UPDATED (3/7 from 3/6) and BUMPED:
Success! I did see yesterday (and so did commenter Paul Sand) that NH Dept of IT finally updated the NH Constitution page and added the two duly passed amendments at the top of the page. This morning I went to take a quick screen shot and update but it now looks like they’ve actually put the Amendments in the right places:
- Article 2-B [Right to Privacy] An individual’s right to live free of governmental intrusion is natural, essential, and inherent
- Article 8 [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.]
All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted. The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government. Therefore, any individual taxpayer eligible to vote in the State, shall have standing to petition the Superior Court to declare whether the State or political subdivision in which the taxpayer resides has spent, or has approved spending, public funds in violation of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision. In such a case, the taxpayer shall not have to demonstrate that his or her personal rights were impaired or prejudiced beyond his or her status as a taxpayer. However, this right shall not apply when the challenged governmental action is the subject of a judicial or administrative decision from which there is a right of appeal by statute or otherwise by the parties to that proceeding.
June 2, 1784
Amended 1976 by providing right of access to governmental proceedings and records.
Amended 2018 by providing that taxpayers have standing to bring actions against the government
I had also gotten this back from my contact yesterday (but I was out all day yesterday and couldn’t blog on it (or the above)):
This is why I got back from DoIT today:
Folks,
For the moment we have linked to the amendments on the Gen Court web site.
https://www.nh.gov/glance/constitution.htm
We’re working to get the actual text from the SOS, and we’ll update the site with the actual text when we get it from them.
Good job, y’all! And let’s give credit where credit is due – for the Governor’s staff for getting this done. Far, FAR faster than what the NH GOP did on their Platform updates. So, thank you on this update. One down – two to go. Oh, that’s right!
- “Live Free” – the NH Tourism Board decided to chop the “or Die” off our State motto. Same contact is looking into that as I had posted below (and Steve amplified it here).
- And although it literally went over the cliff a few years back, another reader asked “Where did the Old Man in The Mountain” go on the NH website? It certainly was our State symbol and we have paid homage to him in our own logo (See above in the title bar). But was it revoked as the State symbol some time ago and I didn’t see that notification? Same contact is looking into it:
Our readers are now scouring the entire nh.gov website (and we’ve said nothing on this – please believe me on this).
Next thing they found is actually what they haven’t found – isn’t the Old Man In The Mountain our State symbol still? If so, why has it apparently been scrubbed?
VERY quick answer back:
Good question! I’ll find out.
Pretty much, just what we want – a responsive government. Even in the littlest of things (although I maintain that the NH Constitution is a major, MAJOR deal – and yes, so is the State Motto!)
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UPDATED (3/6 from 2/28) / BUMPED: Just now had the time to update y’all on this as this IS important. After all, if the State can’t update its own website concerning its most foundational document, the NH Constitution, what else should be suspect? So I got the following from my contact on Monday:
I blasted DoIT about updating the constitution. They say they are working on it today. We will see and stay on them.
I wrote back (Tuesday morning):
Very cool – will update my post with your info. Hey, you beat the NH GOP in responding back. However, just looked – #FAIL. Go beat them up again. Remember, this should be no more than a 1/2 hour deal EVEN if they have all kinds of ISO-xxxx procedures to follow and forms to fill out. The actual work for BOTH missing amendments to put them on a page is no more than 10 minutes IF they are slow typists (heh!).
After all, I’m on the NH Constitution pages ALL. THE. TIME. I figure why have on if you ain’t gonna use it. Ok, ok, *I* may be using it but I get that a lot of our elected politicians don’t. Yeah, the duly passed Amendments still were not there as of yesterday. They still aren’t there as of right now as I type this.
And now, another reader has informed me that the NH Board of Tourism decided that, on its own, has the authority to use only half of the official State Motto, so I let me contact know that as well:
That’s right on their website. Now, I know that the philosophy of Federalism has gotten weaker over time, but just ignore the VisitTheUSA.com and its icon for the moment. Sorry, but NO ONE has a LIVE FREE lifestyle unless someone else is paying for them. Sorry, Tourism Board, you don’t get a choice as to modifying our State Motto.
