This Week: Hearings and Committee Votes
SB 297 – House Commerce Hears Risk Pool Regulation Legislation
This week, the House Commerce Committee heard SB 297, the bill proposed by the Secretary of State to establish new regulations for the organizations that operate as risk pools to offer health insurance and workers compensation for most of the public employers and employees at the local level in New Hampshire.
As NEA-New Hampshire President Megan Tuttle testified, our priority is the preservation of affordable and reliable health insurance options for NEA-NH members across the state. She also indicated that as the Committee deliberates, we plan to engage with the House Commerce Committee to ensure every educator can feel secure about the delivery of their insurance benefits.
The Chair of the House Commerce Committee made a strong indication that he intends to amend the bill to have all public risk pools regulated by the NH Insurance Department rather than the Secretary of State. This would be a major change and raises new questions as to the extent the NH Insurance Department is prepared to protect the interests of the public employees covered by these plans.
The House Commerce Committee will be scheduling work sessions on the bill after the upcoming school vacation week; we will keep members updated on the direction of the bill.
HB 115 – House Unlimited Voucher Bill Heard in Senate Education
The Senate held a hearing on HB 115, the House’s version of a universal voucher bill. HB 115 would lift the income cap entirely on the school voucher program, subsidizing private schools for the ultra-wealthy at the expense of local property taxpayers who will have to make up the difference in state funding. In other states with universal voucher schemes, these programs have blown up the state budget, negatively affecting not only public education funding but other parts of the state budget that are critical to supporting working families. The Senate Education Committee could be voting on this bill as early as next week.
In addition, the House Education Funding Committee could also vote on SB 295 (the Senate universal voucher bill) next week.
What can you do right now about this issue?
- Contact your own senator/state representatives asking them to vote these bills down. You can find their contact information here.
- Circle May 6th on your calendar and join us to testify on the state budget, which currently contains a *third* universal voucher proposal.
HB 741 – Senate Education Committee Recommends Hitting Pause on Statewide Open Enrollment
In a positive development, the Senate Education Committee voted 4 – 1 to recommend to the full Senate “re-refer” HB 741. This bill (which passed the House already) would mandate all school districts accept a student regardless of whether the school is part of their resident district or not. If the full Senate “re-refers” HB 741 next week, that means the Committee would not take any action on that bill until next year. The language of HB 741 was also included in HB 2, the trailer bill to the budget, so we will be urging the Senate to maintain their stance that New Hampshire’s public education funding model does not lend itself to a statewide open enrollment system at this time.
Major Bills Still in Senate Education – Still Time to Contact Committee Members
There are still some major House bills the Senate Education committee has not acted on after their public hearing:
HB 235 – Expanding the Educator Code of Conduct
The bill would give the NH Department of Education the ability to expand the Educator Code of Conduct (ECC) to include an unknown set of responsibilities to parents (not just students as it does today).
Contact the Senate Education Committee and urge them to oppose HB 235!
New Hampshire already has an objectionable materials law for our public schools which allows ANY parent to opt their child out of any required coursework, curriculum, or material. Like a lot of culture war bills, HB 324 would go way beyond parental opt-out by potentially imposing one parent’s objections on others. Additionally, and perhaps most concerning, this bill imposes potential criminal and licensure penalties for educators in what is otherwise another vaguely established process written by national interests attempting to pass this cookie-cutter legislation in other states.
Contact the Senate Education Committee and tell them that having a process laid out about reconsidering books or other materials used in school should not include criminal penalties!
Next Week: Special Education Definitions Bill
HB 699 – Special Education Definitions Bill
ACTION REQUEST: Please sign in and/or submit written testimony on HB 699 before the Senate Education Committee’s public hearing on Tuesday, April 29th at 9:15am. Full instructions on how to sign in below.
As written, HB 699 would change a number of definitions under the state’s special education laws. After a major hearing on the bill with dozens of parents and advocates raising concerns about the drafting, the House amended the bill, however, educators have raised some remaining concerns about the effect the new language in the bill could have on special education.
As educators in the field, your perspectives are critical when it comes to legislation like this. If you have feedback on this legislation, please make sure to share that when you sign in on this bill.
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.
Need help signing in on legislation? Follow these comprehensive instructions (details for public hearings are contained in each action request).
For Bills Being Heard in a HOUSE Committee:
1. Visit this link: https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx
2. Enter your personal information
3. Select the hearing date
4. Select the committee
5. Choose the bill
6. I am – A member of the public
7. Choose who you are representing – Myself
8. Indicate your position on this bill
9. Upload remote testimony (Optional)
10. Review information and click submit
For Bills Being Heard in a SENATE Committee:
1. Go to https://bit.ly/3S4Cof1 and click the date that the bill you are interested in is being heard
2. Select the committee that is hearing the bill
3. Select the bill you are interested in
4. Select a category – Member of the Public
5. Indicate your position on this bill
6. Click continue
7. Enter your name and contact information
8. Click continue
9. Carefully review the information to ensure it is entered correctly. If it is correct, check the box and click continue.