AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (April 12, 2025)

NH House Passes Harmful Budget

Action Needed to Stop School Voucher Expansion

The NH House passed a bad budget this week but we did see two big victories. Let’s start with the good news. The language of HB 675, the bill that would have capped local spending for our public schools from the state level was removed from the budget. This bill was harmful and dangerous for our local public schools and would have hurt students’ ability to learn and receive a full and robust education.  A big THANK YOU to all of you who took time to call and write your representatives.  Your voice continues to matter, we could not get these wins without you.

Also working with our allies in the Labor community, we were able to remove the language creating a new 401K style retirement plan for new state employees out of the budget. If this had remained in the budget, anyone hired as a state employee would not be allowed to join the NH Retirement System and would only have this defined contribution model. This would mean a less secure retirement for new state employees, but would also undermine the financial health of the NH Retirement System we rely on. It also would make it easier for the state to take away our pensions from us in the future. We are grateful to the work of the Labor community and the commonsense vote by Republican and Democratic lawmakers in removing this language from the budget.

The House did pass their version of a state budget yesterday and even with some minor improvement, it is still a bad budget for New Hampshire. It does nothing to fix our school funding problem, creates an income tax for hardworking Granite Staters to access healthcare, and makes deep cuts to mental health services. The budget will now head to the Senate who will begin their work, and we will keep you updated on its progress.

Next week the House and Senate are back to work on legislation. We have HB 68 which is an open enrollment bill that allows you to send your child to any school within the same school district. Also, SB 295, which is the Senate’s universal voucher expansion bill. Both will be heard in front of House Education. We have said it time and time again in this space. New Hampshire cannot afford universal school vouchers. We already fail to properly fund our neighborhood public schools. Vouchers have zero accountability and a track record that shows that students do not benefit from them. And of course, New Hampshire cannot afford to give another tax break to the ultra-wealthy while leaving hardworking Granite Staters to pick up the tab.

TAKE ACTION NOW

Please click this link to take action to defeat expansion of school vouchers. Contact the House Education Funding Committee now.

No to Expanding to School Vouchers, Defeat SB 295

Thank you again for all of your work.

Submitting Your Position and Testimony

Here is easy access to submit your position on bills before House and Senate Committees.

Remember, if a bill is already scheduled for an Executive Session, you will not be able to submit your position.

To submit your position, click SUBMIT YOUR POSITION TO A HOUSE COMMITTEE HERE.

To submit your position, click SUBMIT YOUR POSITION TO A SENATE COMMITTEE HERE.

• Fill in your Personal Information
• Select the relevant date and committee for the hearing by clicking on it in the Meeting Schedule Calendar (make sure you are on the right week). [Select Bill # and select the date].
• In the dropbox below "Select the Committee," select committee.
• In the dropbox below "Choose the Bill," select the appropriate time and bill number.
• Select the appropriate option for the "I am" dropbox (likely "Member of the Public").
• Fill in the content box under "I'm Representing" with the business, organization, or group you are representing. If you are representing yourself only, write "myself."
• Under the “Indicate Your Position on this Bill,” check the circle stating your position on the bill. “I Oppose this Bill” or “I Support this Bill”
• After filling in all of the appropriate dropboxes, click “Submit.”
• After clicking submit, you will be brought to the next page, where you will fill in the content boxes with your first and last name, as well as your town, state, and email address.
• Press “Continue.”
• If you wish to speak during the hearing to present your testimony, you will need to attend in person at the State House, but you upload your testimony if you cannot attend.
• If you wish to submit testimony on the bill, email the relevant committee and upload the testimony file from your computer (if you need assistance in this, we are happy to help).

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Upcoming Legislative Hearings

Week of April 14, 2025