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House tables Sununu-backed housing development bill
The New Hampshire House voted to table a major overhaul of zoning requirements Thursday, dealing a blow to an effort by Gov. Chris Sununu and housing advocates to speed up development in the state. In a narrow 170-159 vote, the House laid Senate Bill 400 on the table, cutting off the possibility of extensive debate. […]
After delay, Executive Council approves Sununu’s $100 million workforce housing grant program
New Hampshire’s Executive Council signed off Wednesday on a program to distribute $100 million in federal funding toward workforce housing efforts. Voting 4-1, the council approved the program two weeks after tabling it over a lack of details and the absence of safeguards for affordable housing. The program, touted by Gov. Chris Sununu, will use […]
In wake of council vote, some affordability requirements added to $100 million housing plan
Gov. Chris Sununu’s administration has released more details on its proposed $100 million housing plan – including new income limits for projects over a certain size – after the Executive Council voted to table the program over affordability concerns. In a letter sent to the council Friday and released publicly Monday, Department of Business and […]
New Hampshire Democrats race to pull first-in-the-nation primary from uncertainty
This story was updated at 8:40 a.m. to correct Bill Clinton’s finishing place in the 1992 New Hampshire primary. He finished second. It’s no secret how revered Bill Clinton’s 1992 New Hampshire presidential primary comeback is by the state’s Democratic Party. But in case anyone forgot, the party built a shrine. Inside the Anita Freedman […]
House committee proposes overhaul of Sununu-backed workforce housing legislation
House Republicans have made significant changes to a workforce housing bill championed by Gov. Chris Sununu, throwing the future of the bill into doubt. An amendment to Senate Bill 400 recommended by the House Municipal and County Affairs Committee last week would remove a proposal to give preferential state infrastructure funding to towns that speed […]
Senate votes down cannabis legalization bills, dashing supporters’ hopes for 2022
The New Hampshire Senate voted down two bills to legalize cannabis Thursday, likely heading off the last opportunities for legalization in the Granite State this year. In a series of heated interactions on the chamber floor, senators brought up concerns around children, drivers, and irresponsible residents using cannabis if it were to be legalized, and […]
Senate poised to block effort by House to repeal Sununu paid family leave program
The New Hampshire Senate appears poised to defeat an attempt by the House to repeal Gov. Chris Sununu’s paid family and medical leave program, after lawmakers in a Senate committee recommended the repeal effort be shelved. Voting 4-1, the Senate Commerce Committee recommended that House Bill 1165 – which would strike all statutory language related […]
Bill requiring personal finance, sexual violence prevention instruction in public schools advances
A bill to require personal finance literacy and sexual violence prevention instruction in New Hampshire schools is closer to becoming law after passing the Senate unanimously last week. House Bill 1263 would require district school boards to create curricula that includes “personal finance literacy instruction designed to prepare students for success in making financial decisions.” […]
After Executive Council puts freeze on $100 million housing plan, initiative’s future uncertain
The future of a proposal to inject $100 million in federal money into New Hampshire’s housing rental market is unclear after the New Hampshire Executive Council tabled Gov. Chris Sununu’s plan. The Executive Council voted, 5-0, last Wednesday to hold off on approving the plan, which Sununu has said will be targeted to “low and […]
Proposed charter school federal funding overhaul sparks opposition from Sununu, Edelblut
Gov. Chris Sununu and Department of Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut are rallying against a Biden administration push to add new conditions for charter school federal funding, arguing the move would be overly burdensome and make funding difficult to qualify for. In a letter sent April 18, Sununu joined 17 other Republican governors in opposing the […]
Senate kills proposed expansion of education tax credit program
The New Hampshire Senate killed a proposed expansion of the state’s education tax credit program Thursday, arguing that it would diminish the benefits for current beneficiaries. House Bill 1298 would have raised the upper income limit for the state’s tax credit scholarship program from 300 percent of the federal poverty level to 500 percent. Created […]
Edelblut op-ed on family values in classroom sparks heated cultural debate
This story was updated April 22, 2022 at 11:23 a.m. to remove identifying details about one of the teachers described. An op-ed by New Hampshire Education Commissioner Frank Edelblut that urges teachers not to “undermine the sacred trust” of education has become a new flashpoint in a charged national debate over the direction of school […]