State House Watch: January 27, 2023

By Maggie Fogarty and Grace Kindeke

"All our phrasing—race relations, racial chasm, racial justice, racial profiling, white privilege, even white supremacy—serves to obscure that racism is a visceral experience, that it dislodges brains, blocks airways, rips muscle, extracts organs, cracks bones, breaks teeth. You must never look away from this. You must always remember that the sociology, the history, the economics, the graphs, the charts, the regressions all land, with great violence, upon the body." - Ta-Nehisi Coates, Between the World and Me

Hello State House Watchers,

What a week! We hope you’ve recovered from the snow, ice, and power outages. Even the NH General Court had to take a ‘snow day,’ on Monday. But then it was off to the races, with full days of hearings from Tuesday to Friday, morning to evening. Next week promises more of the same; read on to see for yourself.

Action Alerts

Please sign in (House bills here; Senate bills here)contact the committee, or show up to support this week’s key bills:

SUPPORT SB 181-FN, relative to access to abortion care. This bill would enshrine abortion rights in New Hampshire law. Senate Judiciary, Room 100 SH on Tuesday, January 31 at 2 PM. You can keep track of all bills related to reproductive justice at Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. (And mark your calendars for February 15 and 16 – two big days for reproductive justice bills.)

SUPPORT HB 46-FNrelative to the appointment of magistrates and repealing the statutes governing bail commissioners. This is a very good bill, which builds on the success of recent bail reform.  House Criminal Justice & Public Safety, Room 202-204, LOB, on Wednesday, February 1 at 10 AM.

SUPPORT HB 315prohibiting provocations based on a victim’s actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation from being used as a defense in a criminal case. House Criminal Justice & Public Safety, Room 202-204, LOB, on Wednesday, February 1 at 1:15 PM.

SUPPORT HB 596-FNprohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing. House Criminal Justice & Public Safety, Room 202-204, LOB, on Wednesday, February 1 at 2 PM.

SUPPORT SB 254-FN, relative to community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caregivers. This bill would promote community-based alternatives for sentencing in cases involving primary caregivers of elderly people, children, and people with disabilities. It is supported by the Free Her NH campaign, AFSC, NH Women’s Foundation and many other organizations. You can find talking points hereSenate Judiciary, Room 100, SH on Wednesday, February 1 at 2 PM.

SUPPORT HB 282-FN-A, relative to including certain children and pregnant women in Medicaid and the children’s health insurance program. This bill will expand access to healthcare for certain groups of immigrants, including children. You can read more hereHouse Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs, Room 210-211, LOB on Wednesday, February 1 at 2 PM.

OPPOSE SB 132-FN, prohibiting cities and towns from adopting sanctuary policies. This is a harmful bill that could require state and local law enforcement to engage in enforcement of federal immigration laws. Senate Election Law & Municipal Affairs, Room 103, LOB on Tuesday, February 7 at 9:45 AM.

Black Lives Matter

Tyre Nichols should be alive today. So should George Floyd, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor, and so many other people killed by police in the United States. The fact that they are not alive now is a testament to the deep need to dismantle the racist system that devalues Black and Brown lives. In 2020, AFSC shared this statement on our commitment to the struggle for racial justice and equity. Today, it’s as important as ever that we work in solidarity to build a changed world. 

Immigration news

80 Members of Congress sent a letter to President Biden this week, expressing great concern and disappointment with the Administration’s restrictive policies and urging him to protect the rights of migrants and asylum-seekers: ”It is unconscionable that asylum seekers have no option but to sleep in the streets of El Paso, in overcrowded shelters in Juarez, or in tents in Reynosa, but new asylum restrictions against migrants will not solve this problem. We believe that your administration can and must continue to expand legal pathways for migrants and refugees into the United States --without further dismantling the right to seek asylum at our border. This right is a pillar of the post-war international order to which the United States has committed itself. We are ready to work with you to ensure that we can have a safe, humane, and orderly border that upholds the right to asylum.” Read more here.

AFSC joined 164 faith-based organizations and congregations in a letter to the administration, opposing new restrictions on immigration. “Our diverse faith traditions compel us to love our neighbor, accompany the vulnerable, and welcome the sojourner—regardless of place of birth, religion, or ethnicity,” the letter reads. “Importantly, our faiths also urge us to boldly resist and dismantle systems of oppression.” (Religion News Service) 

Meanwhile, Haitian people rush to secure the passport required for the limited pathway to receive humanitarian parole in the US, and to process their applications through the CBP One app, which as of this week had still not been translated into Haitian Creole. We can and must do better.

