AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (January 31, 2025) Red Alert

Protect Working Families

Action Needed - Red Alert

Attack on Public Employees   This week the House Labor Committee heard HB 735-FN which would require that every public sector union would need to recertify by a vote of the majority of the employees in a bargaining unit when more than half of the current members of the unit have never voted on the issue. While we are confident that our unions would recertify this is an unnecessary burden meant to weaken the collective power of all our members. It would force our local unions to spend time and energy on recertification elections instead of on bargaining the best contracts and advocating for the resources needed to do your jobs well. 

Take action   Next week the House Labor Committee will take a vote on this legislation in the House Labor Committee. Please contact the House Labor Committee NOW by taking this quick, one-click action: NO TO HB 735-FN.

Say No to Right to Work   House Labor also voted to pass so-called Right to Work this week. The full House will meet next Thursday but HB 238, so-called, Right to Work is not scheduled for a vote which means we are potentially looking for a full House vote on either February 13^th or February 20^th. Stay tuned here for updates and actions. In the meantime, please click the following link to let your legislator know Right to Work will always be wrong for NH.

Students Can Attend Any School in Any District? This week we saw a theme begin to emerge in the legislature. Three separate bills were heard that would allow parents to send their children to any public school they wish—regardless of location or where the family lives. There are more questions than answers on legislation of this kind. How is it determined if a transfer is valid, how do they get approved and which districts covers costs such as transportation or any special needs costs that the receiving district might incur.? There is another bill being heard this week that deals with the same issue. What we know is that it would not be needed at all if the state fulfilled its constitutional obligation and fully funded our local neighborhood public schools for all of our children. 

The Week Ahead   There are countless bills being heard each week but some of the priority bills we will be following address a variety of issues and we would request action. For a larger list of bills we are tracking, please review the schedule at the end of the bulletin.  Please be sure to register your position on each of these bills at the following links. 

To submit your position to a House Committee, click SUBMIT YOUR POSITION TO A HOUSE COMMITTEE HERE.

To submit your position to a Senate Committee, click SUBMIT YOUR POSITION TO A SENATE COMMITTEE HERE.

SB 206 – Requires public schools to adopt policies limiting the use of cell phones by students  February 4^th, Tuesday,  9:30 am before Senate Education    [Support]

HB 197-FN  - This bill would require the state to pay 7.5% of  portion of the retirement contributions of political subdivisions – 

February 5^th, Wednesday, 10:15 am before House Executive Departments and Administration [Support]

HB 771-FN  – Relative to open enrollment schools – adds open enrollment programs, requires sending district to pay 80% of the per pupil cost in the local budget for the student to the receiving district hosting the open enrollment school or program.

February 7^th, Friday, 1:00 pm, House Education Funding    [Oppose]

HB 665 -  Relative for eligibility for free school meals – raises the eligibility level to cover families up to 300% of the federal poverty level.

February7^th, Friday, 1:45pm, House Education Funding  [Support]

Directions for registering your position on a bill.

• 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).

Thank you for being diligent during this extremely challenging legislative session.

Together, we win and can move towards a better future.

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Upcoming Legislative Hearings

Week of February 3, 2025