The NH House of Representatives will meet for the first time on Wednesday, Jan 8th. They will vote on the House Rules that are the operational guidelines for the legislative chamber.
There is a proposal to deny guaranteed public hearings for bills in Rule 44.
The Full House will vote on this proposal to change Rule 44, which will deny, with a 3/4 vote, a public hearing for a bill and recommend a motion to ‘Table’ to the full House. The proposal is below; the bold part signifies the changes:
Amend House Rule 44 by adding a phrase and new paragraph (f) as follows:
44. Hearings and notices. A hearing shall be held on each bill referred to a committee, unless as provided for below. Notice of committee action shall be posted as follows: (f) A committee may forego a public hearing on a bill with a motion of Refer to Table if 3/4 of the committee votes in favor thereof.
This means, if enough legislators on a committee do not ‘like’ a bill, they will deny it a hearing and recommend a motion to ‘Table’. A Motion to Table is a step towards killing a bill. So the topic would not be discussed in committee, either on the merits of the issue or the bill proposal. Instead, legislators would argue about time limitations, the short legislative schedule, or the worthiness of the topic. Meanwhile, you and other witnesses will sit there in the room denied, prohibited from giving your testimony. (H/T to the Sierra Club)
Please email or call your state representatives before Monday, January 6 to tell them NO CHANGES to Rule 44.
Don’t know who your Reps are? Find them here:
https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/
Here is the FULL HOUSE EMAIL LIST 2025 in an .xls file.
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