We learned that in 7 ½ hours House was able to get through 53 bills, but only by tabling 30 of them. Yes, it was a Table extravaganza! In fact, when Rep. Matt Simon (R- Littleton) motioned to Table HB507 (the occupational and professional licensing bill) he did so by saying. “The Table is rapidly expanding, but we can fit one more bill on it.” Many good Republican bills went to the Table, which was a better option than outright Inexpedient To Legislate (ITL)… but to be fair, many bad Democrat bills went there as well. That’s what happens when you do not have the votes needed to get the work done. Elections do indeed have consequences, and our Republican House majority is just too razor-thin.
We learned that HB10, the Parental Bill of Rights bill also ended up on the Table. This bill affirmed the rights of parents and would have made certain that parents are kept informed about what is going on with their child in school: no secrets. Recent polling by the University of New Hampshire showed that Granite Staters overwhelmingly support a parents right to know what their children are doing in school by 58% to 22%. That includes what clubs they belong to or if they are using a different name in school or identifying by a gender different from their biological one. Unfortunately, the voting went this way: an amendment to the bill failed 190-194 and then the Ought to Pass (OTP) of the original underlying bill failed 195-189 (roll called). So as not to kill it completely with an ITL, the bill was Tabled 193-192. So despite what parents want in NH, the House Democrats ignored them. The only bright spot of this whole mess was having Rep. Sanborn (R-Bedford) assume the Speaker’s role since both the House Speaker and Deputy Speaker spoke on this bill. Rep. Sanborn broke the tie vote on the tabling motion.
We learned that one thing the House completely agreed on was HB189. We had an unanimous Ought To Pass (OTP) vote of 377-0 (roll called) to name a portion of Route 140 in Gilmanton in honor of Private First Class Nicholas Cournoyer. PFC Cournoyer died in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom on May 18, 2006 at the age of 25, when an IED detonated near his Humvee. This act honors this young mans sacrifice and adds to the many military honors his name already holds.
We learned that HB135, prohibiting no-knock warrants, passed the House with an almost unanimous OTP/A vote of 374-9 (roll called). This bill will now knock on the Senate’s door.
We learned that HB351, which would have dictated to every gun owner how to store their firearms, was indefinitely postponed with a vote of 202-183. This means that this bill, or any version of the idea of this bill cannot come back this year or next year. This bill, and its idea, was made inaccessible, just like the House Democrats wanted to make your guns.
We learned that CACR7 was a bill that sought to change the NH Constitution. The bill would have changed language to say that money raised by taxation could be applied to religious educational institutions, thereby erasing the anti-Catholic/anti-immigrant Blaine amendment (Part 2 Article 83). House Democrats did not want to remove religious bigotry in the NH Constitution, despite their constant rantings about equity and equality. Go figure. The vote of OTP on this bill was 192 Yes to 191 No – but we needed 3/5 of those voting to pass it, so it failed.
We learned that of the 19 education bills, 16 were tabled, 1 bill (CACR7) failed and 2 were passed. HB275, was a tuition bill allowing parents to pay for the difference between what a local school pays in a tuition contract (usually a capped amount in tuition option communities) with another school and the actual price of tuition to that other school. That bill and its amendment passed 201-181. HB572 which expanded the eligibility for free school lunch passed 233-143. Who says there’s no such thing as a free lunch?
We learned that of 7 election law bills, 6 were tabled and one (HB209) was ITL’d on a voice vote. HB209 simplified the absentee ballot request form.
We learned that HB56, relative to changes to landfill siting, was passed 224-155. This bill will make it more difficult to site landfills in NH by using hydrogeologic groundwater seepage velocity sampling – requiring a 5 year travel time. The problem is that if you take 20 samples of a site and 1 fails the test then the entire site is eliminated as a candidate for a landfill. This bill will now be trucked over to the Senate where they will continue talking trash.
We learned that the committee majority recommendation of ITL for HB96 was overturned to OTP on a voice vote after the ITL failed 198-181. This bill seeks to make May 3rd, Old Man in the Mountain Day. Rep. Tim Cahill (R-Rockingham) claimed, “The Old Man falling was akin to the Twin Towers for many of the Granite State and around the world.” Well, perhaps this was true for him, but based on the groans heard through the House chamber, it would seem the claim was a bit dramatic. Many lives were lost on 9-11, but no one was hurt when the rocks fell down in Franconia Notch.
We learned that HB50 had an amendment that would take $50 million and pay down the pension retirement system unfunded liability. That amendment passed 276-99. The bill was passed on a voice vote and then Tabled with a vote of 206-170 (yes, you can do that before the third reading). Why did they do that??? So that they can put the bill language into the budget bill.
We learned that HB384 passed on a voice vote. That will spend $25 million on a new parking garage for the legislature. An expensive space on the monopoly board, but it really is needed.
We learned that HB506 was ITL’d 300-72. The House didn’t like spending over $100 million for a rail trail box tunnel for exit 4-A in Derry.
We learned that Fish and Game’s only bill from the House, HB442, passed 276-100. The “Lobster bill” prevents state resources from being used to enforce lobstering regulations in federal waters and establishes a means for scuba divers to clean up and retrieve old “ghost” lobster traps laying around in our waters. Rep. Terry Roy (R-Deerfield) spoke in support of the bill and quipped, “I don’t normally care about lobster unless they’re with drawn butter”.
We learned that House Republicans snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They passed HB69 with an OTP vote of 190-189 and then Rep. Hoell (R-Dunbarton) turned around to motion reconsideration that passed 194-185. After that, the bill was tabled with a vote of 192-187. This bill would have exempted facilities operating with membership based or direct payment business models from special health care licensing requirements. With the 190-189 OTP (roll call) vote, we should have well enough alone.
Finally, we learned that we did not have the votes to stop HB114. That bill allows minor kids age 16 and older to receive mental health treatment without parental consent. The bill passed 191-186. Hopefully, the folks on “the other side of the wall” (the Senate) will give that bill the shock therapy it deserves.
Tomorrow is another day.
