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Bills on voting rights for incarcerated people, electronic poll books signed into law
Two voting rights measures will become law after they were signed by Gov. Chris Sununu on Thursday. House Bill 555 ensures that some people who are incarcerated will be able to vote by absentee ballot. While people serving a sentence for a felony are not allowed to vote, those who are serving because of a […]
Municipalities eligible for $56 million in American Rescue Plan money
The Executive Council approved the first installment of money for municipalities from the American Rescue Plan on Wednesday: $56 million for local governments around the state. The money can be used for public health expenditures, addressing negative economic impacts of the pandemic – which can include economic harm to workers, households, small businesses and industry, […]
Executive Council denies contract for rehabilitative program for health care workers
In a 4-1 vote, the Executive Council on Wednesday denied a contract for a rehabilitative program for health care workers following an outcry from the medical community in New Hampshire and beyond. But the current contract, held by New Hampshire Professionals Health Program, is expiring, which left the council scrambling to find a solution and […]
Chicoine named interim commissioner of new Department of Energy
Jared Chicoine will serve as interim commissioner of New Hampshire’s new Department of Energy. Chicoine, a resident of North Haverhill, will be leaving his current role as the director of the Office of Strategic Initiatives. The office will effectively be dissolved in the government restructuring that Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law last week as […]
Utilities announce electricity rate increases
The Public Utilities Commission has been under fire for its failure to move forward on multiple major pending dockets. Orders have been issued recently addressing one key item, however: increasing electric rates. For both Eversource and Liberty customers, the cost of electricity will go up on Aug. 1. Unitil’s rate increase went into effect on […]
Will New Hampshire finally deliver on the promise of cheaper electricity?
Expensive electricity is not a new problem in New Hampshire. It’s one that has rankled lawmakers for decades, aggravated customers, and hindered the state in its efforts to advance clean energy initiatives. Twenty-five years ago, lawmakers thought they were on to something: allowing for market-driven solutions to bring down prices and create customer choice. Restructuring […]
New Department of Energy emerges intact from budget process
In the months of negotiations over the state’s next biennial budget, there was comparative silence on one item that would reshape energy policy in the state. The version of the budget that has been approved by both the House and Senate contains a new Department of Energy, reorganizing what is now the Office of Strategic […]
Increased cap on net metering, other environmental measures approved
An array of environmental legislation made its way through the House and Senate Thursday, including a measure to increase the cap on net metering that lawmakers have been trying to pass for years. Other environmental efforts, such as a ban on jet skis in one Seacoast area and a buffer between state parks and landfills, […]
Lawmakers send bill moving state primary, other election law measures to governor’s desk
Both the New Hampshire House and Senate met Thursday to vote on legislation that went through committees of conference last week. House Bill 98, which moves the state primary from September to August, and Senate Bill 31, which addresses absentee ballots, are now headed to the governor’s desk. House Bill 98: State primary The Senate […]
For the People Act stalls in Washington, but what does that mean for state legislation?
New Hampshire lawmakers responded to federal election reform with a proposal of their own that critics say would create a two-tier election system separating local and federal elections. But now that the For the People Act has stalled in Washington, what happens to pending legislation in New Hampshire? Senate Bill 89 contains several election law […]
Legal protection for sex workers reporting sexual assault becomes law
A bill to protect sex workers who report sexual assault was passed into law on Monday with a signature from Gov. Chris Sununu. House Bill 123 makes it clear that sex workers who report sexual abuse will not be prosecuted for prostitution, which is a misdemeanor under New Hampshire law. Advocates say the legislation sends […]
Sununu said he is likely to veto earlier state primary date
A proposal to move New Hampshire’s state primary to the first week of August has been approved by House and the Senate negotiators, but Gov. Chris Sununu is not on board and said he would likely veto the bill. Proponents of the earlier date say the later primary gives incumbents who are established and have […]