AFT-NH Legislative Bulletin (March 30, 2025) TAKE ACTION NOW

Consequential House Finance Committee Vote on

State Budget Up Next

Another tough week at the State House for those who want to see every public school student in the Granite State get the robust public education they deserve in their own school district. This past week, the Senate passed their version of the Universal School Voucher Program on its financial vote. It previously passed a policy vote. With this latest vote, the Senators and Representatives who voted for the Universal School Voucher Program made one thing very clear. They support sending our tax dollars to the wealthiest individuals in our state for private education, all while failing to provide anywhere near enough tax dollars to allow the more than 155,000 public school students to learn and thrive in their public schools. They support this in spite of the fact that New Hampshire’s reckless tax cuts for multinational corporations and the wealthiest among us over the last decade have led to devastating cuts to the budget this year.

Next week, the House Finance Committee is set to pass a budget that cuts family planning funding, the Office of the Child Advocate, and does not increase state aid to our local neighborhood public schools, which will ensure that our property taxes remain some of the highest in the nation. Expanding the school voucher program so wealthy parents, who are already sending their kids to the private school, a tax handout is disgraceful.

The House Finance Committee is also scheduled to put HB675 in the budget next week. They took the first step towardsthis last week. HB675 is the bill that imposes a statewide school spending cap on every local school district. Local voters are entirely capable of making decisions about how to manage their local school district budgets. They know the needs best, and they also are the ones who have to pay the higher property taxes. In some places, local voters passed school budget increases; in some places, local voters cut school budgets. There is no need for the state to impose a budget cap on all local school districts and overrule the will of local voters. In fact, state law already allows local school districts to adopt budget caps if voters choose to do so. In many places this year, voters had a local budget cap proposal on their annual warrant. In district after district, local voters spoke clearly at their annual meeting and voted down the local spending caps. The extremist majority in Concord has made it clear they have a disdain for local voters, especially those who vote at town meeting and want to override their wishes to support their public schools.

ACTION NEEDED

Contact your state Representatives today and tell them to say NO to HB 675. TAKE ACTION NOW TO STOP HB 675

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 March 31, 2025