News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Carol McGuire 
This week, the House started public hearings on the new bills. My committee first met to review the performance audit of mental health professional licensing. There were no surprises; the auditors found conflicting requirements, various laws not enforced, and leisurely activity by the licensing boards. Most of the statutory changes suggested have been submitted already, … Read more
This year started with two days of session to consider all the bills held over from last year. As usual, the consent calendar of 146 non-controversial bills passed on a voice vote, after five were removed. Those bills would be considered individually at the end of the session. A great many of these bills were … Read more
This week, we met in committees of conference. Since the budget was agreed without one, the atmosphere was much less stressed than previous years. My committee’s bills had generated six committees, and as chair, I served on four of them… HB 358, my bill on the administrative rules process, had a three-part Senate amendment. The … Read more
This week, we met in session for what should have been a short day. We started by agreeing with minor Senate amendments to four bills and a not-so-minor amendment to HB 252, which exempts agriculture from municipal noise ordinances. The Senate deleted “agritourism,” which had been debated in the House but narrowly (176-164) kept in … Read more
This week, my committee met for the last public hearings on Senate bills and to vote on many of the bills in committee. SB 74 was a housekeeping bill, updating language relative to the state Department of Personnel. I brought in an amendment with similar language changes, also a request from the Department of administrative … Read more
This week, I helped the Finance committee make sense of all the licensing provisions that the Governor had included in HB 2, the budget trailer bill. They agreed to pull all the sections recommended by ED&A (the OPLC – Office of Professional Licensure & Certification) structural changes already passed in HB 655; the new massage … Read more
This week, we met in session for two days. First, we approved the committee recommendations on 40 non-controversial bills, then special ordered HB 20, naming a bridge in Merrimack for Speaker Hinch. After a laudatory speech, the bill passed 356-4. HB 459, exempting some businesses from the consumer protection act, was killed without comment. HB … Read more
This was a very busy week for me; the House met on Tuesday, my committee met as usual on Wednesday and Thursday, then JLCAR on Friday. Fortunately, I’m not planning any committee work for the next two weeks: just sessions and subcommittee work. The House session began with SB 1, a bill from Finance to … Read more
This week, I was very busy. First, I presented my HB 147, which addresses the way sexual harassment policies are adopted. It was a request of the staff from the ethics committee, who were concerned that these policies were imposed by the joint facilities committee. It is a well-established principle that a committee cannot impose … Read more
This week, my committee met for a day of public hearings. HB 519 creates the position of a chief information security officer in the department of information technology. The commissioner pointed out that the position already exists (and is filled) so the bill is to establish how this person fits into the department, and what … Read more
This week, my committee met for two days of public hearings. HB 445, on the OPLC fund, was a request of the study committee on OPLC operations. It keeps all license fees within the OPLC, rather than being lapsed into the general fund, and restricts anything above normal operating expenses to capital projects (software, most … Read more
This week, my committee met to hear ten more bills. HB 355, which would create a study committee on data sharing between state and federal public housing agencies, seemed to be a request for research help by the sponsor. We were not convinced that we needed to study this subject and voted unanimously to kill … Read more
Happy New Year! I’ve been appointed chair of the Executive Departments and Administration (ED&A) committee. We deal with the state pension system, professional licensing, administrative rules, the state building code, and the organization of the state government – so it’s a busy committee. Almost none of our bills make headlines, though! Since the House is … Read more
Thank you all for your support and your votes! I won my election to Merrimack District 27, so you are officially my constituents (well, I won’t get sworn in until December 7, but no harm in a little anticipation.) My running mate, JR Hoell, also won in district 27; my husband Dan won in Epsom. … Read more
Representative Michael Yakubovich has dropped out of the state Senate race, due to medical problems that need his full attention. Please pray for him and his family in this stressful time. Michael has been replaced as a candidate for the state senate by my friend Keith Murphy, a former representative who now lives in Manchester … Read more
This Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting many of you at the polls in the primary election. Thanks to you, I will be on the ballot in November and hope to have the pleasure of representing you in Concord for the next two years. My district has changed, due to redistricting, from Allenstown/Epsom/Pittsfield to … Read more
There was no official legislative work in July, but I did meet with the working group on HB 1312. That bill was to address the need for a 1,000-gallon grease trap at an ice cream shack and was held for study in my committee because testimony revealed multiple conflicts between the state building code and … Read more
I was prime sponsor for twelve bills this year. HB72, building code amendments, was killed because it duplicated SB 15, which passed. HB 628, legalizing possession and home grow of cannabis, was killed in the Senate (after passing the House 241-113!) HB 1016, licensing speech-language specialists in schools; HB 1062, electrology licensing clarification; HB 1192, … Read more
To my constituents in Allenstown, Epsom, & Pittsfield: This week, the House met for the last time, until the veto session sometime in the fall, on the Committee of Conference reports. The two from my committee, SB 313 and HB 230, passed on a voice vote with no comment, as did many others. SB 200, … Read more
This week, the House met to agree (or not) on Senate amendments to House bills and set up Committees of Conference on those we want to either learn more or compromise between the House and Senate positions. SB 200, congressional redistricting, went to Committee of Conference, as expected. My committee asked for a conference on … Read more