repeal children’s immunization requirements for diseases such as diptheria, mumps, polio and Hepatitis B (to name a few). During a Session day in mid-Feb., the House killed the bill by voice vote. 

Rep. Polozov also had a floor amendment waiting to be brought forward on SB 498. For reasons known only to Free Staters, this amendment was to remove only the Hepatitis B vaccine from the required immunizations for children. And he attached it to the bill establishing a Children’s Behavioral Health Association. 

One of these things is not like the other.

Here’s a bill (SB 625) that came out of the Senate with the recommendation of “Inexpedient to Legislate” (kill the bill). That failed by four votes by the way, 146Y-150N.

Now, ride along to the following nuttiness . . .

SB 625permits family members of intentional homicide victims to seek an evidentiary hearing in cases where the Dept. of Justice does not file charges in the case or seek retrial following a hung jury. 

In one floor amendment brought by Republican Free Stater Jason Osborne and having nothing to do with this bill, was removal of the Hepatitis B vaccine again. The amendment passed, 157Y-138N. 

Osborne and fellow Free Staters Berry, Ammon, Sweeney and Drago added another floor amendment which repeals the refugee resettlement program in the Dept. of Health and Human Services and prohibits expending state funds on settlements. No swarthy foreigners welcome here! And because the majority party is just that, unwelcoming, the amendment passed, 155Y-140N. 

Now we all get to vote on the bill again, freshly amended to hurt fellow human beings, including children. It passed, 156Y-139N.

Two of these things are not like the other.

We did manage to keep CACR 12 from landing on everyone’s ballot in Nov. This was basically a constitutional amendment to ban the implementation of any future taxes. It failed to get 2/3 majority.

SB 416 is a Republican bill replacing NH’s restriction on tip pooling with the rules of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act governing the pooling and sharing of tips. It failed, 151Y-176N. Instead, the bill goes to Interim Study.

SB 439 would authorize cities and towns to regulate data centers in commercial and industrial zones. Republican Free Staters Ammon and Pauer included an amendment adding “mixed use” zones. Gee, what could possibly go wrong in a “mixed use” zone? Perhaps reading the room, Ammon motioned to table this bill, which passed, 304Y-11N.

A long day with the people of NH taking mostly hits, but we got some “wins” in, too! 

Last night I went to an informational talk given by former State Senator Jeanne Dietsch, on the history of the Free Staters in New Hampshire. It was very well attended with people rightly concerned about what is happening in our state and how we can activate to take our state back. 

Jeanne presented this excellent video (about 21 mins. long) explaining how far back in our nation’s history people like the Koch brothers, billionaires such as Peter Thiel, the Sununu's and others have been diligently and for decades, working to destroy not just public education, but in NH they are slowly taking away our local control, have repealed sources of revenue, have killed all bills designed to promote clean energy while embracing fossil fuels and have enacted bills to suppress people’s ability to vote. 

Over and over again, Republican Free Staters have passed legislation that is meant to hurt the everyday citizen in our state. We all have the opportunity in Nov. to take a stand against this extremism by voting them out of office. In the meantime, Jeanne will be speaking at various locations, perhaps there’s one near you. If not, scroll down for how to schedule a presentation for your town.

 

Free Stater Awareness Presentation Schedule

Thu May 21 DERRY, 7pm, Rodgers Memorial Library, 194 Derry Rd.

Sat May 30 NASHUA 10am, Unitarian Universalist Church, 58 Lowell St.

Mon Jun 1 HOPKINTON 6:30pm, Hopkinton Town Library, 61 Houston Dr.

Wed Jun 10 PLAINFIELD 6:45pm, Village Town Hall, 1079 Rt.12a

Request info on how to order yard signs or

Schedule a presentation & Yard signs for Your Town

Click here to see if your representative aligns with Liberty Alliance and against democracy.

We can’t afford to do nothing. We all must do something! 

Sowing hate and fear: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
In 2024 a bill was introduced giving NH the right to invalidate out-of-state drivers licenses of immigrants. By two votes, the bill failed.

In 2025 HB 452 took away the right to renew a driver's license for any person who is not a US citizen and can’t prove they are a lawful permanent resident of the US. When it ended up in the Senate, it was referred to Interim Study. 

