This week, the House met to vote on all remaining Senate bills. Since the Senate has been working away, quite a few bills some members strongly supported have been killed or drastically amended, one way or another. So the practice is to attach your pet bill to another that you think the Senate really wants. Any bill that has passed the House is automatically germane to any other bill, so there are lots of choices…
There was no memorial remarks this week, but one member resigned since he’d moved out of his district. We approved 65 non-controversial bills at once, including five from my committee. The first bill on the calendar, SB 558, on insurance coverage for infertility treatments, was special ordered, 325-32, to be the first one taken up after lunch. At that point it was quickly tabled, 325-32.
SB 418, increasing the penalties for refusing to take a breath test when stopped for driving under the influence, was debated, not killed, 101-253, then killed on a voice vote. A major issue was that the forms used when notifying the driver about this test were confusing and didn’t specify the consequences of refusing.
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SB 340, allowing schools to communicate information about special education to parents via email, had a floor amendment with special ed reporting requirements. This was adopted, 184-177, and the bill passed, 186-176, and was not reconsidered, 176-188.
CACR 22, putting the first in the nation primary into the state constitution, was not tabled, 175-187, then debated, and failed to pass, 195-164 (needs 60% for a constitutional amendment.) I don’t really think it’s a constitutional matter, but I voted for it to let the voters have a say.
SB 373, easing the air tightness test requirements in the state building code, was debated on the committee amendment, which added a study committee on Native American affairs. I added a few words in support before the amendment failed, 130-215, and the bill passed on a voice vote.
SB 440, expanding the optometrists’ scope of practice, was the hot bill from my committee. We had the committee amendment, a floor amendment that specified four procedures they would be able to do (once they’d been certified after training and mentoring,) and three speakers lined up on each side – but an opponent promptly moved to table and that motion passed, 224-137.
SB 134, setting up a separate disability pension for victims of violence, had been unanimously recommended by the Finance committee. The first floor amendment, adding HB 1111, a penalty for false reports of abuse and neglect, was explained by the sponsor and not passed, 160-201. A second floor amendment, adding HB 1620, forbidding new landfill permits for seven years, passed on a voice vote, as did the bill.
SB 217, setting up an educator incentive program for rural and under-served areas, was debated and killed, 184-174, and not reconsidered, 177-185. SB 311, providing payments in lieu of taxes for Hampstead – because the state bought the hospital there – was amended to use federal funds rather than state, then not amended to have the state pay part of localities’ pension payments, 177-183. The bill passed, 317-45.
SB 337, on doula and lactation provider certification, had a floor amendment from Dan,
replacing “racially” with “culturally,” which passed on a voice vote after he explained it. Another floor amendment would have added the content of HB 378, which told survivors of sexual assaults of their rights. That bill had passed the House on consent, but was indefinitely postponed in the Senate. This amendment did not pass, 164-195, and the bill passed on a voice vote.
SB 352, setting up an early detection cancer screening program for firefighters, passed on voice votes after one of the firefighter representatives spoke in favor. SB 355, newborn screening for cytomegalovirus; SB 369, increased notice requirements for licensing boards; and SB 393, funding regional drinking water infrastructure, all passed without comment (or floor amendment!)
SB 369, appropriating funds to the culinary arts program at the career and technical center at Alvirne High School in Hudson, had a floor amendment offered to expand the school lunch program to be free for most children. This was debated and failed, 177-185, and SB 369 passed on a voice vote.
SB 403, on the health care workforce, passed 241-122, without debate. I (and 121 other Republicans) was opposed because this created a new, rather nebulously defined category of “community health workers” to grab more Medicaid money for fairly minor activities.
SB 404, making more child care workers eligible for child care subsidies, and SB 406, increasing the daily rate for homeless shelters, both passed without comment.
SB 409, allowing Medicaid to pay for ambulance services other than transport, had the committee amendment adopted without issue, then a floor amendment to add HB 1593, an allocation for recreation for a number of developmentally disabled people. This was explained and passed, 210-152, and the bill passed on a voice vote.
SB 417, on out of home placements for children, was debated on the committee amendment, which strengthens the position of a non-abusive parent in such a proceeding. Currently, the law requires this parent to prove their suitability to keep their own children! The amendment passed, 186-178, the bill passed, 361-3, and was not reconsidered, 33-325.
SB 453, creating an online voter registration portal, went to interim study without comment, since we’d passed a similar House bill. SB 455, increasing Medicaid rates for prosthetic and orthotic devices, passed quietly.
SB 456, adding $300,000 to the existing student loan repayment program for nurses, was debated on the fact that it would only benefit six nurses. The bill was not passed, 178-182, killed on a voice vote, then not reconsidered, 174-186.
SB 463, access to counsel for children in dependency proceedings, passed without discussion.
At this point, Rep. Jason Gerhard, from Northfield, moved to suspend the rules and introduce a bill to demand that all legislators be allowed to visit all government facilities. This is needed because he has a criminal record and has been forbidden from the prison and the county jail; he spoke earnestly on the need for actual interactions with the people there to prevent the sorts of abuse that happened in the youth center. The motion failed, 148-216; I voted for it because he’s on my committee.
SB 476, appropriating $40 million for engineering and design of a new prison, had a floor amendment
to add HB 1711, which reports mental health judgments to the federal gun clearance database. This was debated and passed, 202-165, and the bill passed, 212-155. At this point a scuffle broke out between the member who’d moved and spoke for the floor amendment (Rep. Roy from Deerfield) and Rep. Aures from Chichester. We recessed while they calmed down, then another representative – uninvolved in the kerfuffle – moved to reprimand them for conduct unbecoming a representative. Each reprimand was tabled on a voice vote and we continued with out business.
