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 Allenstown/Dunbarton/Epsom/Hooksett; it’s also a two-seat district now.
We want to thank NH State Rep Carol McGuire for this Op-Ed. If you have an Op-Ed or LTE
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The outgoing House met for the last time this week to deal with the bills we passed that had been vetoed by the Governor. As expected, none of the vetoes were overridden; the closest was HB 1454, the criteria for new landfills.
After some debate, the House overrode the veto, 256-65. I was in the minority because I’ve opposed this bill all along: it seemed to be based on objections to landfills in general and one new in particular, cloaked in the guise of protecting the environment. There are already strict requirements for landfills in New Hampshire, and despite recycling, they will be needed for the foreseeable future. The Senate upheld the veto, 11-12, but I bet this bill will be back.
HB 52, new congressional districts, was not overridden, 103-220, after a brief debate. I voted to override only because I had supported the bill in the House; I expect that we would redistrict again this coming year since the courts, not the legislature, created the map we’re using for this election.
HB 275, restricting the governor’s powers to declare and extend a state of emergency, also failed after some debate, 157-167. My committee worked hard on this bill, and we thought it had been negotiated with the governor after only a piece of the House-passed reform ended up in the budget. I was very disappointed that this bill was vetoed and I’m cosponsoring its return.
HB 319, requiring state college students to pass the civics test for naturalization, was also debated and not overridden, 143-181. It’s true that we now require high school students to pass this test, but not all college students recently graduated from high school in New Hampshire.
HB 1022, allowing pharmacists to dispense Ivermectin, had a long, dull debate before failing, 144-170. I voted in favor since Ivermectin has an excellent safety record. HB 1131, forbidding school districts to require masks, failed after a short debate, 150-170. The question seemed to be whether “local control” meant school districts or parents; I prefer parents.
We also suspended the rules and passed a new energy assistance program, using some of the state surplus to expand the low-income heating assistance program by extending eligibility from 60% of the state median income to 75%. Since the price of oil, gas and electric heat has jumped this year, some people who normally don’t need help will struggle to heat their homes this winter. The bill also expands the electric assistance program in the same way. I voted against suspending the rules because this bill had been crafted without public input, and I wasn’t convinced we had fully considered it. Also, there’s nothing so permanent as a temporary government program… In any event, the rules suspension passed 259-66, and the bill (HB 2023) passed on a voice vote. The Senate also passed it, and the governor signed it, so this assistance is available this fall.
I’ve submitted three bills in the early filing period: an update of the scope of practice for occupational therapists (requested by the OT professional organization), a repeat of this year’s cannabis legalization (home grow but no sales), and a tweak to the state retirement system, allowing a person to get a service retirement if they request it shortly after leaving their position. A constituent was unable to get a service retirement after changing his retirement date, and there are some benefits that a deferred retirement doesn’t offer. When checking into his case, I heard of other people who were misinformed during Covid, and I don’t think it’s fair or appropriate to penalize them for not fully understanding the consequences of this rather unusual situation.
If anyone wants a yard sign, let me know. The election is November 8, and JR Hoell, from Dunbarton, and I are running against Mary Frambach from Epsom and Dennis Davis from Allenstown. My husband Dan is running in Epsom against Elizabeth Rousseau.
Representative Carol McGuire
carol@mcguire4house.com