We learned that Rep. Susan DeLemus (R-Rochester) has an incredible voice. She graced us all with a beautifully executed rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner.
We learned that the House takes time to honor past members who served and contributed much to our state. Yesterday we remembered Rep. David J. Danielson, (R-Bedford), who died on May 22, 2021. We remembered our colleague fondly and had a moment of silence. Today we paid tribute to the late Honorable Rogers Johnson. Rep. Abrami (R-Stratham) and House Speaker Packard (R-Londonderry) welcomed the Johnson family to the House. Rep. Abrami spoke about Johnson’s work and the impact that he made both in the House and in the State. Rogers Johnson, was a diversity council chair, a former state representative, a federal education official and a good friend of many in the House. Both men will be missed and many were fortunate to know them and work with them.
We learned that the first bill of the day, SB123, regarding making it unlawful for employers to make employees pay for COVID testing was almost unanimously tabled by the House (355-10). This bill also included language to make it unlawful for employers to require COVID vaccination as a condition of employment until such time as the vaccine was approved by the FDA for safety and efficacy. You’d think that was a good bill, but apparently there was enough wrong with the language and its possible unintended consequences that it landed on the House Table to be socially distanced from all other bills.
We learned that the House passed an omnibus planning and zoning bill (SB86) voting 204-168. That was after they stripped out the part that specified what type of heating and energy systems can and can’t be installed in newly constructed homes and what type of energy suppliers they can use. This bill was intended to help solve NH’s housing crisis and streamline local planning and zoning with regard to third party inspections, but the Housing and Conservation program that it originally included had to be removed because no one should be told what type of heating and energy systems they can or cannot have in their new home. Warm Free or Die… right?
We learned that yet another bill had overwhelming support from both parties. SB91 was an omnibus bill that had to do with renewable energy and utilities. It passed 364-3 with the committee amendment (1619h) passing 364-2! There were 5 parts to this bill and ranged from customer energy storage batteries to hydro energy metering, to purchasing intra-state power, to net metering credits for low-income communities. It was a mixed bag of renewable energy policy that was enough to “charge” up both sides of the aisle and “energize” voting unity.
We learned that unusual things do happen in the NH House! We passed, SB3, the bill that clarified the tax treatment of the federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans via a unanimous voice vote with little to no debate at all! Imagine that! Happily, both sides of the aisle were totally fine with changing the Business Profits Tax (BPT) statutes so that all income from the forgiven PPP loans would now be considered nontaxable income under NH BPT statutes. Also, all salaries and other expenses paid for by the PPP program may be deducted as business expenses. For the record, the PPP loan program helped 41, 173 businesses in NH by loaning them $3.7 billion! Now there’s an example of a legislature that works together to help our NH businesses! But wait, there’s more!
We learned that sometimes unusual things happen TWICE in the NH House! We passed SB101, a bill that increased the minimum gross business income required for filing a business tax return. The filing threshold was raised from $50,000 to $92,000 taking into consideration 28 years’ worth of inflation. This bill also passed with little to no debate on a unanimous voice vote! Another win for NH small businesses!
Finally, we learned that 3 bills were pulled off the consent calendar and 2 of them took up some time and made for some controversy. One bill was SB131, a Transportation bill that had to be fixed because 3 amendments had been missing (in error) from what was passed in committee unanimously. All three parts were added back in via a floor amendment which was passed 307-58. The other bill was SB103, which was a Ways and Means bill. That Senate bill was used as a vehicle to attach an amendment to. That amendment included the infamous “Dalton Dump Bill” (HB177) language. It should be noted that the Senate killed HB177. This amendment then proceeded to be passed 183 to 181, which was quite a slim margin. Nonetheless, the amendment passed and then the entire bill with this new amendment passed 333-33. This amended Senate bill only passed because the passage of the contents of the original bill was much needed. Now this bill, with its new controversial amendment prohibiting new landfills within 2 miles of a state park (which infringes on property rights and is meant to stop the landfill in Dalton), will have to go to a Committee of Conference. Will they be talking trash? We’ll see what happens next with this.
Stay tuned as the House meets again on June 10th to work on House bills coming back from the Senate to be concurred or non-concurred!
