Gov. Snoonoo signed just 52 Bills into law, and I’m not familiar with all of them, but some look unpleasant. One, HB1002, is well known to us and our audience. It permits towns to charge fees if a records request takes too much time—the Public Records Tax.
A majority of the New Hampshire legislature thought it would be a good idea to allow local towns and cities to charge citizens for public documents. The (incorrect) presumption is that citizens are more likely to abuse RTK laws for Evil than local government.
In keeping with my taxing things theme, this might be a good time to remind everyone, especially Republicans in the NH Legislature, that those among them who supported HB1002 (The public documents tax) can no longer argue for government transparency or accountability. They voted that right away.
The Republican majority of the New Hampshire Legislature is on the verge of doing what Democrats do. Punish everyone for the alleged bad behavior of a few. Assuming the few are truly being cantankerous in their pursuit of public records. It is reminiscent of most, if not all, Left-Wing gun-grabbing legislation.
We have two bits of excellent news for Granite Staters fighting the good fight – two bills you’ve all been battling have either died in committee or crawled out on their last legs, most certainly to die unless someone screws something up – always an option this session.
If you’ve missed it or are a glutton for punishment (as opposed to a gluten for punishment, which is what my spellchecker just tried to do to my pre-editing fat-fingered spelling of the former), HB1002 has gone around and come around after a valiant but failed effort to kill it on the floor of the … Read more
Charging residents for government transparency (see HB1002) increasingly sounds like a bribe to me. Yes, we created these documents at your expense, but if you want to see them, you’ll need to slip us a little cash. It might be a lot of money; we’ll let you know.
Last week, after a bill to charge citizens for access to public documents failed, I called the charge (fee, levy) a tax. Some boob took to X to tell me it was not a tax, as if the government taking money from citizens could be anything but. Later that day, a motion to reconsider was … Read more
HB1002 recently passed the House by about a dozen votes and now heads to the Senate for deliberations. This Bill permits municipalities to establish a policy to charge up to $25 per hour for requests that take over 10 hours to fill.
Travis O’Hara isn’t technically a bad Republican vote. If and when he shows up (not showing up for crucial votes is certainly bad), his HRA score for 2023 was a hair over 90%. You judge what that means, but as you do, please also consider his ready embrace of progressive language.
HB1002, as passed by the New Hampshire House, would allow unprincipled municipalities to turn requests for public documents into a revenue stream. It passed the NH House yesterday, after which (at least) two things happened.
If you missed it, we are opposed to HB1002, which would charge citizens for access to public records and, in some instances, charge them a lot for information that is theirs. We find it offensive and an invitation for abuse by the municipalities whose indifference and inefficacy resulted in the bill.
Look how the NH State Clerks Association (who lobby our elected representatives to do their dirty work with dues paid for with your tax dollars) and NH HB1002 compare with the NJ Gov signing the Right to Know away!
Unless he’s already signed HB1002, the new tax on access to public records in New Hampshire is still waiting to become law. If it becomes law, many towns will consider it, but the most grotesque government offenders will implement it with extreme prejudice as soon as they are able.
Have you ever seen someone you used to know whom you thought was put together well? Then you run into them years later, and they look like they just gave up. That’s Vermont.
Someone told me that if I came here, I’d see more memes than I can shake a stick at (pardon the sentence ending preposition).
Yes, that’s what I said and it’s the harsh and unpleasant truth, as truthful as saying that Melanie voted for an income tax. No member is exempt from blame so each one gets their rightful 1/24th, but some are definitely more deserving of rebuke than others, according to my report, but let’s first make it … Read more
We learned that it took from 10 am until 8 pm, with an hour break for lunch, to get through 44 bills, their amendments, and all the various motions. It was a very long day, but we got some good work accomplished. I won’t go through everything, but let’s review some highlights.
Two years ago, we discovered something interesting. If you ask too many questions about Taxpayer-owned Gunstock Resort, huge sums are spent, and pressure is brought to oust anyone in elected or appointed office who asks those questions. Suspicious?
Frustrated by my inability to get the facts on the legal details of reps’ gmails, I’ve taken a few Plan B detours along the way. When I say “Gmails,” let it be known that I mean all emails used by members of the legislature that don’t end in “leg.state.nh.us” due to my keystroke laziness.