NH policy debates in the news

Among the seven bail reform bills being considered in the state legislature this year, HB 318, which would replace bail commissioners with circuit court judges, had a public hearing this past week. The Union Leader reported on the hearing.  

The NH Bulletin reported this week on a recent public hearing for HB 95, a bill that would enable towns and cities to set rental policies, including rent stabilization measures.

The House Education Committee heard strong testimony last week in opposition to HB 440, a bill that would significantly expand the eligible uses of education freedom account funds, ”an attempt to divert millions of dollars to the Education Freedom Account program from public schools without sufficient accountability.” Read more at InDepthNH.

And NH Bulletin reports on HB 430, a bill that would limit eligibility for education freedom account payments to those who have attended public school for at least one year: “For [Representative David] Luneau…, the bill creates a restriction that will stop the state from sending EFA money to families who were not participating in the public school system to begin with. He argued that the EFA bill had been presented as a way to help low-income students struggling in public school to have options to leave, and that the high proportion of EFA recipients who weren’t in the public school system contradicted that promise.” Read more here

Read more about the 100+ education bills being considered this year at NHPR.

On Thursday, the NH Senate gave unanimous approval to SB 1, a proposal that extends the deadline for the closure of the Sununu Youth Services Center and sets parameters for the contract for a new, and much smaller, facility. Read more here. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people have sued the state of New Hampshire for abuse they suffered at the facility. The claims represent decades of physical, mental and sexual violence, and comprise "the largest child abuse case in the history of the United States" (WMUR).

Overheard at the State House...

 “There exists a false narrative [about an increase in crime related to bail reform.] My students processed 508 case summary sheets. This is the first hard data in five years of debate about bail reform. The story that this data tells is that out of 508 cases, in only four of them was there any evidence that the person who had been released on bail was charged with a subsequent crime. So, this issue that the sky is falling, that dangerous people are committing crime because of bail reform, is a false narrative. And out of the 508 cases, in 35% of them, all of the charges were later dismissed.” – UNH Law Professor Albert “Buzz” Scherr, testifying in opposition to HB 318, a bill that would increase pre-trial detention

“The idea that if all these units come online rents will suddenly become more affordable is really magical thinking. Frankly, the affordable units don’t pencil out, and I think we’re going to have to come up with systems to really subsidize developers to build more. In the meantime, people are being pushed out of their apartments and are living in cars, if they have a car, or on couches if they have a friend.” Jane Haigh, member of the Manchester Housing Alliance, testifying in support of HB 95, a bill that would help to manage rental costs.

Last week at the State House

The full Senate was in session on Thursday, January 26. Here are some of the outcomes:

On the Consent Calendar

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION
SB 42-FN, relative to overpayment of unemployment compensation. This bill provides that the state shall not charge interest on the collection of an overpayment of unemployment compensation unless the person knowingly or willfully made a false statement in their application for benefits. OTP by VV.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
SB 35, relative to RSV vaccine administration. SB 35 authorizes pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and licensed advanced pharmacy technicians to administer an RSV vaccine to adults. This is a standard process that the General Court has gone through as new vaccines emerge in an effort to expand the network of availability for vaccines. RSV is a serious illness and expanding access to vaccinations, once FDA and CDC approval have been granted, will be important in creating a healthy population in New Hampshire. OTP by VV.

On the Regular Calendar

ELECTION LAW AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS
SB 47, establishing a commission to study barriers to increased density of residential development in New Hampshire. This bill will establish a commission to study barriers to increased density of residential development in New Hampshire. It will be the continuation of a prior commission that was unable to finish important studies due to the COVID pandemic. Much of the work done by this Commission is needed to address the housing crisis in New Hampshire and promote expansion of residential housing all across the state. OTP by VV.

Next week at the State House


You can watch the House hearings here, and the Senate hearings here. You can sign in for House bills here, and for Senate bills here. And you can contact House or Senate committees.