This year, the Free Staters want to make renting an apartment a crime for undocumented immigrants. HB 1709 passed in the House, now we’ll see what the Senate does with it. But wait, there’s more cruelty. HB 1499“adds new grounds for termination of tenancy based on a tenant’s immigration status, certain criminal convictions, or status as a registered sexual offender.” They have lumped immigrants in with sex offenders and criminals. Immigrants have families too, wanting only to make a life for themselves by working and going to school. Both bills are sponsored by Republican Free Stater Joe Alexander, whose ancestry somewhere doesn’t include an immigrant or two?

Republican Free Stater Travis Corcoran sponsored a bill calling for the repeal of NH’s refugee resettlement program which is run by NH’s Dept. of Health and Human Services, funded by the federal government. "Granite staters are suffering from a plague of illegal aliens and fraudulent asylum seekers who put a drain on our resources, thus I look forward to permanently abolishing the NH office of refugee resettlement via HB 1706, and I extend my warmest welcome to ICE as it ramps up operations in NH.” The bill passed in the House, but died in the Senate.

Fun fact: As of 2022, NH had about 82,000 foreign-born residents, comprising 6% of the population. Hardly a “plague.”

Corcoran recently came under fire for his social media remarks directed towards a House colleague about needing “a final solution for theater kids in politics.” This colleague happens to be Jewish and anyone who knows history understands what the words “final solution” mean. But he didn’t stop there. He had contacted the Dept. of Homeland Security requesting the deportation of another House colleague, who happens to be a naturalized citizen. The following is from about three years ago, posted on his Twitter account: “We must all say or type the word’ n*gger’ in a public place, as a declaration that the progs can’t control our thoughts or our behaviors — EVEN IF WE DISLIKE THE WORD.” There’s more just as ugly, meaning there’s no need to continue. The Legislative Administration Committee voted (scroll to 21:00 min. mark) to recommend censure for Corcoran, so we’ll see how the full House votes on this in a few weeks.

Not to be outdone is Free Stater Rep. Matt Sabourin dit Choinière who in Jan., brought three people, including Germar Rudolf to testify before the New Hampshire Commission on Holocaust and Genocide Education. Rudolf, a German chemist has called the Holocaust a “gigantic con.”  The others were also Holocaust deniers.

Republican Free Stater and House Majority Leader Jason Osborne apparently couldn’t wait to get in on what he anticipated to be a good time in Merrimack once the human warehouse detention center was completed.

 
Curses! Foiled again. No human warehouse will be forthcoming.

Ignoring the Courts: yes, the Republican Free Staters have been doing just that since moving to NH in the early 2000’s.

These are the court decisions going back more than 30 years:

~Claremont School District v. Gov. (Claremont I) Decided: 1993 
The court held that education is a fundamental right under the NH Constitution and NH has a duty to provide it. 

~Claremont School District v. Gov. (Claremont II) Decided: 1997
The court ruled the existing system unconstitutional, requiring NH to define an adequate education, funding it with proportional and reasonable taxes. 

~ Londonderry School District v. State Decided: 1999 
Reinforced the state must fund an adequate education with constitutional taxes, striking down reliance on local property taxes that created disparities.

~ConVal v. State Decided: 2019 Superior Court Judge David Ruoff found the adequacy statute unconstitutional as applied to ConVal leaving the legislature to define the amount. The NH Supreme Court in 2021 reversed, saying the statute was clear and the legislature must determine the cost of an adequate education.

~Rand v. State of NH Decided: 2024 (currently under appeal) The court ruled that the statewide property tax system violates constitutional requirements for uniform taxation. In Aug. 2025, Judge Ruoff found the current adequacy funding and special education aid insufficient, ruling the model unconstitutional and allowing the legislature to respond.

~Contoocook Valley School District v. State Decided: 2025 The court found the state’s base adequacy amount, $4,300 per pupil, unconstitutionally low, setting a guideline closer to $7,300+ per student.

