OPINION: The Erosion Of Local Zoning Control In New Hampshire

The state legislature has passed several laws this year that limit the ability of towns and cities to control zoning — for example, towns must allow multifamily residential development in commercially zoned areas where infrastructure exists. HB 577 (Chapter 197, 2025) Requires towns/cities to allow either an attached or a detached accessory dwelling unit (ADU) … Read more

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SMITH: A “Safe Space” For House Dem Peter Petrigno?

Everyone wants to feel safe.  It’s priority number two in Maslow’s hierarchy after physiological needs, such as food, water and heat.  And when I say “everyone,” nobody is exempt, not even Peter Petrigno, a nasty man from the enemy camp and a member of House Children and Family Law.  That committee met yesterday and I … Read more

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Your State house 6-20-2025

This week, almost 50 committees of conference met on House bills amended by the Senate and Senate bills amended by the House. The most important, of course, is the budget; Dan is working on that and they meet all day, every day, up to the deadline on Thursday at 4 pm. I was assigned to … Read more

Moffett: Lafayette, We Are Here!

So said American army Colonel Charles Stanton in Paris on July 4, 1917, standing at the tomb of Gilbert du Motier—better known as the Marquis de Lafayette. The Americans were in Paris as part of an advance World War I vanguard of Yankee doughboys. Over a million U.S. soldiers and Marines would soon be in … Read more

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Your State House 6-13-2025

This week, the  House met to consider action on all bills that had different House and Senate versions. Most committees of conference – including those on the budget and two bills from my committee – were set up in advance, since that action doesn’t need the entire House to approve.  On other bills, committee chairmen … Read more

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Smith: Don’t Let 2026 Be “2018 v.2.0”

Mr Sylvia said, “The Senate is a place where good House bills go to die.” GM Hopf said, “Hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times.” A Granite Stater in a red community said, “Sadly, Republicans have been their own worst enemy … Read more

Start Planning For A Year From Now

It’s not too early to start talking about building slates for next year’s primary, no matter what side of any particular issue you are on.  I’ll get into issues in a moment, but I want to start by reviewing a few points to build on, especially seeing that the current hot issues involve building.  While … Read more

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SB 284 Roll Call Non-Participants

Regardless of what side of SB284 you’re on, let’s look at some numbers. It would be interesting to analyze all the Yes votes and all the No votes, not so much by party lines, but how rural or urban their districts are, because the supply and demand of parking is mostly an urban issue, and … Read more

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Your State House April 11, 2025

This week, I started by presenting a number of House bills to the Senate ED&A committee. They had scheduled 16 bills this morning, one every ten minutes… And they actually did that for the first two hours! HB 192, recommendations of the joint committee on employee classification, had no opposition and very few questions from … Read more

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Enemies of 91A and Enemies of Your Wallet

Rep Jeremy Slottje and various others have tweeted from Reps Hall during today’s House session while the budget was being worked on. It’s reported that 38 Rs voted to remove property tax relief from HB 2. Of the 38, Rep Kuttab and Judge Lynn come as no surprise because their disdain for Nashua taxpayers and … Read more

Tom Ploszaj 2020

A More Individual Say in Representation

A new day, a good day, for New Hampton & Center Harbor Residents.I have submitted a change of political affiliation from Republican to Undeclared. A thank you to all of our citizens who have participated in the political process. It is an honor to serve as the Representative for your Belknap District 1 seat. Especially … Read more

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Your State House April 4th, 2025

This was a very easy week, as only a few committees were meeting to finish their second committee bills (and, of course, Finance met for four days to finalize the budget.) I went to Senate ED&A, intending to present two bills from my committee, but since the sponsors didn’t show, I also presented two more! … Read more

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NH House Freedom Caucus Raises Concerns Over Overly Optimistic Revenue Estimates in Proposed State Budget

Concord, NH — The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus today expressed serious concerns over the revenue estimates included in the proposed state budget, warning that they are overly optimistic given current economic uncertainties. The Caucus urged lawmakers to adopt a more conservative approach to safeguard taxpayers from potential shortfalls. In 2009, Democrats crafted a budget … Read more

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Your State House 3-30-25

This week, my committee met on two bills from other committees. My first glance was that both were simple … HB 493, requiring healthcare providers to get education on child abuse and neglect, addressed physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, requiring a one hour course before initial licensing and before renewals, or every two years. … Read more

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Thank You To The Sponsors of HB148

HB 148 – Permitting classification of individuals based on biological sex under certain circumstances. The Nashua Republican City Committee (NRCC) would like to thank the sponsors of this bill. Rep. Jim Kofalt [R]   Rep. Joe Alexander [R]   Rep. Jason Osborne [R]   Rep. Joe Sweeney [R]Rep. Katy Peternel [R]   Rep. Shane Sirois [R]   Rep. Sheila Seidel [R]   Rep. Sherman Packard [R]Rep. … Read more

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Your State House March 21st, 2025

This week, the House met in session, with 47 bills on the regular calendar and 31 (including two from my committee) on the consent calendar. First, we had memorial remarks for a former member from Hollis. Then we approved the consent calendar, after HB 631 was removed. The sponsor attempted to withdraw HB 431, establishing … Read more

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