Key:
LOB – Legislative Office Building (33 N. State St. Concord)
SH – State House (107 N. Main St. Concord)

OTP – “Ought to Pass,” the recommendation for approving a bill or an amendment
OTP/A – Ought to Pass with Amendment
ITL – “Inexpedient to Legislate,” the recommendation for defeating a bill or an amendment. “ITL” can also be used as a verb.
IS – Referred for interim study.
RC – Roll call vote. Each legislator’s vote is recorded and attributed to them.
VV – Voice vote

 

Coming up in the House


The House will be in session on Thursday, February 2 at 10 AM. It will be live streamed here.

They will meet in session again on Tuesday, February 14 to vote in the morning, and then in the afternoon, they will then meet in Joint Convention with the Senate to hear Governor Sununu’s budget address. Session days are also scheduled for Wednesday, February 22 and, tentatively, Thursday, February 23.

On the Consent Calendar

 

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION.
HB 65, commemorating the first labor strike in the United States by women. Vote ITL 19-0
HB 140, proclaiming January 24 as “Granny D” day. This bill commemorates January 24th as “Granny D” Day. As in previous years, the committee finds that proclamations by the Governor and local celebrations are a more appropriate means of commemorations for those whose memory we hold dear, such as Granny D. Vote ITL 19-0

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT

HB 422-FN, to create a public county registry of the monthly rent charged by landlords for each owned unit. The committee believes this bill is an unfunded mandate, leaving the Registry of Deeds to develop a new database system and infrastructure to be enacted in 60 days. The committee also was concerned about the invasion of the landlord’s privacy. Vote ITL 18-1

On the Regular Calendar

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT
HB 95, enabling municipalities to adopt rental practice regulations. MAJORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE. MINORITY: OUGHT TO PASS. Vote 16-3. The majority believes allowing each municipality to establish de facto rent control flies in the face of free market principles. From the minority report: With the vacancy rate below 1%, some landlords have been raising rents 100 to 150%, which has resulted in numerous evictions of tenants who have no housing options. The minority believes there is a need for some municipalities to consider adopting rental regulations to protect economically vulnerable people in their communities.
HB 295-FN, relative to requiring all selectboard and school board meetings to be recorded and broadcast live online. MAJORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE. MINORITY: OUGHT TO PASS. Vote 10-9.

STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS
HB 330-FN-A, relative to the national guard recruitment incentive program and its funding and rulemaking. This bill raises the enlistment incentive payment from $500 to $1000 to current and former members of the NH National Guard who refer enlistees. Vote OTP 13-0.

Coming up in House committees

Monday, January 30

JUDICIARY, Room 206-208, LOB
1 PM Executive Session on HB 164, relative to prohibiting towns from criminalizing the right to peacefully and orderly assemble; CACR 5, relating to fundamental rights, providing that the constitution protects the right to marry; HB 240, relative to equal access to marriage; HB 63, relative to religious use of land and structures; HB 256, prohibiting cities and towns from discriminating in the use of public facilities.

LEGISLATIVE ADMINISTRATION, Room 301-303, LOB
10 AM CACR 3, relating to recall elections, providing that the general court may authorize recall elections.
10:30 AM CACR 4, relating to compensation for legislators, providing that legislators’ biennial salary compensation shall be increased.
11 AM HB 245-FN, relative to the compensation of members of the general court.
1 PM HB 301, relative to recusal by members of the general court for conflicts of interest.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGYRoom 302-304, LOB
9 AM HB 175, relative to the state’s energy consumption reduction goal
11 AM HB 208-FN, establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the state and establishing a climate action plan.
4 PM Executive Session on HB 418-FN, relative to eliminating the rebates distributed by the energy efficiency fund; HB 576-FN-A-L, establishing an energy conservation program and an energy conservation project fund and establishing the state PACE reserve fund; HB 92, requiring the adoption of innovative vehicle emissions standards pursuant to section 177 of the federal Clean Air Act.

SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON HOUSING, Room 104, LOB
10 AM Orientation

Tuesday, January 31

CHILDREN AND FAMILY LAW, Room 206-208, LOB
3 PM Executive Session on HB 120-FN-A, relative to the closure of the Sununu Youth Services Center and operation of a replacement secure facility.

COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Room 305-307, LOB
2:30 PM HB 130, repealing the drug affordability board.

