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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 […]
Republican lawmakers push absentee ballot analysis bill to next session
A proposal requiring analysis of absentee ballot requests died during legislative negotiations Thursday as lawmakers were unable to reach agreement on the measure. Republican lawmakers intend to work on the bill’s language over the summer and reintroduce it next session. House Bill 291 would have required the Attorney General’s Office to analyze data about absentee […]
What does ‘beating the peak’ actually accomplish?
The summer heat waves have already begun, and so have the utility campaigns urging customers to “beat the peak.” Utilities often bill this as both a cost-saving measure and a way to reduce emissions. But some grid experts say this is a zero-sum game played by utilities that comes down to money. They point to […]
House, Senate Republicans agree on budget policy bill
After hours of negotiations during sessions throughout the week, Republican leaders in the House and Senate have agreed on House Bill 2 – the budget policy trailer bill – just an hour before the deadline for its completion. Both chambers will vote on the legislation next week before it makes its way to the governor’s […]
Liberty wants to charge ratepayers $7.5 million for a project that never happened
Liberty is asking the state to sign off on a $7.5 million bill for ratepayers in connection with the company’s efforts to construct the Granite Bridge pipeline, a move the state’s consumer advocate says runs afoul of well-established New Hampshire law. The Granite Bridge pipeline was a contentious project that would have cost $340 million […]
Citing unintended consequences of legislation, lawmakers kill intimate image bill
Lawmakers on Wednesday agreed to set aside a bill that intended to make sending unwanted intimate images a crime. Negotiations on a proposed amendment fell apart after legal experts raised concerns that the bill would weaken existing laws that are used to prosecute sexual offenses. Plus, legal experts and advocates say that sending unwanted intimate […]
Bill moving state primary date to August headed for governor’s desk
Lawmakers have approved a proposal to move the state primary date to the first week of August in a compromise between negotiators from the House and the Senate on Tuesday. House Bill 98 will now make its way to the governor’s desk. If signed into law, it would go into effect in January 2023. That […]
Lawmakers reach agreement on net metering, cost shifting
In negotiations on Tuesday, lawmakers reached agreement on two key energy policy bills – hammering out crucial details about cost shifting and net metering. Both proposals are now one step closer to becoming law and will make their way to the governor’s desk. Language about cost shifting was the main point of contention in Senate […]
Lawmakers move to scrap proposal for buffer between state parks, landfills
This story was updated on June 15, 2021 to correct Sen. Kevin Avard’s chamber. On Monday, lawmakers from the House and Senate met to negotiate legislation that would create a two-mile buffer between state parks and landfills. The Senate, which had previously voted down the proposal, was unwilling to agree with a compromise proposed by […]
Several bills headed to the governor’s desk
On Thursday, the House and the Senate sent several pieces of legislation to the governor’s desk, with both bodies having reviewed the bills and concurred on any changes made up to this point. A total of 24 bills were concurred on in the Senate, and 51 were concurred on in the House. When a bill […]
Unable to reach agreement with Senate, House kills a handful of bills
There’s a long road between introducing a bill and that bill being signed into law. In a Thursday session, the House killed several pieces of legislation, unable to reach agreement with the Senate as final deadlines approach to either agree on bills that will be sent to the governor or hash out the differences in […]
Legislature poised to act on large environmental policy bills
This story was updated on June 10, 2021 at 12:11 p.m. with new information. It was also corrected to clarify that SB 91 addresses small in-state energy generators, not out-of-state generators as was previously stated. Several large environmental bills have made their way through the House, including two omnibus environmental bills approved following floor amendments […]