In New Hampshire, RSA 4-45 and 4-47 turned the governor into a King during a state of emergency (declared by that same governor). For the past two sessions, Republicans in the House have been trying to curtail the potential for abuse and the actual abuse we saw during the pandemic panic. And they did it.
HB440 protects civil liberties which are defined as, “any guarantee or protection against state action by a governmental entity or agent enumerated in the New Hampshire Constitution or the United States Constitution.”
During the policy-pandemic free association, assembly, religious rights, and even prohibitions against illegal search and seizure were trampled in the Granite State by emergency orders. We never had it as bad here as in some states, and there were a few who were better off, but the desire to secure these rights was important to the Republican Majority.
Rights that this same governor has now stepped up to protect (reformatted)
11:3 New Paragraph; State of Emergency; Powers of the Governor. Amend RSA 4:45 by inserting after paragraph III the following new paragraph:
III-a. Notwithstanding the foregoing enumerated powers, civil liberties shall on no account be suspended, nor shall the United States Constitution or the New Hampshire Constitution be suspended.
11:4 Emergency Management Powers. Amend RSA 4:47, III to read as follows:
III. The power to make, amend, suspend and rescind necessary orders, rules, and regulations to carry out the provisions of this subdivision in the event of a disaster beyond local control; provided that civil liberties shall on no account be suspended, nor shall the United States Constitution or the New Hampshire Constitution be suspended.
11:5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
No shuttering churches, prohibiting rallies, and no future governor – at least without changing the law – can decide that firearms are a public health threat. All of that is off the table.
We want to thank Jim Kofalt, the prime sponsor who is also an author at GraniteGok.com – with whom I also serve on the board of the 603 Alliance. Also, to the other co-sponsors, the leadership in the NH House, and all the grassroots groups like RebuildNH, Health Freedom NH, Cornerstone Policy (also a contributor here), and everyone who dug in, got out, made contacts, and got this done.
And thank you, Governor Sununu, for signing a bill that diminishes the power of your office.
And now a reminder. That is just one of a handful of bills on health freedom. We still have more work to do.
Here’s HB440
HB440 final version