State House
Teachers come under pressure as politicians, parents battle over ‘critical race theory’
WASHINGTON — Teachers from Tennessee to Iowa are swept up in a wave of outrage led by GOP politicians nationwide over how schools teach kids about race in U.S. history. Conservatives have pilloried much instruction about systemic racism as “critical race theory,” even when that academic term has never been mentioned. A half-dozen states have […]
Justice Department to increase legal staff amid surge in restrictive voting laws
WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice announced Friday that it is doubling its enforcement attorneys who will work to protect voting rights. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland’s announcement came as Republicans in state legislatures introduce and pass restrictive voting laws, such as limiting ballot boxes and requiring voter identification. “We are scrutinizing new laws that […]
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 […]
Sununu announces end to state of emergency
Gov. Chris Sununu announced an end to New Hampshire’s state of emergency Thursday, 16 months after invoking executive powers at the onset of a deadly pandemic. During a weekly press conference addressing the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sununu said that the state of emergency would sunset Friday evening. “The state of emergency is […]
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 […]
Governor seeks sole authority to sell former Laconia State School property
This story was updated on June 9, 2021, at 4 p.m. with new information. For five years, the Lakeshore Redevelopment Planning Commission has pursued its legislative charge to prepare and sell the state’s 220 acres overlooking Lake Winnisquam in Laconia to someone committed to creating jobs and promoting economic development. Now, the Legislature is poised […]
Here’s what’s next for the state budget
The speeches are wrapped and the amendments are finalized. As of last week, New Hampshire’s two sprawling budget bills – House Bill 1 and House Bill 2 – had cleared the Senate on party-line votes after passing the House in April. But that isn’t the end of the journey. Here’s what’s next for the state […]
Some worry ‘divisive concepts’ bill could affect college Title IX funding
Update: This story has been updated to clarify that the New Hampshire Department of Justice is taking a neutral position on the “divisive concepts” bill. The anti-discrimination training was nearly over, but one participant was not satisfied. As the group debriefed, he made it known. “‘I hate coming to these things, because you always make […]
Abortion ban, vouchers, ‘divisive concepts’ dominate debate as Senate passes budget
The New Hampshire Senate voted to pass a $13.5 billion budget on party lines Thursday, handing the document back to the House after an exhaustive session stretching from morning into evening. But it wasn’t the state spending items that took up the hours of debate on the floor. A last-minute inclusion of a ban on […]
Thursday House Roundup: From election law and ‘vaccine freedom’ to remote meetings and background checks
The New Hampshire House was in session Thursday at the NH Sportsplex in Bedford. Here’s a roundup of some of the day’s big votes. (You can read a separate story about the defeat of right-to-work legislation here.) House opts for control over local elections A bill that began as a bipartisan effort to address election […]
House defeats right-to-work legislation
The House defeated a right-to-work bill Thursday, 175-199, disappointing supporters who thought a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on mandatory union dues would persuade long-standing opponents to back it. House members then defeated a motion to table the bill, which would have meant it could have been subsequently reintroduced. A motion to postpone the bill […]
The Latest: ‘Communicable diseases’ language stripped from absentee voting bill
This story was updated June 3, 2021, at 4:13. The New Hampshire House is in session at the NH Sportsplex in Bedford. We will be watching for the vote on right-to-work legislation, Senate Bill 61, among others to come. Here’s a look at some of the votes so far: Communicable diseases as qualifying condition for […]