HB 1704 – Union Busting Bill Hearing Held This Week; Committee Vote on Tuesday!
This week, the House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services Committee held its public hearing on HB 1704-FN, a bill to permit public employees to bargain individually with public employers without any intervention. The next step for this bill is a Committee vote on Tuesday, February 3. Then that Committee recommendation will go to the full House of Representatives.
HB 1704 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. 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.
Senate Fast Tracks Mandatory Open Enrollment: Contact Your State Reps and Governor Immediately!
On Thursday, the Senate passed SB 101, the mandatory statewide open enrollment bill, by a 14–10 vote with all Democrats and two Republicans (Abbas and Ricciardi) voting no. The Senate also added the exact same language to HB 751. That legislation next goes back to the House as early as their next session on February 5 for a floor vote. If the House simply concurs with the Senate’s changes, it will go immediately to the Governor. If the Governor signs HB 751, open enrollment would become effective upon signature—throwing our state’s public school system into immediate chaos midway through the academic year.
It is discouraging that instead of fixing our state’s broken public education funding system, politicians are fast-tracking a proposal to upend our public school system by mandating statewide open enrollment, allowing families to enroll their child in any public school in the state, regardless of where they live. Though open enrollment purports to increase educational choice, it is only choice for those who have another school nearby, who can secure their own transportation, and who can finance the difference between districts’ costs, if there is one.
As educators, we believe every student should have access to a high-quality education, regardless of where they live, but at the end of the day, we fear this restructuring of public schools will actually exacerbate the inequities our students and our schools experience throughout the state—not fix them.
PS: For more on open enrollment, check out this great explainer from our partners at Reaching Higher.
Major Bill Hearings Next Week
The legislative calendar is full next week, with public hearings on bills ranging from culture wars to voucher expansion. Please take the time to look at these highlights and make your educator voice heard. You can also see the full list of what we are watching this week using our tracker.
Positive Labor Legislation Helps with Hiring Our Education Support Professionals!
HB 1188 would raise the limit on the current law prohibiting employees from having to sign non-compete agreements from 200 percent of the federal poverty level to 500 percent, or the equivalent of $36.25 per hour. Non-compete agreements trap workers from moving to other jobs, including employees who are contracted out by school districts and could become in-house employees of the school district. This bill would help school districts hire critical education support professionals!
Please SIGN IN or submit written testimony to SUPPORT HB 1188, which is being heard in the House Labor Committee on February 3 at 11:30am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
Culture War Legislation On Tap in the House:
HB 1778 and HB 1792 echo the same problems presented in previous attempts to curb student access to curriculum and materials—from banned concepts to bans on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Both bills present vague language with clear punishment for educators doing their best to provide a complete and honest education to their students. Please SIGN IN to OPPOSE HB 1778, which is being heard in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee at 1:20pm on February 2 AND please SIGN IN to OPPOSE HB 1792, which is being heard in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee at 2:00pm on February 2. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
Culture War Bills On Tap in the Senate:
- SB 434 is the newest attempt at mandating a process for having certain books removed from schools. This bill is still too prescriptive and uses vague standards when schools have developed strong reconsideration policies at the local level already. Please SIGN IN and consider submitting testimony to OPPOSE SB 434, which is being heard in the Senate Education Committee on February 3 at 9:15am Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
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SB 430 is the return of a bill that mandates written answers to inquiries that is broad and risks putting educators in a position of outing a student. Please SIGN IN or considering submitting testimony to OPPOSE SB 430, which is being heard in the Senate Education Committee on February 3 at 9:30am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
More Bills To Act On!
- HB 1811 would effectively remove any required prerequisites for school or childcare enrollment related to vaccinations. This bill would endanger student and educator health. Please SIGN IN or write in OPPOSED to HB 1811, which is being heard in the House Health and Human Services Committee on February 4 at 9:00am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
- HB 1817 would expand the voucher program by opening up the door for voucher students to access school curricular courses and co-curricular programs. This essentially allows families to take a private school voucher while also utilizing their public school for certain classes, taking resources away from that local school and requiring the school to provide classes to that student. Please SIGN IN or submit written testimony to OPPOSE HB 1817, which is being heard in the House Education Funding Committee on February 4 at 10:45am. Please find step-by-step instructions to sign in below.
Monitoring New Health Insurance Risk Pool Legislation
We are also monitoring HB 1491, which makes changes to the regulatory framework of public employee risk pools by dividing regulation of these organizations between the Secretary of State’s office and the Insurance Department. This is similar to an amendment that the House adopted last year but was ultimately killed by the Senate. We will be tracking this to ensure that no changes negatively impact NEA-NH member access to their bargained health insurance.
Protect Public Schools at Your Annual Meeting
In March, many school districts will be holding annual school meetings. Whether your community votes in a traditional school meeting (in person) or on the ballot (SB 2), making sure you are present and participating is critical to protecting your community public schools, ensuring your students have the resources they need to learn and thrive, and supporting your union brothers and sisters! Please make sure you know the dates of your deliberative sessions and school district meetings, educate yourself about the issues on the warrant, and make a plan to vote.
In addition to the budgets, contracts, and other warrant articles put forward by the School Board, some communities are facing petition warrant articles seeking to impose a school budget or tax cap. If you have one of these petition warrant articles in your community, NEA-New Hampshire wants to help! Please use the information below to access our recording about how you can fight back against these kinds of attacks at your annual school district meeting this year.
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Passcode: B6Mr+Tn0
If you have any further questions about annual school district meetings, please contact your UniServ Director or email me directly – [email protected].
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.
