Veto Day Report
The State House and Senate met this week for “Veto Day” - when they vote on bills that the governor vetoed. Of Governor Ayotte’s 31 vetoes taken up on Wednesday, several important education and labor related vetoes were sustained, as they lacked the two -thirds necessary for an override.
Here are some of the vetoes that were sustained:
- HB 1072 – would have weakened the authority of the Department of Labor when investigating and enforcing labor law.
- HB 1358 – would have created a commission to study converting all public schools to charter schools
- HB 1565 – would have included penalties and potential consequences for mandatory reporters that could have had a negative effect on mandatory reporters’ ability and their role in filing reports about abused or neglected children.
- HB 1491/SB 661 – were a pair of bills that together would have made a number of changes to the way in which public employee risk pools like the ones that administer health plans for thousands of members are regulated.
- HB 1610 – would have limited the ability of school districts to retain unassigned general funds on an annual basis
- SB 434 – was of course the latest attempt the legislature had passed at a book ban in public schools
The House and Senate did, however, muster the necessary two-thirds vote to override Governor Ayotte’s veto of the following education related bills, which will now become law:
- HB 1184 – creates additional procedures for school districts and municipalities to follow in order to issue a no trespass order.
- HB 1267 – requires that school boards create a policy that prohibit the questioning of a minor student without expressed prior written parental or guardian permission, by non-employee persons including but not limited to persons who are attorneys, paralegals, and law enforcement personnel, as well as such persons in these professions who are employees of the school district or school administrative unit.
- HB 1369 – removes the requirement to post warrant articles in a newspaper of record for annual meeting.
NEA-NH's 2026 Legislative Scorecard is Out!
The annual NEA-NH legislative scorecard is out! This is an important resource for you to learn how your elected officials acted when voting on key education and labor bills throughout the 2026 Legislative Session.
The scorecards are organized by last name (House) and district (Senate). If you need to look up your legislators and districts, click here.
NH State Primary is September 8 – Make a Plan to Vote!
Your next opportunity to cast your ballot for pro-public education candidates is Tuesday, September 8. Make sure you’re ready to vote in the New Hampshire State Primary by verifying your voter registration status, checking your local polling place and hours, and reviewing a sample ballot! Visit the NH Secretary of State’s Office website or your local Town/City Clerk.
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].