EDUCATION, Room 205-207, LOB
9:45 AM Executive Session on HB 334-FN, relative to determination and cost of state adequate education; HB 309-FN, relative to civil rights education in public elementary and secondary schools; HB 272FN, increasing chartered public school per pupil funding; HB 577-FN-L, relative to state aid for special education pupils.

ELECTION LAW, Room 306-308, LOB
10 AM HB 324-FN-A, relative to campaign contributions and expenditures and making an appropriation therefor.
10:15 AM HB 482, requiring the use of ballots with embedded security, traceability, and relative to the chain of custody for ballots cast in elections.
11 AM Executive Session on HB 324-FN-A, relative to campaign contributions and expenditures and making an appropriation therefor; HB 453-FN-A, relative to prohibiting the folding of election ballots and providing adequate envelops for absentee ballots to prevent folding; HB 508-FN, relative to the payment of postage on absentee ballot return envelopes; HB 195, relative to the definition of political advocacy organization; HB 196, establishing a commission to review and make recommendations on campaign finance laws.
1:30 PM HB 259, relative to a study about making working at polling places on election day a civic responsibility and legal obligation for citizens.
2 PM HB 395, relative to the voters’ guide for constitutional amendments.
2:30 PM HB 502-FN, relative to voter affidavit ballots.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY, Room 302-304, LOB
9 AM HB 234-FN, relative to renewable energy credits.
10 AM HB 246-FN, relative to uses of moneys in the renewable energy fund.
11 AM HB 161, relative to customer generators of electricity as group hosts under net metering.

TRANSPORTATION, Room 201-203, LOB
1 PM Executive Session on HB 374-FN, relative to the application process for driver’s licenses and the privacy of motor vehicle records; HB 375-FN, relative to the licensure of nonresident aliens temporarily residing in New Hampshire; HB 597-FN, relative to race and ethnicity data on driver’s licenses, and race and ethnicity data collection; HB 650-FN, relative to prohibiting suspension of driver’s licenses due to nonpayment of fines or fees.

Wednesday, February 1

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, Room 202-204, LOB
9 AM HB 38-FN, relative to the conditions for release of a defendant pending trial.
10 AM HB 46-FN, relative to the appointment of magistrates and repealing the statutes governing bail commissioners.
11 AM HB 400-FN, relative to certain assault offenses, bail eligibility for commission of certain assault offenses, and making a false report to a law enforcement officer.
12:30 PM HB 549-FN, relative to definitions of domestic violence.
1:15 PM HB 315, prohibiting provocations based on a victim’s actual or perceived gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation from being used as a defense in a criminal case.
2 PM HB 596-FN, prohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing.

EDUCATION, Room 205-207, LOB
11:15 AM Executive Session on HB 367-FN-L, relative to eligibility of students in the education freedom account program; HB 430-FN-L, relative to applications for the education freedom account program; HB 487-FN, establishing a New Hampshire farm-to-school reimbursement program.

HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND ELDERLY AFFAIRS, Room 210-211, LOB
9 AM HB 598-FN, relative to funding maternal mortality reviews.
9:45 AM HB 264-FN, relative to amendments and corrections to birth records.
10:30 AM HB 566-FN-A, relative to establishing a fund for child care workers and early childhood educators at state licensed child care centers.
11:15 AM HB 574-FN-A, re-establishing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program.
1 PM HB 565-FN-A, relative to expanding Medicaid to include certain postpartum health care services.
1:30 PM HB 580-FN, establishing a children’s vision screening initiative within the state Medicaid program.
2 PM HB 282-FN-A, relative to including certain children and pregnant women in Medicaid and the children’s health insurance program.

JUDICIARY, Room 206-208, LOB
9 AM Executive session on HB 314-FN, relative to the expectation of privacy in the collection and use of personal information; HB 149-FN, relative to the handling of requests made under the right-to-know law; HB 254, relative to remote participation in public meetings under the right to know law; HB 289-FN, relative to consultation with legal counsel under the right to know law; HB 307-FN, relative to attorney’s fees in actions under the right to know law; HB 308, relative to a quorum for meetings open to the public to include remote presence; HB 321-FN-L, relative to minutes from nonpublic sessions under the right to know law; HB 379-FN, requiring that attorneys be appointed to represent indigent tenants during residential eviction proceedings and making an appropriation therefor.

MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT, Room 301-303, LOB
1:45 PM HB 398, relative to notice of PFAS and other groundwater contamination prior to the sale of real property.
2:30 PM HB 592-FN, relative to buffers around wetlands.

Thursday, February 2

COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Room 302-304, LOB
1:30 PM Executive Session on HB 39-FN, relative to paper billing fees; HB 173, relative to toilet facilities provided by restaurants; HB 130, repealing the drug affordability board.

HEALTH, HUMAN SERVICES AND ELDERLY AFFAIRS, Room 210-211, LOB
1 PM HB 428, relative to mental health practice
1:30 PM Executive Session on HB 91-FN-A, relative to privacy obligations of the department of health and human services; HB 598-FN, relative to funding maternal mortality reviews; HB 566-FN-A, relative to establishing a fund for child care workers and early childhood educators at state licensed child care centers; HB 264-FN, relative to amendments and corrections to birth records; HB 574-FN-A, re-establishing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program; HB 565-FN-A, relative to expanding Medicaid to include certain postpartum health care services; HB 580FN, establishing a children’s vision screening initiative within the state Medicaid program; HB 282-FN-A, relative to including certain children and pregnant women in Medicaid and the children’s health insurance program.

Friday, February 3

CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, Room 202-204, LOB
9 AM Executive Session on HB 38-FN, relative to the conditions for release of a defendant pending trial; HB 318-FN-A, eliminating bail commissioners, and relative to the release of a defendant pending trial and establishing new circuit court judge positions; HB 504-FN, relative to the adult parole board and making an appropriation therefor; HB 643-FN-A, relative to legalizing marijuana; HB 201-FN, relative to changing the penalties for driving without a license; HB 291-FN, relative to false reports to certain departments; HB 287, removing testing equipment from the definition of drug paraphernalia in the controlled drug act; HB 470-FN, relative to fentanyl test strips and other drug checking equipment; HB 292-FN, establishing a criminal penalty for theft by a public servant; HB 302-FN-A, relative to including education in the United States Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the New Hampshire constitution for New Hampshire law enforcement; HB 144-FN, restoring firearm ownership rights to ex-felons.

EDUCATION, Room 205-207, LOB
10:15 AM Executive Session on HB 170, requiring the teaching of cursive handwriting and multiplication tables; HB 626-FN, requiring the department of education to administer the education freedom account; HB 267, relative to criminal records checks in school employment; HB 380-FN, relative to non-academic surveys administered by a public school or a chartered public school to its students; HB 638-FN-L, relative to the extraordinary need grants to schools; HB 424-FN, relative to school lunch payment policies; HB 429-FN-L, requiring the offering of breakfast and lunch in all public and chartered public schools.

PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS, Room 201-203, LOB
11:45 AM HB 110, prohibiting the use of state funds for new passenger rail projects.
1 PM HB 606-FN, requiring construction of state buildings or state-funded projects to contain electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND ENERGY, Room 302-304, LOB
11 AM HB 211, relative to a report by the department of energy on the effectiveness of the system benefits charge
2 PM HB 139, relative to the definition of “municipal host” for purposes of limited electrical energy producers
4 PM Executive Session on HB 630-FN, establishing a revolving clean energy accelerator fund in the department of energy; HB 234-FN, relative to renewable energy credits; HB 246-FN, relative to uses of moneys in the renewable energy fund.

STATE-FEDERAL RELATIONS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS, Room 206-208, LOB
9:30 AM HCR 7, recognizing the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation.
10:15 AM HR 15, relative to affirming support against the establishment of a state religion.
10:30 AM HR 16, relative to the Internal Revenue Service.
1 PM Executive Session on HB 229-FN, relative to requiring an official declaration of war for the activation of the New Hampshire national guard; HCR 3, relative to affirming states’ power over the federal constitution; HCR 4, urging Congress to propose a constitutional amendment to establish congressional term limits; HCR 1, a resolution applying for a convention of the states under Article V of the Constitution of the United States; HR 8, urging Congress to enact legislation regulating and banning certain semi-automatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices; HR 9, calling for the federal government to enact an American Marshall Plan to rebuild economically impoverished communities and strengthen climate resilience infrastructure; HR 10, supporting statehood for the District of Columbia; HR 13, affirming support for the people of Puerto Rico; HCR 5, urging the taking of appropriate legal action against multinational fossil fuel companies for harms incurred from disinformation campaigns about the effects of fossil fuel combustion; HCR 7, recognizing the Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation; HR 7, calling for the federal government to preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security without cuts to benefits; HR 15, relative to affirming support against the establishment of a state religion; HR 16, relative to the Internal Revenue Service.

