This week, my committee continued public hearings. HB 192, ratifying the recommendations of the joint committee on employee classification, included a lesson on how the JCEC evaluates pay scales for state employees. This bill included a number of revised positions, but forgot to include a medical director in the department of corrections, which was included in last session’s budget and approved by the committee at its most recent meeting. So, the sponsor agreed to get an amendment to add this position to the bill.
HB 435 clarified that electronics, software, cybersecurity or digital systems does not fall under the definition of “engineering” that requires a professional engineer’s license – although “electrical” does for power systems. I and a number of other engineers on the committee (we had nuclear, chemical, and mechanical present!) confirmed that this work did not need a license and was outside the scope of the professional engineer’s test. We voted unanimously to recommend the bill.
HB 210, establishing a commission to study the state flag and develop a process for a redesign, if appropriate, was a bit more contentious. There was a nice presentation on how our current flag design was sub-par by the standards of professional flag scholars (vexillologists,) while Utah and Minnesota (which have redesigned their flags recently) have better ones. Still, not everyone agrees with the experts as to which flags are best, and there is a lot of history in the old flag. We took no action on this bill, except to agree that a committee of engineers might not be the best choice to decide on the flag design.
HB 52, on legal holidays, would make the state and presidential primaries state holidays, as election day is now. That might not be a problem, in itself, but the bill went on to require schools, community colleges, state and town offices be closed on state holidays – except for “essential” workers, including election workers. Private employers were ordered, when practical, to allow workers three hours off to vote on all these holidays.
This is an issue, because government workers would get at least two new holidays every second year, plus one every fourth year. Private sector workers would most likely not. Bad idea to create a privileged class of workers, and if government workers want another holiday they can negotiate for one. We argued about this, and two Republicans joined all the Democrats in favor so the recommendation was 9-7 to pass it.
HB 89, designating “Within the Crystal Hills” as the official animated film of New Hampshire, included a special showing of this short. Testimony from a number of Native Americans pointed out that the film created a fictional story about the Old Man, and contradicted the long-standing Native tradition. Not wishing to establish this single view as history, the committee voted unanimously to kill the bill.
HB 176, changing the state flag design, had a young vexillologist urging a new flag design to replace the “state seal on a blue bed sheet” design, which is panned by vexillologists as hard to read and indistinguishable from other, similar flags. We discussed it, and at least one member thought the current design was “dignified” and others disliked the proposed design; others, including myself, didn’t see the need for a change. If a change is seriously considered, most of us agreed the commission in HB 210 was a better idea and it should consider this flag along with other proposals before making a decision. We voted 12-2 to kill the bill.
We then considered HB 598, the study committee on state data, and adopted my amendment to ensure private data is protected and the committee is bipartisan. It also changed the composition from three representatives and three senators to four and one, since finding one senator to serve on any study committee is always a challenge. We voted 12-2 to recommend the bill as amended; the opposition was worried that the sponsor’s example of data from DCYF would result in a witch hunt. The rest of us believe there is enough data in other departments that needs analysis to prevent this, although the actual data studied will depend on the people appointed.
HB 637, delaying the reduction in retirement pay (traditionally at age 65, reset to social security’s “full retirement age” last year) for people who were already retired but still under age 65 when the change became effective, had some interesting data presented. The history of the bill to change that age was very clear that including these retirees was specifically considered and rejected by two different committees – it was not an oversight, it was a deliberate decision, likely to reduce the cost of the change. Since this bill has no fiscal note and is not going to Finance, we were reluctant to make further changes to the retirement system. The vote was 11-3 to kill the bill.
Finally, we heard HB 252, a state holiday for Daniel Webster’s birthday. The sponsor’s goal was to encourage school teachers to include information on a pivotal character in New Hampshire history, but the only mandate was on the governor to issue a proclamation. I was opposed to dictating content to teachers, since Webster and his birthday are well known to history teachers. The vote was a 7-7 tie, so we recessed to reconsider.
Thursday was a session day, with the first part devoted to the governor’s budget address. This budget is the starting point for the Finance Committee’s work, as it establishes the governor’s priorities and any new programs she wants to create. It is a $150 M cut to general fund spending, but it wasn’t clear where the cuts were made – the details of the budget, including any statutory changes necessary to implement it, are not released yet. Still, some points were clear: $32 M increase to special education spending; expanding Education Freedom Accounts to all public school students (but, apparently, not to private school or home schooled students;) $1M in grants to school districts to get cell phones out of classrooms; $33 M more improvements to the pension system for police and fire; continuing funding for the Northern Border Alliance; a moratorium on new landfills; and streamlining the permitting process to help expedite building more housing.