SB 499, a motley collection of anti-hunger programs, was debated at length over the majority committee amendment, which deleted all of them except for a simplification of the application process for seniors. This amendment finally failed, 182-185, and the minority committee amendment was debated and passed, 192-178. This was similar to the majority amendment but also required HHS to work on a program for supplemental food aid in the summer for children who got free or reduced lunches from their schools. Then a floor amendment added HB 1466, emergency aid to towns, 189-181. The bill, as amended, passed 235-136 without further discussion.
SB 553, requiring the public investment pool invest in New Hampshire, is an attempt by the New Hampshire bankers to get these funds, which are currently accumulated from towns, counties, and various municipal trust funds and invested for safety and high returns. The committee amendment, which required 30% of the fund be invested in New Hampshire banks, was debated and passed on a voice vote. The bill was further debated and not passed, 176-190, then sent to interim study on a voice vote.
SB 567, requiring a report on the availability of two abortion drugs, was tabled, 302-54, before debate. SB 591, on the youth development center settlement fund, was debated on the committee amendment, which eliminated the authority to borrow money for these settlements. It passed, 187-173, and the bill passed on a voice vote.
SB 596, on how to assess children with special needs for extra funding for childcare, had a committee amendment to convert it to a study committee on the issue. This was debated and not passed, 180-182; the bill also did not pass, 181-182; was not tabled, 182-183; killed, 187-178; and not reconsidered, 177-188. I was surprised nobody went for indefinite postponement …
SB 604, providing a death benefit for the family of Bradley Haas, who was killed in the line of duty while working as a security guard at the state hospital, had a floor amendment from Dan, which put security guards into the list of those employees eligible for this benefit. It passed after he explained it, and the bill passed on a voice vote.
SB 503, requiring a criminal background check for fish & game guides, had a floor amendment to legalize brass knuckles, etc, for adults. This was debated and passed, 183-181. Another floor amendment wanted to add HB 1400, which forbade some parking requirements in zoning ordinances – mostly needing more than one parking space per unit. This was briefly debated and passed, 262-104; SB 503 as amended passed on a voice vote.
SB 402, allowing pharmacists to administer more vaccines and not require explicit legislative approval for each vaccine, had a floor amendment to add three vaccine-related House bills: HB 1213, which deleted the requirement child care agencies keep track of the vaccination status of each child; HB 1194, changing the definition of
“noncommunicable disease” as it related to required vaccines; and HB 1669, restricting data sharing by the immunization registry. This was debated and failed, 177-185; the bill was debated, with the main issue being that approval by the FDA and recommendation by the CDC was taking the place of legislative approval. The bill passed, 231-135. I was opposed.
SB 411, creating a study committee on emergency mental health services for minors, was briefly debated and passed on a voice vote.
SB 419, a fairly minor bill on reports about the medical cannabis program, had a committee amendment that made some technical corrections and also included the content of HB 1231, which allowed users of the program to grow their own. This passed, 236-122, and the bill passed on a voice vote.
SB 461, requiring providers to report some data on abortions, was, as expected, debated at some length and killed, 201-164. SB 505, repealing the sunset of the ban on hemp products containing THC, had a floor amendment to simply move that repeal out by three years. It was debated for longer than I thought necessary, and not passed, 172-190. A second floor amendment added the content of HB 1633, the House version of cannabis legalization and regulation; after some debate, that also failed, 87-278, and the bill passed, 242-124.
SB 559, on the vaccine association, simply adds the RSV vaccine to the existing vaccine purchase and distribution program. A floor amendment requiring that vaccine be of proven safety and efficacy was debated (really!) and failed, 176-185. After more debate, the bill passed, 192-171. I was opposed because adding a vaccine that is not safe and effective is just wrong.
SB 330, allowing the unemployment program to consider remote work, passed without comment.
SB 431, on wake surfing, was debated on the committee amendment which changed the setback to 300 feet. The amendment passed, 193-164, and the bill passed, 214-148. I supported the amendment but not the bill, since the opposition to wake surfing is driven by waterfront property owners – wind causes much more erosion than wake surfing.
SB 527, on student housing, simply created a study committee. The committee amendment added HB 1281, forbidding zoning ordinances that limit fewer than 2 people per bedroom or ban more than three unrelated people. This was debated at length, then failed, 173-179, and the bill passed, 199-154.
SB 358, invalidating out of state driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants, was debated at length, was killed, 176-174, reconsidered 176-175, then killed again! 176-174. I personally don’t have that much of a problem with these licenses, except that many of them can be used to vote – and that is a problem.
SB 469, allowing video surveillance at a park and ride facility under some circumstances, passed without comment. SB 501, on driver’s licenses for non-citizen residents, was debated on many of the same issues as SB 358. It passed, 181-169, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats in favor.
SB 510, simplifying the sale of vehicles sold to Massachusetts residents (now that they use temporary plates) passed without comment.
SB 485, procedures for temporary occupational licenses for military members and their spouses, had a committee amendment to focus on licensing
boards not within the OPLC. That passed without comment, then a member moved a floor amendment with penalties for false accusations of abuse or neglect in family court. After a little talk, it passed, 173-169, and the bill passed 175-169.
SB 543, establishing the state environmental adaptation, resilience, and innovation council, was not tabled, 170-175, then debated at tedious length. It passed, 172-168.
Rather a long day, with the common good start tapering off to a weak finish. More Republicans than Democrats have a life and tend to leave early, so long days are not our friend.
Next week we’ll be meeting to concur (or not) on Senate-amended House bills. They got very busy this week and slapped a lot of bills we don’t like onto others, hoping to get their pets through one way or another.