Coming up in the Senate


The Senate will meet in session on Thursday, February 9 at 10 AM in the Senate chamber. The Senate will meet in joint convention with the House for Governor Sununu’s budget address on Tuesday, February 14.

Coming up in Senate committees

Tuesday, January 31

EDUCATION, Room 101, LOB
9 AM SB 140-FN, relative to establishing a program for the recruitment of educators.
9:15 AM SB 141-FN, relative to administration of the education freedom accounts program.
9:30 AM SB 151-FN, relative to mental health education.
9:45 AM SB 152-FN, relative to New Hampshire workforce training programs.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW

ELECTION LAW AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS, Room 103, LOB
9:15 AM SB 156-FN, relative to voter registration and verification of voter identity.
9:30 AM SB 157-FN, relative to election audits.
9:45 AM SB 133-FN, relative to changing the date of the state primary election and creating a runoff election for federal primary election.
10 AM SB 220-FN, modifying the absentee voter registration process, absentee ballot application, and absentee ballot voting process.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW

JUDICIARY, Room 100, SH
1 PM SB 128-FN, relative to payment for legal services for persons involuntarily admitted for mental health services.
1:15 PM SB 129-FN, relative to the payment of costs for indigent persons involved in mediation services.
2 PM. SB 181-FN, relative to access to abortion care.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW

TRANSPORTATION, Room 101, LOB
2:15 PM SB 187-FN, relative to driver’s licenses for certain visa holders.

Wednesday, February 1

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 103, SH
10:15 AM SB 206, prohibiting corporal punishment in child day care agencies.

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Room 101, LOB
9 AM SB 86-FN, relative to health care workforce development and making appropriations therefor.
1:15 PM SB 173-FN, relative to surprise medical bills.
EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY FOLLOW

JUDICIARY, Room 100, SH
1 PM SB 244-FN, relative to false public alarms.
1:15 PM SB 248-FN, relative to bail for a defendant.
1:30 PM SB 249-FN, relative to the release of a defendant pending trial.
1:45 PM SB 252-FN, relative to release of a defendant pending trial.
2 PM SB 254-FN, relative to community-based sentencing alternatives for primary caregivers.

Thursday, February 2

ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, Room 103, SH
1 PM SB 161, relative to low-moderate income community solar projects.
1:45 PM SB 168, relative to participation in a low-moderate income residential customers community solar project.

Tuesday, February 7

ELECTION LAW AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS, Room 103, LOB
9:45 AM SB 132-FN, prohibiting cities and towns from adopting sanctuary policies.

Upcoming events


Sign up for the DEI workplace innovation challenge hosted by NH Businesses for Social Responsibility.

Saturday, January 28

Crying in the Wilderness: An Immigrant’s Journey in Detention – 3 PM to 5 PM. Cheshire Mills Complex – 69 Main Street, Harrisville. Sharing a message of compassion and care for all our immigrant neighbors. Powerful photos, words and artwork illustrating the emotional toll of immigrant detention. Join us for the opening reception of a traveling exhibit with 10 large photos printed on canvas and suspended in black metal frames, illustrating the physical and emotional impacts of detaining and shackling an asylum seeker.

JUSTICE FOR TYRE NICHOLS! + All Victims of Police Terror - 6 PM. City Hall, Manchester. Hosted by Party for Socialism and Liberation - Southern NH. Take to the streets to protest the horrific police killing of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols by five Memphis Police Department officers. Only the people can put an end to the regime of police terror that Black America is subjected to. Join us to demonstrate and demand justice. In 2020, tens of millions of people took to the streets across the country and around the world against racist police killings in the wake of the murder of George Floyd. That same spirit of resistance is needed now to keep up the fight. DUE TO LOW TEMPERATURES PLEASE DRESS APPROPRIATELY. We will provide hand warmers and warm beverages if possible. If you can bring personal or extra, please do.