I can’t resist – the reader that found this “we can cut the State motto in half gem” also came up with this:
Welcome to New Hampshire, Massachusetts Lite welcomes you
Sigh….
BTW, another reader picked up that the NH Board of Tourism decided that the official State Motto is no longer any good. Instead of “Live Free or Die”, they cut it in half: “Live Free”. That’s what they have on the front page of their website. What was in Yankee Magazine was just the New Hampshire LIVE FREE part.
We have a very eclectic bunch of readers, ayup.
Well now, THAT got an almost instant reply:
Ugh. I’m calling over right now. And I’ll talk to <name redacted for now> about the branding.
OK, at least we’re getting responses. The clock, however, is still ticking – talking is nice, actions are better. To be continued.
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UPDATED (2/28 from 2/25) and BUMPED: I talked with a representative from Governor Sununu’s office earlier this week and brought this and the other one concerning taxpayer standing in cases where only suing The State is the only possible remedy which is also missing (but I didn’t have it in the post below). I was told that it would be looked into pronto.
Thus I dryly remind you: clock is ticking, boys!
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So where IS Article 2-b, Governor Sununu and staff? You know, the change to the NH Constitution that an overwhelming number of NH voters supported?
Art. 2-b “An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.”
Doris Hohensee brought this up on Facebook so I looked it up;
Article 1. [Equality of Men; Origin and Object of Government.]. All men are born equally free and independent; Therefore, all government of right originates from the people, is founded in consent, and instituted for the general good.
June 2, 1784**The date on which each article was proclaimed as having been adopted is given after each article. This is followed by the year in which amendments were adopted and the subject matter of all the amendments.
[Art.] 2. [Natural Rights.] All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting, property; and, in a word, of seeking and obtaining happiness. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this state on account of race, creed, color, sex or national origin.
June 2, 1784,
Amended 1974 adding sentence to prohibit discrimination.[Art.] 2-a. [The Bearing of Arms.] All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state.
December 1, 1982[Art.] 3. [Society, its Organization and Purposes.] When men enter into a state of society, they surrender up some of their natural rights to that society, in order to ensure the protection of others; and, without such an equivalent, the surrender is void.
You know, a few years ago, I WHALED all over the NH GOP’s sorry looking butt for refusing to update its Platform because, well – politics. The politics of choosing the stances of those running for statewide office: Walt Havenstein (Gov.) and Scott Brown (US Senator). They were very much pro-abortion. The State Committee members and delegates, however, had voted to affirm that all life was precious – especially that of the unborn.
There were a couple of other things, too, but the NH GOP staff and elected officials decided to diss the membership and circled the wagons by NOT updating the NH GOP Platform until well after the election. I was told it was a long, arduous task to update the website, especially the Platform, and they didn’t have the time to do it because of “election season.”
Being a blogger with over 17K posts scattered all over the Internet, I knew they were lying. I told them that after, I said it would take me 15 minutes and I’d do it for free. So did more than a few other techies. The NH GOP and the two candidates decided they wanted a fight. They got it.
And those two bozos lost. The moral of THAT story – don’t tick off the little people because they WILL find a way to exact retribution. Like having GraniteGrok stories taking up most of the first page of Google results if someone searched for their name. And so they lost, thanks in no small part to us and in a much larger degree that the membership picked up on their disdain for the “little people” – and readers of GraniteGrok. Good riddance.
This is a bit different. There’s no election. But for me, a lot more important. The NH Constitution – much more important. But it’s the same thing. Duly approved verbiage not being displayed as required.
So, Governor, when is the verbiage approved by the voters back in November going to be put up? Sure, your predecessor probably hated them, but you’ve had since January.
Art. 2-b “An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.”
Tell you what – give me the right access to the backend of NH.GOV and I bet I can do it, not in 15 minutes, but in 10. If not me, I bet there are at least a few dozen Constitution loving techies that would happily do it for free as well. Deal?