State House
Victims of FRM Ponzi scheme can apply for compensation
Applications opened Friday for $10 million newly available to the 150 people who lost $20 million in the Financial Resources Mortgage Ponzi scheme years ago. Meanwhile, lawmakers are considering a bill that would repeal that fund, which was included in the state budget. It’s the second time lawmakers have taken steps toward compensating defrauded investors […]
Is this the year for a bottle bill in New Hampshire?
Past attempts to pass a bottle bill in New Hampshire have failed, but proponents of the policy think this year could be different, citing a groundswell of public awareness and environmental concern around how the state deals with solid waste. This year’s proposal – House Bill 1652 – would establish a 10-cent deposit on beverage […]
Sponsor of same-day registration overhaul bill submits amendment to pare back reach
The lead backer of a sweeping bill to overhaul New Hampshire’s same-day registration process made a late change Thursday, paring back its scope. Senate Bill 418 would require the secretary of state and town election officials to invalidate the ballot of any voter who did not have the proper documentation to register to vote on […]
State spent $4.17 million defending 2017 voting law
The state spent $4.17 million in attorneys’ fees for two lawsuits over a 2017 Republican-backed voting law, according to a letter from Attorney General John Formella to Sen. Cindy Rosenwald. Both the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire and the state Democratic Party sued the state over the law – often called Senate Bill […]
State plans $17 million investment in inpatient mental health treatment
The state has plans to spend approximately $17 million in federal pandemic aid to significantly expand capacity for inpatient mental health treatment for adults and children in New Hampshire. The larger investment would provide Portsmouth Regional Hospital and its parent company, HCA Healthcare, nearly $15 million to help create a new $45 million consolidated behavioral […]
House committee rejects adding exceptions to state’s abortion ban
Less than a month after the state’s new 24-week abortion ban took effect, hundreds of Granite Staters – including Gov. Chris Sununu – weighed in this week on three bills that would scale back or repeal the law. The only bill to get a vote – House Bill 1609 – sought to clarify the law’s […]
Privacy and public health loom large in clash over vaccine registry
This story was updated on Jan. 19 at 10:25 a.m. to correct Rep. Melissa Blasek’s place of residence. She lives in Merrimack. Lawmakers aiming to make it harder for the state to collect vaccination records of Granite Staters cite a 2018 amendment to the state constitution that affirmed the inherent right of a person to […]
Sununu sends letter in support of scaling back abortion ban to House committee
This story was updated Jan. 18, 2022 at 2:50 p.m. to include testimony given at public hearing on the bill. Gov. Chris Sununu put in writing what he has said for months: He “strongly supports” scaling back the state’s new 24-week abortion ban to allow exceptions for rape, sexual assault, incest, and fatal fetal anomalies. […]
Republican senators propose bill to void ballots of voters who don’t prove domicile
Since 2020, the effort to tighten voting procedures has swept statehouses nationwide. Now, New Hampshire Senate Republicans are seeking a new target to overhaul: same-day voter registration. A bill unveiled last week would require voters who register to vote on Election Day without sufficient documents to mail copies of those documents to the Secretary of […]
Debunked information dominates public testimony as lawmakers consider vaccine-related bills
This story was updated Jan. 17, 2022 at 10 a.m. to correct the name of the federal agency that pays hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients and again at 10:35 a.m. to clarify that one person falsely claimed most people hospitalized with COVID-19 are vaccinated. COVID-19 is driving up new infections, hospitalizations, and deaths. It’s also […]
Two bills target Sununu’s authority on sale of former Lakes Region prison property
Gov. Chris Sununu’s newfound authority to sell the 220-acre former Lakes Region prison property in Laconia with little state oversight is being challenged by two bills this session. House Bill 1032 would revoke Sununu’s control of the sale, which he gained in legislation included in the state budget trailer bill, and resume the standard multi-agency […]
GOP proposes in-state college tuition for out-of-staters who register to vote
Four years after the Legislature made voting an act of declaring New Hampshire residency for the state’s college students, some lawmakers are seeking to extend a new perk: in-state tuition. A bill advanced by a group of House Republicans would bar public colleges and universities from charging out-of-state tuition for any students voting in the […]