Friday, February 3

In Person Advocacy Training – 9 AM to 2 PM. 100 N Main Street, 4th Floor, Concord. Hosted by New Futures. Learn how to advocate in the 2023 legislative session in this five-hour in-person training at the New Futures office in Concord covering the basics of the NH legislature, how a bill becomes a law, tips on writing your advocacy message, and best practices for different ways of advocating. This session features breakfast and lunch, guest speakers, hands-on practice, and a tour of the State House.

Black History Month Unity Concert with Martin Toe and Destin Boy Official – 8 PM. Bank of NH Stage, Concord. Hosted by Destin Boy Official & Bank of NH Stage. Sink your feet into some Afrobeat and Hip hop with Martin Toe and Destin Boy Official! Martin Toe is a dynamic American Afropop/Hip-Hop artist from New Hampshire. From African roots, Martin inspires his fans to be unstoppable through a combination of raw energy and undaunted lyrics. His music promotes diversity and overcoming all obstacles, pulling from his past experiences with loss, war trauma, and hurt. Destin Boy Official is an Afrobeats and dancehall fusion artist, based in Manchester NH. He was born in Democratic Republic of Congo but raised in Kenya. When he was growing up he developed a love for music and performing.

Saturday, February 4 to Saturday, April 8

Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum – 1 PM. Hosted by The Black Quaker Project. We are proud to announce the 2023 Black Quaker Lives Matter Film Festival & Forum, a groundbreaking exploration of Black Friends who made a difference throughout both USA and world history.  From February 4 to April 8, we will hold screenings, dedicated to Quakers of Color, over Zoom.

Sunday, February 5 to March 22

Bringing It Back: Conversations We Still Need – 2 PM to 3:30 PM. Portsmouth Public Library, Livingston Room, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth. Hosted by the Black Heritage Trail NH. In 2023, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, will celebrate four hundred years as an incorporated town by honoring the city’s diverse and dynamic social, political, intellectual, cultural, economic, and spiritual history from the time of the first Native American settlements to the present. In recognition of this four-hundred-year milestone, BHTNH’s annual Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talk series will revisit significant themes from past conversations. The 2023 series will dig deeper into complex issues that often divide us in order to build inclusive communities in which we all can thrive.

Sunday, February 5

Before European Contact: Changing The Ways We Present Our History – 2 PM to 3:30 PM. Portsmouth Public Library, Livingston Room, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth. Hosted by the Black Heritage Trail NH. Many rich stories about the complex history of our region remain hidden, oftentimes erased in the conventional dominant stories. These narratives start with European contact on these shores and the arrival of enslaved Africans. This conversation aims to foreground the silenced stories of the Indigenous and African American experiences before European contact. Panelists also will discuss how we can change the language we use to tell a truer history when that history is told from an Indigenous and African point of view.

Monday, February 6

Free Her NH Campaign Kickoff Town Hall – 6 PM to 7 PM. Hosted by the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls. Join organizers with the FreeHer NH campaign and some special guests, including Senator Rebecca Perkins Kwoka, Joseph Lascaze (ACLU) and a NH mom to learn about how we are working to end the incarceration of women and girls in our state. Learn our priority legislation and other work to #FreeHer!

Wednesday, February 8

NH Gun Violence Prevention Coalition Lobby Day  - Please mark your calendars and plan to join the NH Gun Violence Prevention Coalition, NH Council of Churches and NH Voices of Faith at the State House at 8:15 AM for a press conference ahead of the first public hearings for many gun-related bills. More details coming soon.

Sunday, February 12

The Paradox of Education for Black & Brown Children – 2 PM to 3:30 PM. Portsmouth Public Library, Livingston Room, 175 Parrott Avenue, Portsmouth. Hosted by the Black Heritage Trail NH.  It has been a year since NH Legislators joined a wave of states across the country to pass laws prohibiting teaching critical perspectives on histories, laws, social practices, and literature that have excluded opposing voices and histories of African Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and People of Color. For this panel, presenters will discuss the effect these “divisive concepts” laws have had on teaching excluded perspectives in their classroom with a particular focus on NH. The panel will also explore the paradox of an educational system based on the notion of socializing young people into the existing structure of society, while also claiming to have, as its core mission, the goal of teaching students to be critical thinkers.

Be well,

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. Check out our 2022 Highlights brochure!