It was a rollercoaster week at the State House with some huge wins but also some big setbacks. Our work continues as we fight to protect public education funding and local school district governance. Here is a rundown of what happened and what comes next.
House Defeats Union Busting Bill, HB 1704!
In a huge win for public sector workers, the House defeated HB 1704, a bill that would have weakened collective bargaining in New Hampshire and reduced wages and working conditions for educators. In a bipartisan vote of 177 – 159 the House “Indefinitely Postponed” HB 1704, which means this bill has been killed and no similar bill can be voted on in the current session. 20 Republican state representatives joined all the Democrats present to reject this union busting bill.
We are so grateful for every single educator and union member who contacted their lawmakers to urge them to reject HB 1704. Now, let’s take time to thank all the legislators who stood with us and against this attack on your collective bargaining rights. Click here to take action!
House Passes HB 1300, Mandate for Biennial School Budget Cap Vote
Unfortunately, the House did pass HB 1300 this week, which would require that at every even-year November General Election, a local school district budget cap question would be placed alongside each community’s state ballot. This follows the House Republican leadership’s recent failed attempt to artificially cap school budgets across the state (HB 675). Just like that effort, HB 1300 as amended, specifically targets school districts with arbitrary caps that don’t address the real issue of public education funding inequities in our state. While we wait for the Senate’s public hearing to be scheduled on this bill, you can read more about HB 1300 here and call your state senator to urge them to reject HB 1300.
House Passes Voucher Double Dipping Bill, HB 1817
As we communicated about last week, HB 1817 would allow families to accept a voucher and then also have the right to enroll in classes at their local public school. In this scenario, a public school district could lose their state aid for a student but still be forced to allow that student to enroll in classes with potentially no reimbursement. This is yet another attempt to expand the voucher program and take more public dollars away from public schools. This bill is a double whammy at a time when school districts are struggling to even level fund their budgets. HB 1817 now heads to the Senate where it will have a public hearing; please be ready to take action once that is scheduled.
Additional Education Related Bills Acted on This Week
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HB 1121 – The House voted 187-152 to pass this bill that lists the components the Legislature views as part of its responsibility to fund the delivery of an adequate education
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HB 1125 – The House passed this bill to enable school districts to adopt partisan school district elections
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HB 1132 – The House passed this bill, 182-156, to prohibit the display of certain flags and banners in public schools
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HB 1355 – The House passed this bill to eliminate the default budget from towns and school districts from SB 2 communities
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HB 1816 – The House passed this bill to outline how and with that authority the Department of Education can have in assisting school districts who are in financial emergency
Next Week – Continued Hearing on HB 1792
This week, the Senate Education Committee held a public hearing on the so-called “CHARLIE Act” - yet another effort to chill classroom conversations. Due to scheduling, that public hearing has been continued to March 17. 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. NEA-New Hampshire was there to oppose the bill at the hearing but with a significant number of people there to testify in opposition and a time restriction on availability for the hearing space, the committee had to recess the hearing until next week.
Click here to SIGN IN to OPPOSE HB 1792 before the Senate Education Committee continued public hearing on Tuesday, March 17 at 9:15 am. Full sign in instructions below.
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.
