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!