As an aside, in June, 2024, then gubernatorial candidate Kelly Ayotte participated in a candidate forum stating she hoped the US Supreme Court would reverse Ruoff’s decision. Claiming, “When it comes to education funding, I personally think that that Superior Court decision was wrong. I’m glad that the governor (Sununu) has appealed that to the Supreme Court.” Her Atty. General John Formella filed a mandatory appeal earlier this year to have the two Claremont case rulings overturned, stating they are an incorrect interpretation of NH’s constitution. 
 
This year Republican Free Staters sponsored HB 1815 reducing state responsibility (ignoring court orders) and defunding public schools even further. The governor signed the bill at the end of March. They also voted down HB 1799, a Democrat sponsored bill addressing the required state funding for providing an opportunity for an adequate education. 

So much for court orders with this crew.

Fascism: A mass political movement that emphasizes extreme nationalism, militarism and supremacy of the nation over the individual. This is in contrast to liberal democracies that support individual rights, competitive elections, and political dissent.

Sound familiar?

 

We have all watched in horror the rapid descent into fascism in this country, but do we really know what it is? A local activist group, Monadnock Women for Action have been peacefully and visually showing people. They’ve been holding “Pop Up Signs of Fascism” events in the Monadnock region. These are individual signs verbalizing what fascism is and does. I joined the group one recent day in Troy and was given the sign “Banning Books. This is a sign of fascism.” As I stood on the main road in Troy along with about fifteen other people holding individual "fascism" signs, I began to wonder if this is what has been slowly, insidiously happening in New Hampshire.

What are the signs of fascism?
~Rewriting history

~Glorifying war

~Demanding absolute loyalty

~Threatening political opponents

~Suppressing the vote

~Ignoring the courts

~Prosecuting personal enemies

~Inciting violence

~Undermining elections

~Banning books 

~Ignoring science

~Threatening other countries

~Sowing hate & fear

So, let’s explore this possibility with a few of these “signs.”

Banning Books: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that. 
Examples; In 2023 HB 514 was a book banning bill that would also increase the Commissioner of Education’s (Edleblut) power to ban books and other materials. 
Last year’s HB 324 was another effort at banning books in school libraries. It’s already illegal to give obscene or harmful sexual materials to minors and schools already have steps in place to address complaints. The bill did pass, but to her credit, the governor vetoed it.
This year it’s the Senate’s turn. SB 434 will allow one parent with a complaint about any book in a public school, have it removed.

Ignoring Science: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
Examples; In 2025, the Republican majority introduced a bill to repeal the NH Vaccine Association. 
That same year, Free Stater Rep. Kelley Potenza sponsored a bill to end the requirement of children receiving vaccinations before entering public schools, such as diphtheria, mumps, pertussis, polio, rubella, rubeola and tetanus. 
Again in 2025 a Free Stater bill meant to phase out required childhood vaccinations for chicken pox, Hepatitis B and influenza type B passed in the House but died in the Senate. When a Senate bill having to do with horse racing came before the House for a vote, Free Stater Rep. Matt Drew added a floor amendment, word for word to the original bill. An amendment to get rid of childhood vaccinations, added to a horse betting bill, got passed again. Those vaccines now come to an end in June.
Last year there were Democrat sponsored bills for creating commissions, one to study the short and long-term impacts of national and regional carbon pricing systems on NH’s citizens, businesses, institutions and environment and one to ascertain the financial costs of climate damage to the state and the best way to recover such costs. Another bill was to establish a climate change and damage division in the Dept. of Environmental Services. All were voted down by the majority party. Even the Chairman of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee, Republican Free Stater Michael Vose spoke against the bills. From a Citizens Count 2024 survey, he wrote, “Should NH government do more to address climate change? NH can do nothing to address climate change, which needs worldwide attention." 
In other words, why bother?
This year? Any bill for off shore wind projects was voted down.

