If you’re late for dinner, allow me to be the messenger of good news. HB451 was vetoed yesterday afternoon. Social media was quickly abuzz with people commenting on the news, and I took a moment to text some people who either don’t use the same platforms and groups or any social media at all. One reply was “once in a while she surprises me.” Though a broken clock is correct twice a day, and she hinted around several weeks ago with references to quacking ducks, I was not surprised. Be that as it may, as Attorney Gens often says, I’ll take it!
While participating in some post-veto discussion, I made a point of calling attention to the 5 bad actors in the senate that were accomplices to the enemy camp octet because they need to be primaried for a variety of reasons, independent of how they think paint should be disposed of. Let’s take a moment to shame them because they will be filing for reelection in less than 3 months. Tim Lang (the ringleader), Howard Pearl (my new senator), Sticker Tax Sympathizer Denise, Rochefort, and McConkey. The latter two sit on each side of Tim Lang in the Senate Chamber. Covid-era plexiglass walls surrounding Tim, anyone?
While trashing Howard Pearl in cyberspace, I saw a comment from a rep about “his battery recycling bill.” That got my attention, so I started searching SB numbers to no avail. I never miss an opportunity to tell a man he’s wrong, but I happen to like this rep and won’t say his name. Howard is just a cosponsor of HB1602. So are Denise and Kevin. The prime sponsor of a “safe battery recycling STEWARDSHIP program” is, unsurprisingly, Rep. Karen Ebel. If you don’t know who she is, she’s a lawyer who sponsored HB451. Ebel is also the sponsor of HB1198, a backup, or “2nd bite at the apple” bill, to HB451. It was introduced in the House on 1/7/26, the same day that the Senate passed HB451, but it was sent to an interim study on 2/19/26. Consider that “backup paint tax” as lying dormant with the same concern as a patient not refilling a script for acyclovir. Let’s turn our attention back to HB 1602 and look at its activity history in the House.
Ebel introduced HB1602 on 1/7//26 and it was set to quietly coast through the whole House on the Consent Calendar, just like HB451 did, but kudos to the 10 reps that removed it from Consent on 2/3/26. On 2/19/26, Rep McFarlane, one of those 10 reps, tried to table it, but the move sadly failed, 84-254. Later that same day, it passed, 264-72. With almost 70 reps not participating in either roll call, I took a look at the list of Rs that were NOT EXCUSED, and here they are.
- Ankarberg (formerly R, now I)
- Bordes (voted NO on tabling, but abstained on the OTP vote)
- Dolan
- Dumais
- Juliet HB
- Love
- B Morse
- Speaker Packard
- Spillane
- Trottier
- Varney
If any of those reps are yours, put them on notice for when HB1602 returns to the House. It’s currently in the Finance committee.
If HB1602 makes it through the House, there are 2 possible committees in the Senate that are likely to receive it, depending on the whims of Queen Sharon. One of them is Energy and Natural Resources. Kevin is the chair, and Howard Pearl is the vice chair. The enemy camp membership is composed of 2 cosponsors: Rosenwald and Watters. The 5th member is McConkey, who voted the wrong way on HB451. I would sadly expect that committee to roll out the red carpet and usher it through the whole body on their stupid Consent Calendar.
Another possibility is that it goes to Ways and Means, just like HB451 did. In that event, one can expect Tim Lang, the chair, to vote with the Dems and rail for it in the same unhinged and aggressive manner used in pushing HB451. Rosenwald is also on that committee. The good news about Ways and Means is that the 2 good members don’t take any crap lying down. You can count on Victoria Sullivan to do her homework and possibly uncover some evil relative to PaintCare. Maybe it’s so aptly called “BatteryCare.” Maybe not. You can also count on Senator Murphy to protest in the executive session of the committee and in the Senate chamber. Tim Lang is going to be Tim Lang because that’s what Tim Lang does, but is there hope for any of the other 4 rogues I mentioned earlier?
Given how Denise has repeatedly sabotaged bills ending the sticker tax, converting her to the correct side of a roll call vote is unlikely. And Howard Pearl is made of the same crappy political material as Tim Lang. Rochefort and McConkey, in my opinion, are the ones to turn up the heat on. They(and all of NH) could benefit from some conditioning to resist the will of Tim Lang.
I propose that Queen Sharon take charge of the chamber in the same manner that a grade school teacher does when a “problem student” exerts unwanted influence on the neighboring peers. Or the way a prison warden separates neighboring inmates. She should relocate Tim Lang to her own seat because it’s between 2 members of the enemy camp (Rosenwald and Tara Reardon). In his new location, Tim Lang couldn’t whisper to any weak Rs to bully them into doing his bidding.
