Here are highlights from bills up for hearing in house committees last week.
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee
I have long been frustrated that HSAs and FSAs would cover the purchase of birth control, condoms, bandaids, gauze, ibuprofen, thermometers…I scoured the list thinking it must be a mistake. This was the one item I consistently needed. It was not until 2020, that these products were reclassified as medical, making them tax deductible. It seems logical that women in correctional facilities would also be provided with what is considered medically necessary, but they have not.
House Bill 421 would require feminine hygiene products to be provided to prisoners who menstruate in state and county correctional facilities.
NH State Rep. and reproductive health educator Renée Monteil submitted a written statement, in which she wrote:
There are serious health risks as people start to use whatever may be handy or start to fashion something to absorb the bleeding. Whether its dirty cloth or even toilet paper, such risks include, yet are not limited to, toxic shock syndrome, multiple infections, infertility and even hysterectomy...
Menstrual products are categorically a medical necessity and should never be considered a luxury item. Incarcerated individuals need to have a quantity that meets their needs as well as products that meet industry standards. This is not just an issue of dignity but also one of real medical concern.
House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee
Federal laws prohibit discrimination in the workplace; however, at-will employment makes it almost unenforceable. As therapeutic cannabis because more common, testing could become a way to fire or not hire people with medical conditions. I've been forced to discuss my medical condition at almost every job interview since high school. "Do you have a valid driver's license?" I'm told employers ask this, because they want to make sure I'm reliable. But that silly little question means that the decision to offer me a position is at least partially based on how well my explanation of epilepsy addressed the hiring manager's misconceptions and prejudices. Forcing someone to choose between medical care and providing for their family isn't a fair choice. I think we can do better.
House Bill 82 would prohibit an employer from refusing to hire, or terminating the employment of a qualified patient of the New Hampshire therapeutic cannabis program solely on the basis of a positive drug test,
In her testimony, NH State Rep. Jodi Newell said:
When I look at this issue in the way that cannabis is treated a little differently than other therapeutic pharmaceuticals and things like that. I can't help but think that it stems from a stigma around the use of cannabis…. There are a lot of people who cannabis use returns them to normal – to functioning.
House Education Committee
HB-464 and HB-367 would expand school voucher eligibility.
To date, nearly 90% of these public funds has been disbursed to students who were already being home schooled or attending a private school.
Read what else Terri O'Rorke had to say about this last week.