“Freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. I don’t believe you can stand for freedom for one group of people and deny it to others.” — Coretta Scott King
Winter greetings, State House Watchers!
As we wrap up another busy, inspiring, challenging year, we are grateful to all of you for what you do to make New Hampshire a healthier, safer, more welcoming place to live. For a few quick stories from our own work, enjoy our 2022 highlights brochure.
The 2023 NH state legislative session is rapidly approaching, with opening day set for Wednesday, January 4, 2023. State House Watch is ready and waiting! We’ll be there throughout the session – from January until the end of June – to help you keep track of it all, and to stay informed and engaged as advocates for policies and a state budget that reflect our values and strengthen our communities.
The session is sure to be…interesting! The results of the 2022 elections have put the NH House of Representatives at nearly a tie, with a Rochester seat still to be decided in a special election on February 21. With 201 Republicans and 198 Democrats, the leadership of the House remains in Republican hands. Rep. Sherman Packard was re-elected as Speaker of the House during Organization Day on December 7, and he appointed Republicans as chairpersons of all House committees, as well as a few Democrats to serve as committee vice-chairs. You can read the list here.
Such a narrow margin, however, will mean that on any given day the outcome of a vote could depend on just one or two Representatives being absent. Weather, transportation issues, family needs and health issues will have an impact on decision-making to a greater degree this year than in the recent past.
And who knows, maybe the close margin will create opportunities for some bipartisan wins for the good of New Hampshire communities. We hope so!
The NH Senate remains in Republican control with a 14-10 margin.
Convening Day: January 4, 2023
If you haven’t already done so, please mark your calendars and join us at the State House for Convening Day on Wednesday, January 4. NH Voices of Faith will be there starting at 8:30 AM to greet lawmakers as they arrive for caucus meetings prior to the 10 AM start of the joint session in the House chamber. House members will also approve changes to the House rules. You can share this Facebook event to invite your friends and networks.
Lawmakers will also gather in joint session on Thursday, January 5 at 11:15 AM for the inauguration of the governor.
Bills, bills, bills!
Over the past several weeks, we’ve started sorting through the list of Legislative Service Requests (LSRs) – these are the titles of bills being proposed for the session – to get a sense of what’s coming. There are 831 LSRs posted as of this date, with a few more likely to emerge as ‘surprises’ in the first week of the new session. You can read the list here, perhaps with a glass of eggnog in a comfy chair by the fire. You’ll see lots of proposals related to public education, bail reform, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights, worker right and wages, affordable housing, and immigrant rights, including bills to expand immigrant access to driver licenses.
Lawmakers will also negotiate a 2-year state budget during this session, a process that requires our robust participation as advocates for investments in healthcare for everyone (including the reauthorization of expanded Medicaid); affordable housing, childcare and education; fair wages for state employees; a clean and sustainable environment and more. We’ll also be calling for fair and adequate taxation that requires the wealthiest Granite Staters to pay their share. To bring grassroots voices to the budget-making process, AFSC will continue to convene the NH Campaign for a People’s Budget; be in touch if you want to join us!
Changes in 2023
First of all, we're experimenting with a new layout! There's often so much to report, but it can be overwhelming to read it all. We're going to try a few formatting changes to make our weekly newsletter easier on the eyes, without sacrificing the news and opportunities for action that help our readers to stay informed.
We are grateful to Anne Saunders for her extraordinary labor during last year’s very busy legislative session. Her research and tracking were essential contributions to each weekly newsletter and the end-of-session wrap up report for 2022 which you can read here. Anne has other obligations for 2023, so Grace and Maggie will be creating the newsletter on our own, with the help of a legislative tracking service. Positive vibes are most welcome!
We’re sad to report that we won’t be able to host our weekly “State House Watch” radio show this year, after more than ten years at WNHN 94.7 FM in Concord. We believe in community radio, and the amazing team at WNHN, especially our awesome producer Fred Portnoy, but we are making the choice to step away from the show to make a healthy work/life balance a little more likely. To learn how to support the station, check out their website today.
Coalitions galore!
So much of the work we do at the State House happens through coalitions. Coalition spaces enable us to stay informed, deepen our analysis, build power, grow our capacity and creativity, and sustain our engagement. Here are just a few of the coalitions which support effective state policy advocacy; be in touch if you want to learn more, sign up, or for help identifying others.
NH Voices of Faith - A growing community of people from multiple faith traditions who believe in the power of moral witness as a force for social and political transformation for a more just and equitable society. Join us in person at the State House for visibility at committee hearings and on session days.
NH Immigrant Rights Network – A network of New Hampshire organizations and individuals working to promote humane immigration policies at the federal, state, and local level, including the Drive Safe NH team which is leading the advocacy for driver license access for immigrants. Meets monthly via Zoom on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at 9 AM.
