State House News

Bow, NH ~ June 4, 2021

There is no sugar coating this session. It has been hard. We have seen attempts to dismantle public education. We have had to fend off numerous attacks on labor and attacks on many of the issues that we care about. This is why it is important to take a moment and celebrate wins when you have them. On Thursday, the House voted against SB61, the so-called Right to Work bill. Not only did the house vote against it this year, but they also used a motion that does not allow it to be brought up next year either. We want to thank our brothers and sisters in labor for all their hard work and I want to thank YOU for your hard work. We know that wins don’t always come easy so take this moment and celebrate—you deserve it.

I wish we could offer you more than a moment but sadly Right-to-Work was not the only thing we are facing right now. As we said last week the Senate Finance Committee added vouchers to the budget. This week the full Senate voted to approve that measure. The next step in the budget process is for a committee of conference to be formed. During that committee of conference anything, including vouchers, is negotiable. We need the folks on the committee of conference to know that keeping vouchers in the budget is unacceptable.

Bow, NH ~ May 28, 2021

We are heading to the end of the legislative session. The House will meet twice next week to finish their bills and the Senate will meet next week as well to finish their work which includes the budget (more on that in a minute). The last day of the legislative session is June 24. Once the House and Senate finish their work next week, they will begin the Committees of Conference process where they will work to figure out differences to bills that passed either the House or Senate with amendments. This will include the budget. Committee of Conference will form on June 10^th and their work will conclude on the 17^th. After that,  the House and Senate will have to vote on whether they will accept the bills as amended so they will become law. That will happen on the 24^th.

May 2, 2021 ~ Bow, NH

This is a very short bulletin for the upcoming week.  The most important action is the public hearing on the State budget, to be held by the Senate Finance Committee this coming Tuesday, May 4. There are actually two hearings, starting at 1 pm and again at 6 pm, though this is largely a ploy to allow time for senators to take a break and grab some dinner.

Why is this important?  It is the only opportunity for the public to weigh in on possible additions and deletions to the State budget.  After this, much of the work will be done behind closed doors amongst Senators, the governor, and House Republican leadership, with a budget to be voted upon by the Senate at the start of June and sent back to the House for either acceptance, rejection, or a Committee of Conference to try to iron out differences between House and Senate versions.

What can you do?  Register your opposition to the bills in question (HB1 or HB2, does not really matter) but even better sign up to write to members of the Senate Finance Committee.    Write to the senators--make your voice heard!!  Links for registering opposition and for writing to senators are below. What follows are the primary points of concern to AFT-NH, but we have additional useful material that can be made available to you.

April 26, 2021 - Bow, NH

I begin by giving a ‘shout-out’ and expressing sincere thanks to all the public-school educators across New Hampshire.  Teachers, para-educators, support staff, and food-service workers, all of you have been tireless in your efforts to support students and to minimize the disruptions in education caused by the COVID pandemic.  Many of you are on vacation this week and it is a well-deserved chance to decompress, to regather your focus and energies, and to prepare for the final 6-7 weeks to the end of the school year.  And won’t we all breathe a huge sigh of relief when that day finally arrives.

The legislature was relatively quiet this past week, at least when it comes to public hearings.  The House Education Committee did meet on Tuesday to complete the public hearings on bills sent over from the Senate.  Two of the bills heard were Senate “omnibus” bills, combining a variety of disparate topics united only by their connection to education in NH.  As always, there are issues raised in these hearings, but at present, none of this legislation raises any alarms with AFT-NH.  What is most interesting, however, is to compare the complacency of House Republicans in dealing with 2021 omnibus bills as compared to last year’s fire & brimstone attacks on such bills as violating long-established House procedures.  It would appear that once one is in the majority, the outlook is a bit different!

April 19, 2021 ~ Bow, NH

This will be a short legislative bulletin, because the House and Senate were relatively inactive this past week.  This is especially true of the NH House, where very few committees met this past week and most members seemed to be in recovery mode from the grueling 3-day session at the Bedford Sportsplex.  The relative inactivity continues this coming week as well, with a few more committees meeting but the schedule in no way resembles the heavy workload preceding crossover on April 9.

April 12, 2021 ~Bow, NH

When the NH House adjourned near 7pm on Friday, April 10, it marked the end of three grueling days of legislative work, each lasting around 10 hours in duration.  Even so, the House failed to act at all on over 60 bills on its calendar, thereby putting to rest the oft-cited claim that “all bills, no matter how inconsequential, are brought to a vote in the NH House.”  In a break with all precedent, Republican leadership divided legislation into the budget (Day 1), bills recommended for passage by a committee (Day 2 & 3) and bills recommended to be voted down (whatever time remained on Day 3).  Since Friday was the deadline for sending bills to the NH Senate, the 60+ bills not acted upon are now dead for the year, unloved and unvoted. 

April 5, 2021 ~ Bow, NH

We hope you have all had a chance to enjoy the sunshine this weekend.  It truly does seem Spring may be arriving, what with crocuses flowering, willows beginning to get color and even forsythia beginning to bud out.  Springtime-when hope bursts forth!

In the NH Legislature, the upcoming week will prove to be busy, with three full days of session planned at the Bedford Sportsplex.  These will be the first House sessions since late February and there are over 300 bills on the docket, plus the State budget.  Needless to say, these will be long and exhausting days.  You can review the bills to be considered by the House this week by clicking here: NH House Calendar April 2, 2021

Right to Work Action Needed.   The top story this week is the impending hearing in the House Labor Committee on SB 61, the so-called “right to work” bill.  The hearing is scheduled for the morning of March 25, and we urge you to register your opposition to this scheme to reduce the compensation and benefits of all workers in NH by registering at this link no later than 8am on Thursday, March 25 Register your opposition to SB 61 here.   It is a quick and easy form to complete. Go to the date, March 25^th, Select House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services, 10:00 am, SB 61. Drop down menu for “I am a member of the public” and “representing myself”. Then you can click “I oppose this bill”. Click “Continue”. Fill in your first name, last name, phone number, and email address, and click "Continue."  Check the box next to "By clicking this checkbox, you agree that the information you have provided is truthful to the best of your knowledge."  Click "Continue."

March 14, 2021 ~ Bow, NH

Watching the snow fall and listening to the wind howl today, just a few days after we had temps in the 60s with bright sunshine.  Ah, welcome to March in New Hampshire!

Senate Voucher bill. Our biggest story continues to be SB 130, the Senate version of the “voucher” bill shelved in the NH House.  This past week, the Senate Education Committee voted along party lines to send SB 130 to the Senate for a vote on this coming Thursday, March 18.  As explained below, SB 130 has been amended, but the effect is akin to putting lipstick on a pig—it is still a pig.  And so, please contact your NH senator, whether Republican or Democrat, and urge her/him to vote against this giveaway of tax dollars which will result in raising your property taxes. 

Click the link and Tell your State Senator to OPPOSE Senate Bill 30. No to vouchers