We learned that we had a full day with 52 House bills on the agenda but didn’t get through all of them. As the hour got late, we saved 10 for next week. We also learned that when Republicans show up, they stop bad bills from advancing and move good bills forward. Read more below.
We also learned that House Speaker Packard could not preside today because he lost his voice. Deputy Speaker Smith presided most of the day until Emeritus Speaker Steve Shurtleff took over the gavel at the end of the day.
At the start of the session, we learned that a tearful Rep. Steve Shurtleff (D-Penacook) implored the House to suspend the rules so that he could introduce a new bill since the bill submission deadlines have passed that would compel offenders convicted of a Class A felony to attend their sentencing hearings. This has to do with justice for murdered 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery in the wake of Adam Montgomery’s murder conviction. The House complied with a vote of 286-Yes and 67-No, and the bill can now work its way through the legislative process.
We learned that the ITL motion on CACR17 failed 174 Yes -186 No in a roll call vote but also failed to get enough votes for an OTP motion 180-Yes 183-No. This bill would have amended the NH Constitution to include fundamental rights for parents to direct the upbringing, education, and care of their minor children. All House Democrats supported the ITL of this parental rights bill. And just so we’re clear before the upcoming election season, their record this year and last year has been to oppose all parental rights legislation. Remember in November.
Additionally, we learned that HB1527 failed to pass with an ITL motion of 202 Yes-161 No. This bill was the “purple paint” bill and would have allowed people to spray paint their trees with purple paint to indicate posted land. The problem with this bill is that it is essentially an absolute prohibition of all activity on private land, as opposed to signage which can be specific in what the landowner will allow. Opponents said that anti hunting activists could come and spray paint your trees purple, and it would be so easy for them to do so. As for the proponents’ claim that posting signage is expensive and cumbersome to apply, well… Fish and Game will help you post your land for free if you ask them. The ironic thing about the “purple paint movement” is that all these “greenies” who claim they want to protect and appreciate the environment would be more than happy to spray all the trees purple… and seriously, who wants to look at that? How healthy is spraying your environment with purple spray paint anyway?
We also learned that HB1437 was Indefinitely Postponed 193-173. This bill would have allowed professionally paid educators to be members of the State Board of Education. The current membership of the board is 5 members comprised of 1 member from each of the executive council districts plus 2 at large citizens. This combination has not changed substantially since 1919 and the original intent of the board was to be staffed with non-professional members of the public. The proposed bill would have definitely changed the intent of the board and created tons of conflict of interest. Interestingly enough, the amendment number on this bill was “0666”, definitely not a good omen.
We further learned that HB1695 passed 192-173. This bill requires schools to obtain parental consent and simply notify parents when and why their child’s personal confidential information is shared with third-party contractors. This is a win for privacy and parental rights.
We also learned that CACR14 was ITL’d 197-168. This constitutional amendment would have enshrined the right to a “clean and healthful environment for present and future generations.” This is part of a national greenie movement to add environmental rights to state constitutions. Montana has done this and is now embroiled in a series of lawsuits regarding climate change and all other manner of environmental legal challenges. The state could be sued for everything and anything, including not having electric vehicles in its auto fleet, not employing other green agendas in their policies, allowing farmers to raise beef, or allowing businesses to operate that don’t have zero waste policies. The lawsuits are endless. It’s a good thing this bill was given a green burial.
We learned that HB1100, the coyote hunting bill, was tabled 241-123. This bill would have suspended the open year-round coyote hunting season during the months that coyotes are whelping. The committee recommendation was to leave the open hunting season alone and that animal management was best left up to the folks at Fish and Game. The Roadrunner seemed to be quite happy with the NH House vote as well. Beep Beep.
We learned that HB1194 passed 191-171. This bill removes the word infectious from the definition of non-communicable disease as it relates to the requirement of immunization and clarifies that many diseases are infectious but not transmissible from person to person. Essentially, now, decisions about immunizing for non-transmissible diseases could be left up to the individual instead of being mandated. You could say this gives NH citizens a shot of medical freedom.
We also learned that HB1213 passed 189-173 on a roll call vote. This bill repeals the vaccination record-keeping requirement for licensed daycare facilities and private schools for school-aged children, freeing up the time and cost of record keeping for these businesses.
We further learned that the bill to introduce the buying and selling of blood and organs in the marketplace for the purpose of use for blood and organ transplants (HB1482) was tabled 326-38. People struggling with Biden inflation and trying to pay the bills will just have to sell their silverware or their other heirlooms first before selling their kidney.
We learned that HB1660 passed with a roll called OTP vote of 193-169. This bill prohibits gender reassignment surgery for minors (18 and younger) to be covered under the state’s taxpayer-funded Medicaid program. With the passage of HB619, the House already has taken the position that gender reassignment surgery on minors should be prohibited because these procedures are irreversible and long-term consequences are unknown. It only follows that we should not be funding these procedures with Medicaid dollars.
We learned that HB1037 was indefinitely postponed with a roll call vote of 196-163. This bill would have repealed limited liability for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and importers of firearms and ammunition (RSA508:21). This very bad Democrat-proposed bill was shot down by every House Republican who voted. This was a true win for 2nd amendment rights in NH.
We also learned that HB1118 passed on a roll call vote of 179-166. This bill cleans up RSA 263:39-a, which sets criteria for granting driver’s licenses to aliens temporarily residing in New Hampshire. Criteria for identification, proving the ability to drive, and identification of eligible people were scattered throughout the statute. These are now grouped together in topic sections. The bill also sets the term of the license to be concurrent with the length of residence. The committee amendment sets a policy that the director must use one of the prescribed methods to determine if someone knows how to drive. The amendment also clarifies that these licenses are not valid for voting and will contain markings to make them recognizable by clerks. The amendment further clarifies that people seeking asylum will be granted licenses once their application has been granted.
We learned that HB1416 was indefinitely postponed with a vote of 189-176. The bill would have prohibited and created a fine for the parking of non-electric vehicles in spaces designated for charging electric vehicles. This bill would allow a person to snap a picture of a non-electric vehicle parking in a public or privately owned parking space designed to charge electric vehicles and then present the picture as evidence to law enforcement, which could issue a ticket from that picture. The bill required mandatory signage or changes in signage but did not allocate any money for the purchase of them, therefore violating Part 1 Article 28-a of the NH Constitution.
We learned that Rep. Marjorie Smith (D – Durham) asked the Speaker if it was dilatory for Rep. Joe Sweeney (R-Salem) to move Reconsideration for several bills that Republicans passed or killed. The answer was NO; it was not dilatory. The fact is, we know that if Democrats were in the majority today and were winning their votes, they would have made the same motions to cement their victories.
We also learned that Rep. Joe Sweeney (R-Salem) claimed in his Parliamentary Inquiry on HB1416, that “He didn’t start the Fire”… you’ll have to ask him about that.
Finally, we learned that Jack Casey, 26, of Dover, NH, was memorialized as Rep. Schmidt (D-Dover) remembered him during Unanimous Consent. Captain Jack Casey was a pilot aboard the CH-53E helicopter that went down during a training exercise on Feb. 7. May his memory be a blessing always.
There’s more to come when we reconvene on March 14th!
