We learned that Rep. Mike Yakubovich (R-Hooksett) is not only a talented legislator, but is a talented musician as well, and he played the Star Spangled Banner for us today as we opened our session.
We learned that as part of his tour of New England, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and past President Lech Walesa of Poland came to address the General Court today as an honorary guest. He spoke through an interpreter and presented some interesting thoughts. His main theme was talking about his hope that the United States would become a strong leader in world politics again. While he criticized capitalism, he lauded free markets and a free market economy, which was sort of a mixed message to me. His speech also touched on moving the world forward towards a “New Order”, which is not exactly a concept that I am thrilled about either. That being said, he did decry totalitarian and oppressive countries such as China and Russia..and he did talk about the importance of religion, … so there’s that. It was interesting to hear from this historic Polish icon, especially as I was aware of the struggles he and his country endured under Soviet control and their fight for independence and freedom. It was an interesting morning during this joint session of the House and Senate.
We learned that this House session was all about concurring (mostly) and non-concurring with House bills that came back with amendments from the Senate. We also agreed with the Senate to establish committee of conferences for about 14 Senate bills that the House amended. Both bodies will be busy with committees of conference in the next week or two. Let the horse trading begin!
We learned that HB1178 came back with an amendment from the Senate. This bill prohibits the State from enforcing any federal statute, regulation, or Presidential executive order that restricts or regulates the right of people to keep and bear arms. The Senate amendment clarified some language having to do with reporting domestic violence to NICS. One NH gun group came out against this amendment, but the truth is we do this reporting anyway, so nothing was added to the statutes as a result of this amendment. The concur vote passed 163-143 with a roll call vote. Rep. John Burt (R-Goffstown) supported the amendment, so you know it’s good gun legislation. Now, it is off to the Governor’s desk.
We learned that HB1022 passed a concur motion with a roll call vote of 157-148. This bill permits pharmacists to dispense the drug Ivermectin by means of a standing order and it established a commission to study Ivermectin to treat Covid-19. Rep. Jerry Knirk (D-Freedom) apparently supports the unlicensed practice of medicine! He said, not only once, but twice, to the House that, “We should not legislate the practice of medicine”. Has he become a Medical Anarchist or something?? Who knew?? We’ll have to remind him of this next time he proposes legislation for more medical regulations!
We learned that sometimes the bills coming back from the Senate for concurrence have some very important changes… like in HB1495, the bill prohibiting the state from requiring businesses to require vaccine or documentation related to vaccination or immunity status. What was their important change? In HB1495 the Senate added a comma and the word “a” into the bill’s language. A similar change happened to HB1160, the bill relative to obedience to signals at railroad crossings. In that bill they placed an “or she” after a “he” and made a “he shall not” into a “he or she shall not” in the language. Aren’t you glad these egregious linguistics are now gender inclusive in this bill? I know I will sleep better at night as a result. Both bills passed on a voice vote.
We learned that all in all around 76 bills were voted “Concur” and will be off to the Governor’s desk. One important bill, HB1097, will protect NH remote workers from having their income taxed by out of state companies that employ them. If signed by the governor we will have placed into our statutes important language which could help our citizens if future lawsuits are brought to federal court on this matter. The concur motion passed on a voice vote.
We learned that five bills were voted by the House”Non-Concur” and died today because the Senate changes were too onerous to have allowed them to pass. Those bills were: HB254 (relative to placement of minors in secure settings), HB144 (relative to absentee ballot request forms), HB1203 (relative to voter registration and verification of voter identity), HB1195 (regarding public comment periods at school board and board of education meetings), and HB1474 (relative to annual vehicle inspections). I will guarantee that HB1474 will return next year… again.
We learned that this month we should honor all NH veterans for Military Appreciation Month. House Speaker Sherm Packard presented a Joint Resolution that proclaimed the General Court of New Hampshire’s support to honor our veterans and to end veteran homelessness. NH Major General David Mikolaities, Adjutant General and the men and women who have served were guests today in the House gallery. Rep. Terry Roy (R-Deerfield) and Rep. Steven Shurtleff (D-Penacook) both gave wonderful unanimous consent speeches, at the end of session today, regarding the sacrifices our military men and women make and our obligation to end veteran homelessness. God bless our men and women in uniform and let’s pause to remember those who sacrificed their life for our country as we head into Memorial Day at the end of this month.
Finally, we learned that bills will be landing on the governor’s desk shortly. We have one more House Session to go to finish up all of our work for the year… Then it is off to campaign season!Let’s elect more Republicans to the House and Senate, and continue the great work our majority accomplished in lowering taxes, advocating for medical freedom and election integrity, and a host of other great policy changes.
