House Labor Committee Recommends Anti-Union Legislation and Open Enrollment Vote Gets Pushed Off; Ayotte Delivers State of the State
It was a roller coaster of a week in the House with some good, bad, and ugly developments, all of which will require NEA-NH members to reach out to their state representatives. In the midst of the chaos, Governor Kelly Ayotte delivered her State of the State address to lawmakers in Concord. The audience gave a standing ovation to teachers and support staff. We agree—New Hampshire educators are the most important component to providing a quality education for Granite State students. Click here to read our response to the Governor's address.
Union Busting Legislation Recommended by Labor Committee – Contact your Reps!
HB 1704, the latest effort fueled by the Koch brothers and other out-of-state anti-union interests to weaken collective bargaining was recommended to pass by the House Labor Committee, with all the Republicans voting for it and Democrats voting against it. 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.
This bill goes to the full House for a vote next. It is NOT on the House calendar for this week, but it will have to be for the following week in order to meet its deadline, which means we can expect that vote on February 18th or 19th.
Open Enrollment Vote in the House Gets Pushed Off at Least a Week: Keep Up the Pressure
After the Senate added the exact same mandatory open enrollment language of SB 101 to HB 751, that legislation was set for a possible House vote this past week. If the House had concurred, it would have immediately gone to the Governor. But NEA-NH members, and other education and community leaders, spoke out and raised the alarm bells about all of the problems with mandating open enrollment that would send local property tax dollars to other communities in order to fund this program. The House held off on a vote and may choose to either request a committee of conference or to use the regular legislative process to have a hearing on the issue.
We know that mandatory open enrollment will fundamentally dismantle New Hampshire’s public education system. We need to keep the drumbeat up to urge lawmakers to pump the brakes on this proposal.
If you have already emailed state lawmakers, please consider taking the next step by calling the Governor's office (603-271-2121) to urge Kelly Ayotte to stop mandatory open enrollment in New Hampshire!
House Education Policy Committee Votes to Recommend HB 1792/CHARLIE Act
This week, the House Education Policy Committee voted along party lines to recommend the so-called “CHARLIE Act” - yet another effort to chill classroom conversations. HB 1792 echoes 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. This bill threatens educator careers and subjects them to being named in lawsuits. With its vague and ill-defined language, it would be impossible to follow, but the potential punishments would be clear. The next step for this legislation is for it to go to the House floor, though it will not be on the calendar for this coming week. It will have to be voted on when the House meets on February 18th. Stay tuned for action opportunities.
In more positive news, the Committee did decide to recommend killing HB 1778, a similarly constructed bill.
Major Hearings Next Week: Please Weigh In!
Monday 2/9
- HB 1331 authorizes the town of Derry to absorb the Derry cooperative school district through various methods. It creates several avenues for an absorption question to be placed on the state general election or town warrant ballot. This is a power grab attempt to allow the municipal side to take over the school district in Derry. Please sign or write-in to OPPOSE HB 1331 being heard on Monday, February 9 at 10am in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee Please see full sign in instructions below.
- HB 1644 would essentially allow a single school district or town within a cooperative school district to initiate the process for withdrawal from the cooperative school district, as opposed to the authorization from the entire cooperative. This could significantly disrupt school district budgets and raise property taxes on those in cooperative school districts unnecessarily. Please SIGN IN or submit written testimony to OPPOSE HB 1644, which is being heard on Monday, February 9 at 11am in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee Please see full sign in instructions below.
Tuesday 2/10
- SB 661 – This bill proposes a set of new regulations by the Secretary of State’s office with how they are able to regulate health insurance risk pools for public employees. We will be monitoring this one to ensure that it does not endanger the delivery of health care that you bargained for in your contracts.
Wednesday 2/11
- HB 1669 This bill establishes a "Teacher Bill of Rights" for educators in public schools and public charter schools. The bill puts forward a number of “rights reserved to teachers” but currently does not enumerate how those rights could be enforced. At this point we are monitoring this legislation and will be advocating for more positive substance to this bill.
- HB 1754 Repeal of the statewide use of the multi-tiered system of support for behavioral health and wellness (MTSS-B) in New Hampshire schools. A similar bill has been heard before and soundly defeated as it would take us backwards with respect to supporting student mental health in schools. Please SIGN IN or submitt written testimony to OPPOSE HB 1754, which is being heard on Wednesday, February 11 at 1:30pm in the House Education Policy and Administration Committee. Please see full sign in instructions below.
School Funding Bills on 2/12 and 2/13
SB 659 and a similar bill being heard in the House (HB 1815) would make subtle word changes to the chapter of law defining an adequate education for the purposes of determining state funding to school districts. We are concerned this could lower the minimum standards for these core content areas. This bill also essentially declares the state and local money that go toward education all counts as funding put forward by the state, even if school budgets are mostly local property tax dollars being raised at the local level.
- Please SIGN IN to OPPOSE SB 659, which is being heard on Thursday, February 12 at 9:45am in the Senate Education Finance Committee. Please see full sign in instructions below.
- Please SIGN IN to OPPOSE HB 1815, which is being heard on Friday, February 13 at 1:00pm in the House Education Funding Committee. Please see full sign in instructions below.
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.
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.
