We learned that today was Veto Day! The House had on its docket 4 House bills that were vetoed by Governor Sununu. A vetoed bill needed 2/3 of those voting to override the veto. Otherwise, the veto was sustained. Because of the way the question to the House is worded, a “Yes” vote was to override the veto – a “No” vote was to sustain the veto.
All votes were required to be roll-called.
We learned that both the House and the Senate passed a resolution in support of the State of Israel and condemning HAMAS and terrorism.
We learned that a bill requiring grades 6-12 student ID cards to have the phone number of the National Eating Disorders hotline added to the cards (HB35) was vetoed by the Governor. Apparently, that organization is/was having major difficulties and doesn’t have a staffed call line anymore, so the bill did not make any sense to implement. The Governor was asked by many organizations to veto the bill. The House wholeheartedly agreed and sustained his veto with a hearty helping of votes on this plate, voting 350-0 to sustain.
We learned that the most troubling bill for some legislators was the veto of HB142- Relative to the operation of the Burgess Biomass Plant up in Berlin, in the North country. The Governor vetoed it because with regard to ratepayer subsidies for their energy ($200 million since 2014) – and the amount of debt they are asking to have forgiven ($70 million to ratepayers) – the Governor said, “Enough is Enough” in his veto message. He didn’t believe that after five years of waiting for Burgess to get their financial act together that the state should have to bail them out once more, and possibly again next year and the year after that. The problem people saw in the veto of this bill is that it places Burgess in the position of closing down (affecting at least 40 employees). This may greatly affect the economy in that area of the state, including ancillary services that loggers use in the Berlin area when delivering wood to the biomass plant. It also will hurt the timber industry that brings its low-grade wood there to be burned to make electricity. The plant also provides ash to the farming community that uses their ash for fertilizer. That being said, many folks were against this bill simply because they didn’t like the idea of corporate bailouts or subsidies. Heck, even the greenies of the Sierra Club wanted to see this bill vetoed (they hate biomass plants)! One hundred ninety-four voted Yes (to override), and 159 voted No (to Sustain). There were not enough votes to override the veto. Somehow, though, I think the legislature is not done with the Burgess Biomass issue…maybe it will rise like a phoenix from the ashes in 2024.
We learned that the only bill of the day that had the veto overridden was HB 337. This was a bill that would have changed the noticing requirements for the Office of Professional Licensing and Certification (OPLC) and added an attorney position. The Governor vetoed it because the bill created different noticing standards for OPLC from other public bodies with regard to RSA 91-A. The Governor found this to be unreasonable and burdensome for OPLC as well, and that they shouldn’t be held to a different standard than every other public entity. The House did not agree and overrode the Governor’s veto with 251 voting Yes and 104 voting No. The bill had enough votes to override the veto. That being said, when the bill got to the Senate, they sustained the Governor’s veto without much notice.
We learned that HB342 – relative to lead testing in children, was vetoed by the Governor because he considered the bill redundant. He said that lead in blood levels is already tested in kids aged 1 and 2, and the bill created an unnecessary barrier to entry into public school. The Governor doesn’t believe that lead blood level testing has any place in entry forms for schools and daycares. The House agreed with him and sustained the veto 184 (YES) to 171 (No). The bill did not have enough Yes votes for an override.
We learned that two other items passed with House voice votes. Those items had to do with an update to the House rules to change session deadline dates and Legislative Service Request (LSR) deadline dates. With over 1000 bills coming at us next year in the legislature, these accommodations had to be made.
Finally, we learned that the next time the House will convene will be in January, where the House will be cleaning out the leftovers from 2023 as we vote on retained bills that are now being finished up in committees. So until then, have a happy and safe holidays!
