This Week’s Recap: House and Senate Closer to Final Hits This Session on Public Education
Thursday was the last day that each chamber could act on the other’s bills. Several very concerning bills passed and will head to the governor. Some were also passed with important amendments, which means they go back to the originating chamber for a vote to concur or non-concur. It was a confusing day because several bills now have multiple topics that are not necessarily even closely related. Next week, the House and Senate will meet again to take votes on any bills they would like to concur with the other chamber’s changes on, or to simply kill them outright. Their other choice is to go to a conference committee to try and hammer out the differences.
It’s a mess to sort out but here are the major bills we have been alerting you about that are still active and what their next step are:
School Voucher Double Dipping Bill Passes Senate – Next Stop Governor’s Desk
The school voucher double dipping bill, HB 1817, mandates spending local property tax dollars on the EFA voucher program because it requires districts to provide access to curricular courses and cocurricular programs. In the case of a family using a voucher, the state has already used the state aid dollars as a voucher to that family. On top of that, this obligation placed on the school is also an unfunded mandate from the state to subsidize this program. We do not know how quickly this will get to the Governor’s desk, but the next step will be to ask her to veto using local property tax dollars and resources for the voucher program.
ACT NOW: Urge Governor Ayotte to veto HB 1817!
Mandatory School Tax Cap Referendum
The Senate passed HB 1300 with an amendment. As amended, the bill would set up a one-time vote this November (rather than at every even-year November General Election as the House proposed) on instituting a tax cap tied to inflation for each local school district. If adopted in that community, the tax cap would be in place until it was repealed. This bill still specifically targets school districts with arbitrary caps that don’t address the real issue of public education funding inequities in our state. The bill will now go back to the House for a vote to concur or non-concur (agree with the changes or not). If the House disagrees, they can request a Committee of Conference to try to work towards a compromise.
Senate Makes New Change to Campus Carry Bill
The Senate had pushed off action on HB 1793, the campus carry bill. The House version prohibited any higher education institution from prohibiting firearms on college campuses.
The Senate looked like they were going to propose a study committee on the issue but brought in a last-minute floor amendment to try to appease the sponsors of the bill. The new amendment retains the study proposal but also prohibits colleges and universities from regulating the possession or carrying of nonlethal weapons on campus or firearms on campus by faculty. The bill will now go back to the House for a vote to concur or non-concur (agree with the changes or not). If the House disagrees, they can request a Committee of Conference to try to work towards a compromise.
Culture War Bills
- Mandatory disclosure bill – SB 430 is the return of a bill that mandates written answers from educators in response to inquiries that is too broad and risks putting educators in a position of outing a student. The bill passed the House with a minor amendment and will now head back to the Senate for a concurrence vote Thursday.
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Banned Concepts Changes – The Senate passed HB 1792, which was informally referred to as the “CHARLIE Act” when it originated in the House. The bill as the Senate amended it makes new changes to the existing “banned concepts” law that is under appeal in federal court after a lower court has deemed it unconstitutional. It will now go back to the House for a vote on whether to concur with the changes or not. On the flip side, the House tabled SB 431 which contained language around attempting to address one of the many issues in the banned concepts law. That bill is now dead having passed its deadline.
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One More Book Ban Bill – The House passed SB 434, As amended, SB 434 would require school boards to adopt and post a policy for addressing complaints against public school materials alleged to be “harmful to minors.” The bill next goes back to the Senate for a vote to concur or non-concur or request a Committee of Conference. Click here to read our joint press release about this bill’s passage.
One More Mandatory Open Enrollment Attempt
The prime sponsor of mandatory open enrollment in the Senate is making one more attempt at finding a bill that can pass on the issue. HB 751 was the bill the Senate attempted to fast track their previous open enrollment proposal until public outcry pressed them to slow down. As we know, SB 101 was defeated in the House, but they are back at it using HB 751 and the committee of conference process. The Committee will meet on Monday at 2:00 pm and we will see if they arrive at a new proposal. If both House and Senate Conferees do reach an agreement, that proposal will have to go back to each chamber for a final vote before it can go to the Governor.
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 hearings:
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 hearings:
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.
