AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (January 9, 2026)

Legislature Convenes

HB 675 State-Mandated School Budget Caps Defeated

Huge Victory

The legislative session began on January 7^th and scores of retained bills from the 2025 session were addressed. The BIG news of the week is that HB 675 which would have established mandatory budget caps for public schools was defeated this week. The defeat of this harmful legislation only happened because you answered the call to contact your state representative. A big thank you for all your work. It was a great victory to start the session and we know we can count on you all to step up as we see the continued attacks on public education and workers’ rights.

Looking Ahead

Your AFT-NH Legislative Team has reviewed the 2026 bills filed and narrowed them to those which focus on our public schools, your working conditions, discrimination, and union rights. There are at least 200 of such bills we have identified which need to be monitored. We will keep you informed on the timing of when to take action. We will also work with our friends and allies to raise awareness and encourage activism throughout this session.

There are dozens of bills addressing public education including vouchers, school funding, charter schools, open enrollment, parental rights, and instruction to name a few topics. We will vigorously oppose those bills that negatively impact our schools, your rights, and our communities. This session we will see a frontal attack on your rights as a public employee to collective bargaining, HB 1704 which is nothing but a union-busting bill. Make no doubt about it they are coming after your union and your contract.

We will also support legislation that will improve our schools and communities. For example, there are a number of bills which seek to reel in the unwieldly and unaccountable school voucher plan and require more transparency and accountability. There are also a number of bills that seek to finally have the state increase school funding to move towards compliance with NH Supreme Court decision over the past thirty 30 years.

As HB 675 showed us, your voices matter and when you use them, we can win. We will keep you updated on the movement of all bills and when we need you to take action.

Committee hearings start next week. Please see the AFT-NH list of bills we are following and that are scheduled for hearings next week.

Staying Informed and Taking Action.

1. Please share our legislative bulletins with others.
2. Please visit our website at https://nh.aft.org/ and sign up for the bulletins if you have not done so.
3. Do the one-click actions when an alert is sent out.
4. You can register your position on a bill directly to the House or Senate Committee hearing the bill. For instructions and the links, please see below.

Remember, when we fight, we win. We can push back against the anti-public education and anti-worker forces in the legislature now if we work together.

Thank you.

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 drop boxes, 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).

For breaking news and other legislative information, please be sure to like us on Facebook at AFT New Hampshire or follow us on Bluesky at aftnh.bsky.social.  Please share this with friends so they can sign up for this bulletin at http://nh.aft.org/.

Upcoming Legislative Hearings

Week of January 12, 2026