This week, the House met to consider Senate amendments to House bills and Senate messages on our amendments to Senate bills. The most common case was a Senate amendment to a House bill that the committee wanted us to agree to; the chair moved to concur, and it passed on a voice vote. The chair was supposed to describe the bill, the amendment, and why they wanted to agree. Not every chair covered all three every time…
HB 241, on pain management programs, had gone through my committee, so I knew it was enabling legislation that would not have a cost impact. The Senate made some minor modifications, including allowing a requirement for prior authorization for non-opioid medications (forbidden in the House version) that was no stricter than that for opioids.
HB 1207, a housekeeping bill on the laws concerning the banking department, which eliminated examination fees in favor of fixed fees, had a minor change to the fee-setting process.
HB 1262, on home heating oil and propane contracts, was another housekeeping bill.
HB 1491, on pooled risk management programs, allowed the non-assessable programs be regulated by the insurance department. These are more insurance-like, with the program responsible for estimating costs and unable to assess extra funds during the contract period, but probably costing more up front in exchange. The assessable programs remain under the regulation of the Secretary of State.
HB 1765, which allows “beverage” (beer, wine, and cider) manufacturers to also sell the products of other New Hampshire beverage manufacturers, had an amendment forbidding defacing controlled products, apparently caused by a concern of college students putting objectionable stickers on beer bottles. Not sure I’d actually vote for that, but the basic bill is fine – it lets local brewers cross-market their products.
HB 1236, on body-worn cameras in county departments of corrections, had been stripped down in the Senate to only allow them in the performance of duties, including in jails – it eliminated the specific recording of custodial interviews. It passed, 191-154.
HB 1348, possession of human remains for training cadaver dogs, had been expanded and detailed by the Senate, without changing the intent.
HB 1423, offense of improper influence, had been amended by the Senate to add their version of criminalizing kratom. Since that version of the law had been rejected last week in favor of the House version (liquor enforcement rather than making it a controlled drug), the chair recommended we non-concur with the amendment. We did without further comment.
HB 1522, on protections from domestic violence, had some wording changes, plus the requirement that the domestic violence fatality review committee could compel records relating to ongoing investigations or criminal cases.
HB 1637, scheduling bail hearings, required domestic violence cases be scheduled (not necessarily heard) within 72 hours. The Senate extended this a little to stalking cases.
HB 1651, on sexual assault protection orders, was amended to allow a plaintiff or defendant to request a protection order. Interestingly, this bill also includes language that ensures survivors of sexual assault be informed of their rights to get a “rape kit.”
The Senate requested a committee of conference on SB 625, which started as a study committee but had been amended to delete the refugee resettlement program. We acceded, 337-12.
HB 1610, on school district retention of unassigned funds, had required a public hearing before using any unassigned funds; the Senate version eliminated any use of surplus except to reduce taxes and fill designated special reserve funds (a contingency fund, for real emergencies; capital improvement funds; a special education contingency fund). This was debated, with the objection being that the schools needed a more flexible source of funds; it passed, 186-163.
HB 1268, on the structure of home education programs, had two amendments: one from the committee, which strengthened the independence of home education programs from the school systems, and another, unrelated one on pharmacy benefit managers. It passed, 178-170, with the comments only on the education changes.
HB 1358, a study commission on transitioning to all public schools to charter schools, had added special education specialists to the commission. It passed 184-164.
HB 1573, excused absences for certain activities and requiring the state board of education to grant school reassignment in cases of manifest hardship, was debated on the latter. The opponents were concerned that the new receiving school would not be fully reimbursed for accepting a transfer student; supporters were more concerned that students suffering in their current schools would have someplace to go. It passed, 186-160.
HB 1774, on qualifying scholarship organizations for purposes of federal tax credits, had a minor clarification to the duties of the Department of Revenue Assessment.
HB 1792, on the prohibition on teaching discrimination, had a rewrite in the Senate, but the debate was based on the ongoing court case – opponents wanted to wait for it to be settled before taking any legislative action. That view prevailed, and the concur motion failed, 127-223; a motion to non-concur passed on a voice vote.
We accede to a committee of conference on SB 578, on play-based curriculum.
HB 396, farm processing of animals without USDA approval, had been rewritten by the Senate to more closely align with federal rules.
HB 707, creating a solid waste site evaluation committee, was amended to include HB 1189, which had been sent to interim study in the Senate.
HB 1511, on the membership of the Agriculture in the Classroom Committee, had been amended to include the annual proclamation of “New Hampshire Day at the Big E” and to repeal the inadvertent prospective repeal of the entire chapter on produce safety.
HB 1269, on qualifications to practice acupuncture, had been amended to require an acupuncture detox specialist to the board.
HB 1312, on the authority of various boards, was statutory cleanup of issues found in rulemaking. The Senate just added a few updates.
HB 1328, on alcohol and other drug use professionals, simply had a change to the effective date, as did HB 1555, enforcement of the state fire code. This passed, 180-160, without debate.
HB 1219, limiting immunization requirements in foster homes, had an amendment to require the state to manage a federal Medicare program to lower drug costs for seniors. The chair assured us that it was all federal “free” money. HB 1337, repealing the council on autism spectrum disorders, had a change to the effective date.
HB 1449, on vaccine clinics in schools, had been amended to remove the parents’ presence at the clinics, so we non-concurred on a voice vote.
