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Medication abortions still available in NH following Texas abortion pill ruling
Reproductive health care providers reassured patients Monday that pill abortions will remain legal, safe, and available in New Hampshire – even if a Texas federal court judge succeeds in blocking access to one of the two medications used. They described Friday’s preliminary ruling invalidating the Food and Drug Administration’s 23-year-old approval of the abortion pill […]
𝒞𝒶𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓇𝑒𝒶𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓈?
Lawmakers are taking up education issues this year that go beyond the big ones, such as adequate funding, school safety, and school vouchers. The instruction of cursive writing and multiplication tables is also dividing the public and legislators. House Bill 170, which cleared the House, 199-174, and looks likely to pass in the Senate Thursday, […]
Lots of winners in proposed state budget. That could change Thursday.
This story was updated Wednesday, April 5 at 9:30 a.m. to correct the amount of money proposed for a new hockey arena at the University of New Hampshire. The budget headed for a House vote Thursday has good news for parents, state employees, certain retirees, wealthier Granite Staters counties, and dozens of agencies that rely […]
With massage parlors unlicensed, human trafficking is difficult to police
Federal law enforcement officers have discovered illicit massage parlors in every New Hampshire county, with victims of human trafficking being forced to have sex with customers. The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 75 victims in New Hampshire in 2021, most involving sex in illicit massage parlors and spas. Law enforcement officers say the state’s lax […]
State launches free dental care for adults on Medicaid with two mobile clinics on Saturday
The state announced Friday that it is launching its free dental care for adults on Medicaid with two mobile clinics on Saturday. You have to make an appointment – and there are just a few slots left, according to a person scheduling appointments. In a press release issued Friday morning, the Department of Health and […]
Dems oppose budget headed to the House. Will that risk state pay raises?
This story was updated on March 29, 2023 at 8 p.m. to correct the name of the Democratic House member who voted for the budget. A 10 percent pay raise for the state’s 10,000-plus workers cleared an early hurdle Wednesday. The House Finance Committee voted, 14-11, for a budget that includes $100 million for a […]
Vaccine, public health bills are having a very different year
Last session, lawmakers took up nearly 60 pandemic-related health measures, more than half focused on vaccines; most failed. It’s a vastly different situation this year. Of four bills focused on vaccines or public health powers that the Bulletin is following, two have stalled. The other two land on opposite sides of the public health debate. […]
Sununu’s sweeping licensing overhaul could fail with both parties
Republican and Democratic budget writers in the House are moving to reject nearly all of the controversial and sweeping professional licensing changes Gov. Chris Sununu is seeking. This includes maintaining 31 of the 34 licenses he wants to eliminate, such as those for foresters, licensed nursing assistants, radiologists, and court reporters. The latter, who make […]
House budget writers seek to cut Sununu’s housing fund, delay new prison, boost Medicaid rates
When Gov. Chris Sununu addressed lawmakers to deliver his budget address in February, he promised “a smart and targeted budget that sets us all up for an even brighter future.” But not all of the governor’s proposals have been embraced by House Republican budget writers. There’s a $40-million-a-year gap between Sununu’s revenue estimates and those […]
Republicans help deliver Democrats two abortion wins
This story was updated March 24, 2023 at 8:45 a.m. to correct the name of the representative who addressed a proposed constitutional amendment. The support of several Republican House lawmakers Thursday gave Democrats wins on significant abortion bills. By fairly wide margins, members voted to remove criminal and civil penalties from the state’s 24-week abortion […]
House passes Sununu Center bill without legal changes that worried child advocates
Advocates for children, law enforcement, and state mental health officials prevailed Thursday in persuading House members to reject legislation they said would have risked putting more juveniles at the Sununu Youth Services Center. In doing so, the state moves closer to replacing the 144-bed correctional center with a much smaller therapeutic facility, advocates said. That […]
Advocates, law enforcement, DCYF call for defeat of Sununu Center legislation
This story was updated March 22, 2023 at 3 p.m. after the House moved a vote on the bill to Thursday. Lawmakers and advocates who are often at odds over legislation united Wednesday against a bill amendment they say would inadvertently land more children at the Sununu Youth Services Center. “What (the amendment) did in […]