Suppressing the vote: yes, the Republican Free Stater majority have proposed bills to do just that.
As far back as 2018, Free Staters have made it harder for out of state college students to vote here by amending the definition of the words “resident” and “residency.” 
In 2024, the biggest advocate for voter suppression, Rep. Bob Lynn, proposed a bill requiring a photo ID at the polling place, no exceptions. At that time, a first time voter could confirm identity and residence by filling out an affidavit and had a week to mail the proper documents to the Secretary of State’s office. Failure to do so simply meant their ballot was disqualified from the final count. NH law already exists for voting with a false address or identity and being investigated by the Atty. General’s office. As of this writing, HB 1569 is still being heard in the courts thanks to the ACLU and other voting rights groups. 
Last year Free Stater Potenza sponsored a bill to make it harder for students to vote, which did not pass. She wanted to get rid of college ID’s as an acceptable form of identification. Free Staters persevered and this year got HB 323 passed and signed by the governor. College and high school ID’s are now not an acceptable form of identification for students. 

To be continued . . .

Republican Free Staters are still targeting immigrants, this time those who are undocumented. It’s estimated there are about 9,500 undocumented immigrants in New Hampshire, 0.7% of the state’s total population. Some 86.5% of them are of working age. 

HB 1709, a bill sponsored by Rep. Joe Alexander (who scores A+ with Liberty Alliance) will make it a crime for undocumented immigrants to rent an apartment, unfortunately passed in the House and comes up for a vote in the full Senate on May 14. It will then go to the governor if passed.

Let’s all speak up and stand up for our immigrant neighbors and friends.

Please take a few minutes to send ONE email to all members of the State Senate, urging them to oppose this bill. In the “subject line” put HB 1709. Copy and paste the following message (or write your own).

I am writing to request that you oppose HB 1709 when it comes up for a vote in the full Senate on May 14. Here are a few key issues:

1.  The bill, while presented as a "housing" bill, will have no meaningful impact on the housing crisis.

2.  The bill is unnecessary as any immigrant residing in NH who is completely undocumented and has committed a serious crime is likely qualified for deportation already.

3.  Criminalizing renting an apartment could adversely affect innocent children who are living in that household.

4.  This bill would put an undue burden on County Sheriff's offices throughout NH by requiring them to enforce federal immigration law.

5.  This bill, if it becomes law, will signal that NH does not welcome immigrants. The positive impact of immigrants as it relates to workforce shortage, has been well documented.

Thank you for your consideration.

david.rochefort@gc.nh.gov

Timothy.Lang@gc.nh.gov

mark.mcconkey@gc.nh.gov

James.Gray@gc.nh.gov

Daniel.Innis@gc.nh.gov

Ruth.Ward@gc.nh.gov

Denise.Ricciardi@gc.nh.gov

Tim.McGough@gc.nh.gov

Kevin.Avard@gc.nh.gov

Sharon.Carson@gc.nh.gov

Keith.Murphy@gc.nh.gov

Howard.Pearl@gc.nh.gov

victoria.sullivan@gc.nh.gov

Regina.Birdsell@gc.nh.gov

Daryl.Abbas@gc.nh.gov

William.Gannon@gc.nh.gov

Debra.Altschiller@gc.nh.gov

Rebecca.PerkinsKwoka@gc.nh.gov

pat.long@gc.nh.gov

Tara.Reardon@gc.nh.gov

Cindy.Rosenwald@gc.nh.gov

Donovan.Fenton@gc.nh.gov

Suzanne.Prentiss@gc.nh.gov

David.Watters@gc.nh.gov

Thank you for coming to the defense of others!

Now we have the Senate’s version of book banning in public schools. SB 434 will “require local school districts to adopt and publicly post policies describing materials authorized for use by students in the district and outlining procedures to address complaints alleging that material is harmful or age-inappropriate for use in the district's schools.” Brought to us by nearly a dozen Republican Senators and four representatives, one who would like to bring segregated schools to New Hampshire, this bill would allow one parent (or guardian) with a complaint about any particular book, have it removed.

One parent (or guardian) gets to decide for everyone else’s children. Like it or not . . .

This bill would mandate every school district in the state to design a complaint system for “materials" that certain parents don't like. Because of the use of the word “materials,” this could also mean artwork, classroom materials, health curriculum, plays, textbooks, and any visual or printed content in a school. There is no definition for the vague terms like “age-inappropriate” or “otherwise offensive”, which leaves school districts ripe for abuse. 