NH Campaign for a People’s Budget – A diverse coalition of activists, advocates, faith leaders and others dedicated to realizing a state budget that invests in our communities’ health, education, recovery, opportunity, and vitality, funded by fair and adequate taxation that invites all of us to contribute to the common good in accordance with our ability to pay. Meets monthly via Zoom on the first Friday of the month at 10 AM.
Umokuumani – Black & African immigrants’ circle. Meets bi-weekly on Wednesdays at 6 PM to connect, learn, collaborate, and share important information about immigration in the US and NH, and opportunities for action. Open to Black & African immigrants only.
Change for Concord – A diverse group of young adults, ages 18-30, who are working together to improve the quality of life for young adults in the Concord community. Meets weekly on Fridays at 6 PM.
Stronger Together - A coalition of NH immigrants and allies who hold our elected leaders accountable for supporting harmful immigration policies and move them to support humane immigration policy by using creative art actions to increase public awareness and pressure. Meets as needed to plan actions.
Abolition Network - Gathers monthly to build relationships with partners across the state, deepen our understanding of abolition, and collaborate for justice in different parts of the criminal legal system, including with state legislative advocacy. Meets via Zoom on the 3rd Monday of the month at 6 PM.
There’s lots more, including the Moral Economy table hosted by the Granite State Organizing Project, a new progressive advocacy table convened by the ACLU and Rights & Democracy, coalitions convened by Granite State Progress for common sense gun violence prevention policies and support for our public schools, and of course, the robust organizing happening via the Kent Street Coalition and Canterbury Citizens for Democracy. So many ways to connect!
News from Congress
The past several weeks were busy ones for immigrant rights advocates, who urged our Members of Congress to be champions for humane immigration policies during the ‘lame duck’ session by supporting permanent protections for millions of undocumented immigrants, an end to policies which deny the right to seek asylum, and cuts in funding for harmful immigration enforcement. We are frustrated and angry to see that the framework agreed to by lawmakers for the omnibus funding bill fails on most of these points, although thankfully without a measure which would have extended the harmful Title 42 expulsions of migrants at the southern border. (We note with dismay, however, that both Senator Hassan and Senator Shaheen voted in favor of keeping Title 42 in place. Please let them know that this is policy is unjust and racist.)
The Defund Hate campaign, of which AFSC is a founding member, asks “Are we still in the Trump years?” The proposed 2023 omnibus funding bill includes “Trump level detention (enough funding to jail 34,000 people), and funding for 300 additional CBP officers, and keeps funding levels for enforcement-based monitoring programs, all while failing to include protections for immigrants. The budget is a shameful failure on the part of Congress to meaningfully invest in an immigration system that centers our collective values of dignity, respect, and humanity for all.”
They do note one highlight: “Despite the overall enforcement-centered framework of the bill, Defund Hate is pleased to see the creation of a new $800 million Shelter and Services grant fund which will move funds out of CBP into FEMA to fund localities and non-governmental organizations providing critical and life-saving services to migrants newly arriving to the United States. This community investment adopts recommendations put forth by the Defund Hate coalition in our transformative budget.”
Imani Cruz, AFSC’s Migration Policy Advocacy Coordinator, said: “Each dollar appropriated to ICE and CBP is money that harms people in our communities and puts lives at risk. We must continue to demand that Congress cut these budgets, especially for increased officers and enforcement, and lower detention numbers. This money is better spent on critical resources that actually help society and demilitarize our border communities.”
Upcoming events
Wednesday, January 4
Opening Day Visibility - 8:30 AM to 10 AM. Hosted by NH Voices of Faith, New Hampshire Council of Churches, and AFSC. All people of faith and moral conscience are invited to join us at the State House for a visibility on the opening day of the 2023 legislative season. We want to be present as a strong moral and theological voice for NH! Clergy stoles, robes, and collars encouraged. We will have signs, and you are encouraged to bring your own.
Tuesday, January 10
PPNHAF Virtual Legislative Process 101 – 6 PM to 7 PM. Hosted by Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. Do you want to learn more about New Hampshire's legislative process, but don't know where to start? Join us for our Legislative Process 101 on Tuesday, January 10 via Zoom. We'll discuss the details of the NH legislative process and how you can take action!
Advocacy Webinar – 11 AM to 12 PM. Hosted by New Futures. Learn how to advocate during the 2023 legislative session. This webinar will cover the basics of the NH legislature, how a bill becomes a law and when to advocate in that process, tips on writing your advocacy message, and best practices for different ways of advocating such as testifying at a public hearing, calling your legislator, or writing a Letter to the Editor.
