State House
Expanded dental benefits for Medicaid recipients on the cusp of becoming reality
After years of coming close, the state is poised to give its approximately 85,000 residents on Medicaid coverage not just for tooth extractions and emergency dental care but also for the diagnostic and preventive care needed to fend off those serious problems. The House and Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 422 Thursday, and […]
Sununu touts New Hampshire’s abortion ban on national podcast
This story was updated May 14, 2022 at 7:30 a.m. to correct the name of the co-host. Asked in a podcast interview what abortion restrictions he’d put in place if he had his choice, Gov. Chris Sununu defended the 24-week abortion ban he signed last year and boasted he was the first Republican governor in […]
New Hampshire Supreme Court rules current congressional districts unconstitutional
The New Hampshire Supreme Court in a unanimous opinion issued Thursday ruled that the state’s current congressional districts, which have been in place since 2012, are unconstitutional given shifts in the state population. This means the maps can’t be used moving forward, the ruling states. The court also held that if the Legislature and governor […]
Senate Republicans’ hopes and priorities could rest on a legislative parking garage
The New Hampshire House and Senate are close to wrapping up a packed legislative year, voting and sorting through nearly 1,000 bills. But before summer can begin, lawmakers must endure a marathon negotiation: committees of conference week. It’s a frantic, high stakes system that few legislators love. But the committee of conference process provides key […]
Lawmakers work on bill to make it easier for people to remove records from vaccine registry
Currently, the state will remove a person’s immunization records from its new vaccine registry only if their former or current health care provider signs a withdrawal form. The House and Senate have passed legislation making that process easier, but have rejected efforts to eliminate the signature requirement. As introduced, House Bill 1487 would have required […]
Senate, House agree to 2023 performance audit of education freedom account program
House and Senate lawmakers have passed legislation requiring a performance audit of the education freedom account program in 2023 in a rare point of bipartisan agreement over a divisive new initiative. In a unanimous voice vote May 5, the Senate approved House Bill 1135, which would require the state’s legislative budget assistant to examine how […]
Measure to protect enslavement-era gravesites of African Americans defeated by House
A legislative effort to protect enslavement-era African American graves was voted down last week. The House sent Senate Bill 258 to interim study on Thursday in a 180-146 vote without discussion. Ahead of the vote, members of the House Committee on Resources, Recreation, and Development recommended further study on the bill, questioning whether it was […]
Attorney general defends YDC settlement fund, says state committed to ‘doing the right thing’
Attorney General John Formella defended his proposed $100 million Youth Development Center abuse settlement fund Monday, pushing back against complaints that it excludes victims of emotional abuse and sexual abuse with no physical contact, including some who were the subjects of child abuse images. “We saw a lot of discussion that this bill excluded victims, […]
Lawsuit filed over new state Executive Council and Senate maps
A group of Democratic voters and public figures are suing New Hampshire’s secretary of state over the state’s newly drawn districts for Senate and Executive Council, arguing they are designed to benefit Republicans. In a May 6 lawsuit filed in Hillsborough Superior Court, 12 plaintiffs claim the lawmakers drawing the districts used gerrymandering techniques to […]
State tightens regulations for tinted windshields
New Hampshire will soon have tighter regulations for vehicle windshield tinting after the enactment of a law signed by Gov. Chris Sununu last week. House Bill 1110 raises the required transparency levels for after-market windshield tinting from 35 percent minimum light transmittance to 70 percent, meaning that the windshields must allow twice as much light […]
Opponents say ‘parental bill of rights’ could undermine trust between LGBTQ students, staff
New Hampshire schools could be swept into a new cultural divide after the New Hampshire Senate passed a bill to guarantee parental rights to be informed of sensitive information that their children divulge to school staff. In a vote Thursday, the Senate passed House Bill 1431, named the “parental bill of rights,” bringing the measure […]
New Hampshire Executive Council and Senate redistricting maps signed into law
Gov. Chris Sununu signed two maps into law on Friday that will determine the voting districts for New Hampshire Senate and Executive Council races for the next 10 years if the maps withstand anticipated challenges in the courts. Sununu asked the Legislature to do away with the dragon-shaped District 2 in the current Executive Council […]