HB 1021, amending the date to notify of one’s election to be assessed under the low-income housing tax credit program, was amended to be “on or before” the date. HB 1079, allowing accessory dwelling units in certain non-conforming structures, had one section deleted and passed, 269-73, with both parties signaling to concur.
HB 1103, allowing a wider variety of properties to use community revitalization tax relief credits, was amended to allow granting the credits for 15 years (up from 11) if workforce housing was created.
HB 1336, on regulated conditional deposits, had been amended to state that if the additional deposit was from the town (presumably the welfare office), the town would get it back. This was debated, as the opponents were convinced that it would price people out of rentals; supporters believed that it might keep people with imperfect backgrounds from homelessness. We concurred, 180-162.
HB 1523, disclosure requirements for condominium associations, had the time to respond to right to know requests extended from 5 days to 15. HB 1598, on eviction processes, had been amended to an agreement between a landlords’ group and New Hampshire Legal Assistance (which often represents tenants in such cases.)
HB 1681, on use of tiny houses and yurts as innovative housing structures, had a clause on property taxation of these structures deleted. It was debated, more on opposition to these structures than taxation, as the bill is entirely enabling and towns would decide the taxation as they saw fit. The vote was 242-102.
HB 164, on local record retention – electronically, in the secretary of state’s office – simply had this year’s funding decreased. HB 232, rights of conscience for medical professionals (that is, not participating in abortions if they objected on moral grounds) had some minor tweaks to the language, but was debated anyway before passing 179-154.
HB 1040, a study committee on quitclaim deeds, had the senator removed. HB 1115, persons eligible for the New Hampshire medal of honor, had some definitions removed while still keeping the same people eligible. HB 1384, on foreign lobbyists, passed 186-150.
HB 1419, creating a chancery court similar to Delaware’s, had been converted to a study on the issue, and we non-concurred on a voice vote. HB 1442, another bill allowing classification by sex, was debated and concurred, 184-155.
HB 1705, establishing a employee assistance program for small town first responders, had been made effective if funded, and no funding was provided.
HB 1332, on the display of flags on the state house grounds, had a grammatical fix.
HB 1131, on adopting or rescinding the SB2 form of town meeting, had been made useless by the Senate and so we non-concurred. HB 1756, allowing organizations to file for property tax exemptions once, then receive them until found ineligible, had some clarifying language added.
HB 2026, the 10 transportation plan, had some additional projects added, which the chair listed. Interestingly, he did not mention that it included a toll increase for people without a New Hampshire EZpass…
HB 1088, creating a dedicated fund for the water well board, had a change to the effective date, as did HB 1095, maximum weight of utility terrain vehicles. HB 1141, permitting and fee authority for mining and prospecting, had more detailed rulemaking requirements.
HB 1603, requiring current evidence of a species’ presence before limiting land use, had adjustments to the rulemaking requirements. HB 1768, gifts to the division of parks and recreation, had the special entry rate for veterans deleted, so the chair moved we non-concur. That passed on a voice vote.
HB 1542, on the renewable energy portfolio, had left the House as a requirement that alternative compliance payments (used when a utility didn’t provide enough of the various sorts of energy production) be returned to the ratepayers, rather than subsidizing the favored energy production methods. The Senate converted it to a study committee on the renewable energy fund, so we non-concurred, 189-148.
HB 1577, disclosure of customer data to municipalities for emergency response planning (say, the address of someone who needed electricity to run a ventilator), clarified who could receive that data. HB 1718, energy storage in connection with net metering, had some language clarifications and a change to the effective date.
HB 1723, requiring utilities to assess the vulnerabilities of transformers to electromagnetic disturbances, had funding for this study added, rather than allowing ratepayers to be charged. This passed, 186-153; I was rather concerned that the utilities weren’t already doing this!
HB 1252, requiring commercial driver’s licenses be only tested in English, had a minor grandfathering extension to currently licensed individuals. HB 1362, on motor vehicle equipment specifications, reinstated school bus inspection criteria. HB 1415, establishing a special veterans license plate and creating a special fund, simply made the fund non-lapsing.
HB 1194, on insurance assessment credits and criminal gambling, went to a committee of conference.
To finish the day, we took up the report of the committee on legislative administration on an allegedly antisemitic tweet by Rep. Travis Corcoran of Weare. The committee held a hearing and recommended censure, since the tweet was, indeed, rude and obnoxious. Rep Corcoran did not apologize, but insisted that he had the right of free speech. There were three speeches made Thursday: one, eloquently defending the right of free speech, insisting that the fundamental right was to defend ugly, offensive speech – agreeable speech doesn’t need defense. The second speech was about how obnoxious the tweet was, how offensive, and how Rep. Corcoran had a history of similar gaffes. Then he spoke, and identified the attacks as political theater. He did not apologize, but asked us to censure him to bring this episode to a close. So we voted 288-54 to censure him – I voted with the majority simply because he asked us to do so. The censure was formulaic, since it has no actual effect other than a public scold.
Finally, a member moved to take from the table the matter of the Speaker’s restriction on another member: she was forbidden in the chamber or the anteroom except during session. This was briefly debated and failed, 158-179.
Next week committees of conference! Our last session will be on June 4 to vote on all of them. After that, committees will meet at least once for an interim study, and there is likely to be a veto day.
Authors’ and Speakers’ opinions are their own and may not represent those of Grok Media, LLC, GraniteGrok.com, its sponsors, readers, authors, or advertisers.
Disagree, agree, Got Something to Say, We Want to Hear It. Comment or submit Op-Eds to steve@granitegrok.com
