State House Hearings & Votes

You can sign in to register your support or opposition, sign up to provide oral testimony, or submit written testimony on bills right now via the remote hearing tool the legislature is using during the pandemic. To provide oral testimony, use the same links and select the option to sign up to testify over zoom.

IN THE SENATE

To sign up to testify and/or to register your position on Senate legislation, use this link: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/remotecommittee/senate.aspx

IN THE HOUSE

To sign up to testify and/or to register your position on House legislation, use this link: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx

As everyone becomes accustomed to remote testimony, one thing to know: the committee is given the sign in list for bills around 30 minutes prior to the start of the first hearing of the day. A best practice is to sign in by 9:00 am the day of a hearing to make sure the committee sees it in real time; if you sign in later and plan to provide oral testimony, use the zoom “raise your hand” function to make sure your name is called prior to the end of the public hearing.

Click here to look up bill text

Click here for suggestions on how to write testimony

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Please note that committees are meeting in Executive Session to vote on bills, and we do not always have the specific date and time of a vote in advance. There is no opportunity for additional public testimony during the executive session or during the full Senate or House sessions. Action asks for committee outreach are included in the public hearing postings here, or posted in addition as necessary.

House Floor Votes Week of 2/24 & 2/25

There are more than 130 bills expected to be debated during the House session this week. Here are a few of the most urgent that could use your help.

Attacks on Reproductive Rights

The full House will vote on a package of three bills that attack access to sexual and reproductive health care during a global health pandemic. Instead of prioritizing Granite Staters’ health during this public health crisis, some state lawmakers are focused on these cruel bills that target patients and doctors.

• HB 625: Bans abortion later in pregnancy (24 weeks) with very narrow exceptions, including none for the health of the fetus; HB 625 would also criminalize doctors with a class B felony and up to seven years in prison.

• HB 233: So-called “born alive” bill; this inflammatory misinformation bill seeks a law around something that does not happen

• HB 430: Repeals our state’s reproductive health center patient safety zone law

You can learn more about them by clicking here. 

Take Action: Contact your state legislator and urge them to support the committee recommendation of ITL (inexpedient to legislate) on these bills.

Oppose Deadly, Racist Stand Your Ground Bills

Stand Your Ground laws – otherwise known as “Kill at Will” – do nothing more than justify murder. As millions of Americans demand solutions to violence and racial injustice, these bills double down on the same white vigilantism that led to the murders of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery.

New Hampshire already has a so-called “Stand Your Ground” law—giving people a license to kill when confronted with a perceived “threat” without even considering walking away or de-escalating the situation. Now, our legislators are attempting to make this dangerous law even worse with two deadly bills:

• HB 197 would broadly expand where and when deadly force can be used, and it could be used to justify shooting at unarmed protestors.

• HB 145 would justify the use of deadly force even in the very few circumstances where it’s currently prohibited by state law. This bill would authorize the use of deadly force even when there are safe alternatives to walk away or de-escalate, and even in cases when the shooter started the confrontation.

• HB 81 would expand the use of deadly force in other non-life threatening situations.

These laws protect white vigilantism and embolden reckless gun owners to shoot first, ask questions later, and claim self-defense to avoid culpability for murder. Everyone has the right to stay alive when walking down the street or jogging in their neighborhood. Stand Your Ground laws move us in the opposite direction – and we refuse to accept that.

Take Action: Contact your state legislators today and urge them to oppose HB 81, HB 145, and HB 197.

Repeal NH’s Damaging Medicaid Expansion Work Requirements

Medicaid expansion work requirements set up more barriers for people who need health care. Work requirements in other states have caused tens of thousands of low-income individuals to lose their health coverage, including those who qualified but had difficulty overcoming the bureaucratic obstacles to prove that they meet the requirements or qualify for limited exemptions. Overall, work requirements are incredibly self-defeating: taking away people’s health coverage often makes it harder for them to find or keep a job.

HB 185 seeks to remove the damaging work requirement from New Hampshire’s Medicaid expansion program – a reasonable move considering a federal judge has already struck it down. New Hampshire has already spent more than $4 million in state and federal money to try to implement this policy, and continues to support an appeal in the courts to enforce it. It’s time to stop wasting our taxpayer dollars on trying to take away health care from those who most need it, and instead invest in ways to ensure every Granite Stater has quality, affordable health coverage.

Take Action: Contact your state legislators today and urge them to support HB 185 to repeal the Medicaid expansion work requirement. Note: The committee recommended passage of this bill 11-10.

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If we missed a bill of important to you, please email info@granitestateprogress.org. Our organization supports a broad range of progressive policies, with specific campaigns around health care and reproductive rights, gun violence prevention, and exposing special interests trying to influence our policies and future!