House Labor Committee Sends So-called “Right-to-Work” to House Floor Next Week
The House Labor committee is finally sending HB 1377, so-called “right to work” legislation, to the House floor next week and as expected it did so on a 10 – 10 party-line tie. This anti-worker effort is still an attack on collective bargaining and an attempt to weaken unions. For decades NEA-NH has fought against this legislation because it is the centerpiece of an agenda to maximize corporate profits by passing laws that weaken basic worker protections, undo safety standards, keep wages low, and undermine the ability of labor unions to improve jobs and keep corporate power in check by giving workers a stronger voice.
This kind of legislation is an attack on both public and private sector unions and their members so please take the time to sign in against this bill before the hearing to remind your state representatives that after decades of special interest groups trying to pass this legislation, “Right to Work” is still wrong for New Hampshire!
Good News – NH House Rejects Two More House Voucher Bills
One week after voting to expand income eligibility for education vouchers, the New Hampshire House of Representatives cast bipartisan votes to reject two bills that would even more dramatically expand this unaccountable program.
- HB 1652 would have created the ability for a school district to adopt a local school district voucher program. After a motion of “Ought to Pass” failed 180-192, the House voted “Inexpedient to Legislate” on HB 1652, 194-179.
- HB 1677 would have extended eligibility for the voucher program to students who participated in the program in the preceding year, students whose enrollment transfer requests were denied, and to students in school districts which performed at 49 percent or below in statewide assessments, with no income limit. After a motion of “Ought to Pass” failed 174-192, the House voted “Inexpedient to Legislate” on HB 1677, 192-174.
Thank you to all those who contacted their state representative(s) as it made a HUGE difference in defeated these voucher expansion bills down. You can read our press statement here.
NH House Rejects Book Ban!
This week, the New Hampshire House of Representatives cast an initial vote of 192-181 to table HB 1419, yet another attempt to ban books in our public schools because of politicians’ personal politics. However later on in the session day, when attendance had shifted, pro-public education representatives pulled HB 1419 off of the table and officially killed it by voting 187 – 162 to Indefinitely Postpone the legislation.
HB 1419 sought to establish vague standards and a convoluted process to effectively ban unspecific books from New Hampshire public schools. This ambiguous approach would not only create uncertainty for educators but also pose a significant threat to intellectual exploration and open dialogue within classrooms.
Another similar Senate bill is still making its way through the process (SB 523).
NEA-NH Opposed Subpoena Power for Commissioner Edelblut
On Valentine’s Day, NEA-New Hampshire testified against HB 1353 in the House Judiciary Committee. Commissioner Edelblut is making his second attempt in two years to obtain extraordinary subpoena power in educator code of conduct cases. Last year this committee opted to retain the first attempt and ultimately opted not to move forward, because the Commissioner’s efforts were clearly tied to his efforts to investigate “banned concepts” cases.
During the hearing we raised the fact that HB 1353:
- Is too broad the way it is written and would allow its authority to be abused.
- Does not set out a process that is fair to credential holders or designed to properly achieve the stated results its proponents claim.
- Is unnecessary; according to the Department’s own account from past hearings, the subpoena authority is not needed to properly conduct investigations.
Thank you to those who signed in opposed to the bill online. There was overwhelming opposition registered to the bill with 320 signing in against and only 13 signing in favor. The House Judiciary committee now has until March 21st to act on the bill. You can read more about HB 1353 in InDepth NH.
Questions?
If you have questions on any of these bills or ones not mentioned here, please feel free to contact Brian Hawkins, NEA-NH Director of Government Relations at bhawkins@nhnea.org. You can also follow all the bills we are watching next week and check on a bill’s status by visiting our NEA-NH bill tracker.