Take Action to Oppose HB 1704 – This Year’s Assault on Collective Bargaining
Next week, the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee will hold its public hearing on House Bill 1704-FN, a bill to permit public employees to bargain individually with public employers without any intervention. This is the latest effort fueled by the Koch brothers and other out-of-state anti-union interests to undermine collective bargaining for public employees by dividing the workforce. Last year was so-called “Right-to-Work”; now we have “less rights at work" for public sector employees with this bill.
HB 1704 would grant special status to certain workers that will allow for discrimination, favoritism, and ultimately weaken your voice at work.
This bill is a direct assault on one of the key components of collective bargaining that we know is used against unions all the time. It seeks to divide workers to weaken their efforts to negotiate fair pay, benefits, safety provisions, and respect in the workplace. What is even more egregious is that the proponents of this bill are using politics to attempt to divide public employees by exempting police and fire unions from this legislative attack.
The public hearing for HB 1704 will take place on TUESDAY, January 27th, at 3:15 PM at the temporary Legislative Offices at the Granite Place, located at 1 Granite Place (South Building), Concord, NH. If you can join us in person, please join us in Room 159, the House Labor Committee’s hearing room.
If you’re unable to attend the public hearing in person, please SIGN IN to OPPOSE HB 1704 and tell the House Labor Committee that attacking unions is wrong for New Hampshire. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
Open Enrollment: Senate Finance Sending Statewide Open Enrollment for Full Senate Vote
SB 101, with some amendments, will go to the Senate on Thursday, January 29 for a floor vote. Passage of this bill would upend the current open enrollment law that many school districts are currently trying to grapple with at their annual meetings. As amended, SB 101 would require all school districts to adopt an application and transfer process to allow non-resident students from other New Hampshire school districts to enroll in their schools. The bill only gives a limited number of exceptions as reason for denial of such a transfer and spells out more specifically what the resident district would owe the receiving district in tuition. This all will need to be in place by July 1st of this year! This is too much, too fast, and the fiscal, logistical and educational impacts of such a law have not been thought through thoroughly. Before the New Hampshire Senate votes on mandatory open enrollment, call your state senator and urge them to hit the pause button on SB 101!
HB 1451 – Extreme Temperature Protection Standards Act
NEA-New Hampshire has consistently worked to address extreme temperatures in the classroom. While this bill takes a slightly different approach than others we have supported in the past, it does look to place important protections in place for all manner of workers. The bill would mandate that employers create written plans and training programs to safeguard workers from heat and cold stress when temperatures reach extreme levels—specifically, 80 degrees Fahrenheit and above for heat and 15 degrees Fahrenheit and below for cold. Employers would be required to provide necessary protections, including access to fluids and paid rest breaks in temperature-controlled areas, and to develop these plans with input from employees or their representatives. The bill also emphasizes the importance of training employees on recognizing symptoms of heat and cold-related illnesses, acclimatization, and emergency response procedures.
Please SIGN IN to SUPPORT HB 1451 before the House Labor Committee’s public hearing on Tuesday, January 27 at 2:30 p.m.; if you have a story to share, please consider submitting written testimony. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
HB 1774: NH Opt-In to Federal Voucher Program
Under the budget reconciliation bill that Congress passed this past year, one provision allowed for states to opt in to an upcoming federal voucher tax credit program. This would allow people to donate to “scholarship organizations” designated by the state and receive a federal tax credit in exchange. We don’t need more voucher expansion in the state and the scholarship organization the state contracted with has little to no accountability due to the state or taxpayers.
Please SIGN IN to OPPOSE HB 1774, which is being heard in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee at 11:15am on Wednesday, January 28. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
More Bills We are Watching
- HB 1795 – This bill would require all educators to submit a criminal history release form to the Department of Education as a condition of renewing their credential every 3 years, at least 60 days prior to their credential expiration date. What is unclear from this bill is whether these will be new costs borne on educators for this renewal requirement or whether school districts will cover the cost.
- HB 1132 – This bill would mandate that all public schools and public charter schools be prohibited from displaying any flag inside or outside of school buildings other than the flag of the United States of America, the New Hampshire state flag, and the POW/MIA flag. The bill would only allow for certain exemptions, including flags used for educational purposes in specific subjects, flags representing branches of the U.S. military, and official city or town flags from New Hampshire.
- HB 1300 – This bill has been amended by Rep. Ross Berry to force a biennial tax cap vote on the general election ballot that would cut public services from schools to police and fire services. There was lots of opposition at the hearing for this bill, but we know that he is continuing to try and formulate some kind of alternative in the wake of the failed statewide school budget cap mandate at the start of session.
- HB 1816 – This bill allows the Commissioner of the Department of Education to initiate and implement a district recovery plan if a school district's financial and operational condition is deemed a financial emergency by the State Board of Education. This is yet another response to fiscal crises like in Claremont and other districts. We will be watching to make sure that this legislation is a net positive for students and educators to fix a financial crisis, and not one that makes it worse.
NEA-NH Action Center
Most of the tools and information you need to be a legislative advocate for public education are right at your fingertips through NEA-New Hampshire. Check out our NEA-NH Action Center to get all the information you need about issues we’re tracking at the State House, how to communicate with your lawmakers, and how to take action on specific bills.
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 [email protected].
Need help signing in on legislation? Follow these comprehensive instructions (details for public hearings are contained in each action request).
For House bills:
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 Senate bills:
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.