How about flags? Could that be considered “materials”? HB 1132, a Republican Free Stater bill, passed the House in March and is now making its way through the State Senate. The bill will prohibit the display of “certain” flags in public schools and public charter schools and authorizes the state board of education to issue monetary penalties for a third or subsequent violation of the act, not to exceed $1,000 per violation.

SB 434 will not only add extra burdens to district administrations already struggling with retaining staff and rising costs, but will also take away more local control. This bill adds the unnecessary burden of possible lawsuits against school districts who are already struggling to fund their schools. 

Last year, a similar bill was passed but vetoed by the governor. HB 324 (where we were all treated to a reading of porn on the chamber floor), the governor noted there is already a law (RSA 186:11:IX-c) requiring school districts to adopt a policy allowing exceptions to certain class materials if a parent, notified two weeks in advance, finds it objectionable. This law already requires for different materials mutually agreed upon by the parent and school district. So why the need for this year’s proposed book banning Senate bill? 

There isn’t any.

SB 434 will be coming up before the full House for a vote in a few weeks. Please take a moment to contact your representative urging them to vote NO on this latest attempt at banning books. 

And this, being a very important election year, if you need to confirm that you are STILL currently on your town’s voter checklist click here to verify.

Democracy dies when good people stay silent! This is not the time to invoke our right to remain silent!

On Thurs., April 23rd, the House heard debate on the bill that had been on everyone’s minds, SB 101 or “open enrollment.” This was a terrible Republican Free Stater bill that would have allowed parents to enroll their child(ren) in any public school anywhere in the state. 

First, the potential bad results:
~Taxpayers would be responsible for the majority of costs to “receiving” schools
~Hurts poor, smaller districts
~More chipping away of local control (is there any still left?)
~Increases problems for accessibility, athletics, district budgeting, funding, special education, student capacity, and transportation

Now the potential good results:

Online testimony registered 2,174 people who opposed this latest attempt to destroy public schools, with only 75 in support. An amendment by Republican Free Staters Reps. Kristin Noble and Katy Peternel “directs the governing body of each school district to establish an open enrollment policy to allow pupils to transfer among schools within the district and from another district in the state. Each school would be required to provide notice of its capacity to accept open enrollment pupils and would require selection by lottery in the event applications exceed capacity. The bill also establishes a funding formula for payments by the department of education from the education trust fund for open enrollment pupils.”

The amendment passed by roll call vote, 182Y-172N. Ten votes! (Never think your singular vote doesn’t matter much. Every. Vote Counts!)

The next amendment sponsored by Democrats sought to establish a commission to study public school open enrollment. Rep. Peter Petrigno spoke of how his town, Milford and about 100 other towns recently voted to put limits on “open enrollment”. He worried that passing this bill would override the will of the people. Rep. Hope Damon concurred that yes, this is the way the bill is written up, to mandate the towns to accept open enrollment, overriding local control. Naturally, that second amendment failed, 184N-169Y. 

When the bill finally came up for a vote, it failed, by 16 votes! 184N-168Y. Despite thousands of people registering their online opposition to this bill and about 100 towns basically voting to not be a part of this, Republican Free Staters thought they could ram it down the state’s throat anyway. To see how your representative voted on this terrible but important bill, click here.

Almost immediately Republican Free Stater Rep. Joe Sweeney made a motion to table the bill, which did pass, 320Y-32N. So, it could still rear its ugly head and make another appearance. Stay vigilant!

SB 482 was the bill to protect consumers from being scammed through crypto kiosks. An amendment, added by Republican Free Stater Rep. Keith Ammon, would weaken those consumer protections and thus failed, 220N-135Y. The House then went to a roll call for the original bill, which passed, 214Y-140N. There will now be some fraud protections for consumers. To see how your representative voted on this important bill, click here.To listen to some of the floor speeches, click here. Scroll to the 24:18 mark for a few of the floor speeches.

But it now seems as if SB 482 might be revived. Rep. Jennifer Rhodes, R-Winchester, (scores B+ with Liberty Alliance) has “served notice of reconsideration” for this bill. The House will vote on this at the next Session, May 7th, as the majority party probably wants to overturn it. Again, let’s stay vigilant.

At least the public schools will now have trauma kits placed in them. The bipartisan SB 429 passed by a voice vote!