Monday, January 16 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!
Communication Across Difference: Toward Beloved Community – 1 PM at Memorial High School, 1 Crusader Way, Manchester. Hosted by the MLK Coalition. This event features guest speakers, MLK Celebration Choir, high school jazz bands, awards, and a community reading from Dr. King's work. This year the MLK Celebration Choir will sing Bob Marley’s “One Love.” If you would like to be a part of this interfaith choir, sign up here. The signup deadline is January 4.
Environmental Justice: Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemoration – 5 PM to 6 PM. Park Theater, 19 Main Street, Jaffrey. Hosted by the Jaffrey-Rindge MLK Committee. Join us in person or remotely via the livestream. Our theme this year will address environmental justice. Aaron Mair, the national Sierra Club's past president, and the Club's first African American president will address environmental justice issues. A reception with a student exhibit will follow his talk.
Peace & Justice Conversations: Reflections From a Justice Organizer on MLK Day – 7 PM. Hosted by NH Peace Action. Join us to for a conversation with Grace Kindeke, community organizer and artist-activist, who will share how she sees the three evils Dr. King spoke of: Racism, Poverty, and War, interacting and relating in her work in New Hampshire and answer questions about how we can work together to build a more just and peaceful future.
Tuesday, January 17
PPNHAF Virtual Legislative Briefing – 6 PM to 7 PM. Hosted by Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. Join us on Tuesday, January 17 via Zoom to discuss what to expect at the State House this legislative session, which bills to keep an eye on, and how to take action throughout the process. We’ll have plenty of time to answer your questions so you can feel ready to take on this upcoming session. Together, we fight for all!
Open Democracy Book Club: Democracy Vouchers – 7 PM to 8:30 PM. Hosted by Open Democracy. Welcome back to the Open Democracy Book Club. We will have our first gathering of the new year to discuss Democracy Vouchers by Tom Latkowski. Spoiler alert, our own Executive Director Olivia Zink was interviewed for this book! Author Tom Latkowski will join us for the first half hour (to be interviewed by Olivia). There will be time for Q&A from attendees and then we will split off into separate groups to discuss the book, coming back together for the last portion to summarize.
Thursday, January 19
Budget Process Webinar – 4 PM to 5 PM. Hosted by New Futures. It’s a budget year in New Hampshire! In this one-hour webinar, New Futures’ staff budget expert Kate Frey will provide insight into the budget process in New Hampshire and how to advocate for critical funding.
The Black Matter Is Life: "Connections" Poetry Reading with Guest Poet, L'Merchie Frazer – 7 PM. Hosted by the Black Heritage Trail NH. The Trail welcomes visual activist, public historian, artist, innovator, and poet L'Merchie Frazier as our guest poet for the finale of The Black Matter Is Life virtual poetry series. Frazier will join two New England scholars, Courtney Marshall and Dennis Britton, to explore the theme of “Connections” through a discussion of the following poets and poems: Danez Smith - "dogs!" / Sterling Brown - "Ma Rainey"/ Ruth Foreman - "Poetry Should Ride the Bus."
Tuesday, January 24
Child Care Webinar – 1 PM to 2 PM. Hosted by New Futures. Affordable childcare is a critical tool in keeping New Hampshire’s families physically and economically healthy. Learn about the senate bill that aims to ease the burden on Granite State families in this one-hour webinar with New Futures Kids Count Policy Director Rebecca Woitkowski.
Wednesday, January 25
Alcohol Fund Webinar – 4 PM to 5 PM. Hosted by New Futures. New Hampshire’s Alcohol Fund is an innovative, fiscally responsible, common-sense approach to support programs that address substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery in the Granite State. However, it has been historically underfunded or diverted. In this one-hour webinar, learn more about how your voice is needed to help protect this critical funding from New Futures Vice President of Advocacy Kate Frey.
With best wishes for joy and relaxation during the holidays and a wonderful new year,
Maggie Fogarty and Grace Kindeke
AFSC’s New Hampshire "State House Watch" newsletter is published to bring you information about matters being discussed in Concord which relate to racial, social, and economic justice. Bookmark www.afsc.org/state-house-watch to read past and upcoming newsletters, including our 2022 End of Session Report.
The AFSC is a Quaker organization supported by people of many faiths who care about peace, social justice, humanitarian service, and nonviolent change. Maggie Fogarty and Grace Kindeke staff the New Hampshire Program which publishes this newsletter.
‘State House Watch" received financial support for more than a decade from the Anne Slade Frey Charitable Trust. Your donations make our work possible. Click the DONATE NOW button on our web page to send a secure donation to support the work of the AFSC’s New Hampshire Program. Thank you!