After the consent calendar, with three bills from my committee, passed without discussion, we considered HB 238, prohibiting mandatory union membership. Before the (expected to be intense) debate started, a member moved indefinite postponement. This was, rather unusually, debated, before passing 200-180, with 25 Republicans joining all Democrats. This means the topic needs a 2/3 majority to be considered in any form for the rest of the session.
HB 346, increasing the maximum licensing fee for racetracks from $100 to $500, had no debate. A voice vote was too close to call, and resulted in a motion to pass it failing, 183-185. A second voice vote (called by the Speaker at 185-183!) killed the bill. I thought updating a 50+ year old maximum fee was not a big deal, but apparently quite a few people disagreed.
HB 127, keeping one section of OHRV trails in Coos County open from September 30 through Columbus Day, like all the rest of the local OHRV trails, was briefly debated before passing, 198-180. I was amused that one reason seriously brought forward against the bill was that the small game hunting season starts October 1 and valuable hunting dogs could be injured by speeding OHRVs … the hunters have to take their chances, but we have to protect the dogs!
HB 174, increasing the maximum weight of a utility terrain vehicle to 3500 pounds, did not pass, 188-190, then was killed on a voice vote. Supporters were encouraged by the thought of electric vehicles (those big batteries are heavy;) opponents worried about wear and erosion on the trails. HB 203, requiring all boaters to wear approved flotation devices at all times, was killed without any words, 215-162.
At this point, a member moved to suspend the rules so that a bill of impeachment could be brought for the magistrate that had released, without bail, a person accused of stabbing another nine times on Elm Street in Manchester. This was refuted by another representative, who pointed out that the damage was done as part of a bar fight, and the alleged victim had drawn his knife first. I trusted this representative, but still thought that the event should be investigated. The motion failed, 199-176, but needing 2/3.
HB 332, allowing village districts be created to protect surface waters, was debated and killed, 196-171. HB 334, amending the state development plan to cover water resources, was estimated to cost up to $1M to amend and expand the plan. It was killed, 199-171, without comment. HB 422, increasing the maximum penalties for violations of the shoreland protection act, was briefly debated, explaining that the last fine was issued in 2013. The department enforcing this law has focused on prevention and warning, rather than fines, so there’s little need to triple the maximum fine. It, too, was killed, 196-175.
SB 4, amending the commercial property clean energy and resiliency program, passed on a voice vote without comment. This is a Senate bill, so it’s been pushed through the process; the program is a favorite of the state’s Business Finance Authority, which uses it to add separate, longer term loans for energy efficiency upgrades to commercial buildings.
HB 55, repealing the selective service compliance act, had a committee amendment to move the relevant language from the post-secondary education statute (applying to state colleges and trade schools) to the section on public employees, which would allow the department of military and veterans’ services to continue to require such registration. This amendment and the bill passed on a voice vote, as did HB 64, extending any existing veterans’ hiring preferences to military spouses.
HCR 8, urging Congress to find that Portsmouth Harbor and the Pisquataqua River belong to New Hampshire, not Maine, had a hearty debate. Congress is the appropriate place to settle a boundary dispute between states, and New Hampshire wants the entire harbor because of the naval shipyard located there. Historical records indicate that the island in question has, at different times, belonged to both states, so it’s time to bring the issue to the proper venue. The resolution passed, 250-123.
HCR 9, a resolution urging the US to reject the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, had an extremely dull debate. This directive attempts to shrink energy usage and the economy of the member states, along with all sorts of green energy and DEI mandates. This seems to be an attempt to make world inequality less by making richer nations poorer, rather than poorer nations richer. It was killed, 204-163.
HR 11, urging the US to investigate alleged abuse of religious minorities in Bangladesh, had a speech by a member who was an immigrant (legal, of course) from Bangladesh, and then passed, 328-41.
HB 201, prohibiting de-clawing cats, was debated at some length. Fortunately for me, two constituents, who have each proven to be much more knowledgeable about animal issues than I am, have both recommended killing the bill. It was, 191-177.
Finally, HB 369, on misdemeanor sexual assault prosecution for minors, passed without comment.
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We’d like to thank Carol McGuire for this update. As a reminder, authors’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers. Submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com
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