How to Register Your Position on a Bill
This PDF published by the New Hampshire House of Representatives gives instructions on how to register your support or opposition, or give testimony on a bill that is scheduled for committee hearing.
| how_to_support_oppose.pdf |
2021 NH General Court Bills of Interest
SB2: allowing the preprocessing of absentee ballots for certain 2021 elections and allowing for the postponement of annual town meetings in calendar year 2021 where concerns exist during the COVID-19 health emergency.
Committee: No committee assignment
Issues: Elections, COVID-19
Comments: Support local control, accessibility, and safety for COVID town meeting day elections
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB20 -FN-A-L: establishing the Richard "Dick" Hinch education freedom account program.
Committee: Education
Issues: School Funding, Equal Protection, Home/Private Schooling
Comments: School vouchers are just another attempt to divert public taxpayer dollars away from public schools and into private, religious, and homeschools. HB 20 seeks to establish the most expansive school voucher system in the entire country. It comes with no accountability requirements to ensure that students are receiving an adequate education, no provisions for protecting students from discrimination, and no financial audit requirement for the scholarship organization to be accountable for their use of public funds. It also sets up a dangerous precedence for students with disabilities to waive their rights under state and federal disability laws. The NH legislature rejected similar proposals in the past because of the deep inequities it would cause for students, as well as the steep costs to the state and local towns. NH should reject this school privatization scheme once again.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB81: relative to the justified use of deadly force upon another person.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: Expands the use of deadly force in non-life threatening situations.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB86 -FN: relative to voter qualifications and registration procedures.
Committee: Election Law
Issues: Voter Suppression
Comments: Eliminates same day voter registration, which most students use to register to vote
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB121 -FN-A: establishing an independent redistricting commission.
Committee: Election Law
Issues: Voter Suppression
Comments: Creates an independent redistricting commission to stop Republicans from gerrymandering
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB145: relative to physical force in defense of a person.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: Justifies 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.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB172: establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the state and establishing a climate action plan.
Committee: Science, Technology, and Energy
Issues: Climate Change Crisis
Comments: NH is woefully behind all New England states in terms of energy efficiency, the renewable energy portfolio, raising the net metering cap, and our carbon targets. We rank 20th out of 50 states in energy efficiency, while Massachusetts and Vermont are in the top ten. Our solar power penetration is a dismal 1%. The state has had several studies, starting with the Climate Change Policy Task Force in 2008, but little action has been taken on the recommendations. It’s time to act. This bill directs DES and all state agencies to act now at a state level. It requires annual — not occasional — greenhouse gas inventory reports. It requires DES to prepare and adopt a plan for achieving these goals and to report on the results every two years.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB185 -FN: removing the work requirement of the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program.
Committee: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
Issues: Healthcare, Poverty
Comments: 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.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB195: adding display of a firearm as an exception to reckless conduct.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: This bill would exempt brandishing (displaying) a firearm from the reckless conduct law. Currently, a person is guilty of reckless conduct if they recklessly engage in conduct which places or may place another in danger of serious bodily injury. Reckless conduct is a class B felony if the person uses a deadly weapon, or a misdemeanor for all other reckless conduct. Upon proof that the victim and defendant were intimate partners or family or household members, a conviction under this section is recorded as “reckless conduct-domestic violence.” HB 195 is an attempt to exempt displaying a firearm from the reckless conduct law. This dangerous move gives a free pass to anyone who wishes to recklessly brandish firearms to harass, intimidate, coerce, control, or threaten others—from domestic abusers to armed extremists.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB197: relative to the use of deadly force in defense of another.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: Would broadly expand where and when deadly force can be used, and it could be used to justify shooting at unarmed protestors.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB233 -FN: relative to the right of any infant born alive to medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice
Comments: So-called “born alive” bill; this inflammatory misinformation bill seeks a law around something that does not happen.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB307: relative to the state preemption of the regulation of firearms and ammunition.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: HB 307 would expand New Hampshire’s already-expansive firearm preemption law to prevent any regulation of firearms and knives in municipal, school district, and public college and university buildings and property. The bill would also add new punitive measures to intimidate and punish local communities and districts that establish or enforce common sense firearms and knives regulations. These measures include allowing any New Hampshire citizen, entity, or organization (including the gun lobby) whose membership is aggrieved to sue in court for $100,000.00 in damages, and making the enactment or enforcement of local gun laws grounds for termination of public employees or removal from public office by the Governor. School districts that tried to prevent parents, teachers, staff, or visitors from open carrying or bringing hidden, loaded guns into schools would be subject to the same punitive measures as other localities. Reminder: New Hampshire already has a preemption law, which broadly prohibits local municipalities and school districts from enacting common sense firearms regulations. This bill takes that a step further and intimidates local officials from doing anything regarding guns in our high traffic public spaces or learning environments.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB334: relative to prohibitions on carrying a loaded firearm on an OHRV or snowmobile.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: This bill would allow someone to carry a loaded firearm on an OHRV or snowmobile.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB343: relative to billing for ambulance services.
Committee: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Issues: Healthcare Costs
Comments: In New Hampshire, local governments, supported by property taxes, provide the majority of emergency ambulance rides via fire departments or stand-alone rescue squads. This cost is a huge burden to our small towns and adds to our high property tax rate. This is because the reimbursement rates offered in contract negotiations with insurance providers are woefully inadequate. This bill requires the insurance carriers to offer a commercially reasonable payment. If there is a dispute, the NHID Commissioner will determine if the fee is appropriate, with consideration of the higher costs in rural communities.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB430: repealing the prohibition on entering or remaining on a public way or sidewalk adjacent to a reproductive health care facility.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Gun Violence
Comments: Repeals the patient safety zone law. No one should face violence, harassment, or threats when accessing safe, legal health care. Everyone deserves to feel safe, from legislators to patients at health care facilities, particularly during these times.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB434: prohibiting the use of public funds for abortions.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Poverty
Comments: Insurance denial of abortion; gag rule on NH public colleges and universities. This legislation seeks to prevent something that isn’t happening. Currently, state insurance does not cover abortion care and the Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal insurance for abortion.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB544: relative to the propagation of divisive concepts.
Committee: Executive Departments and Administration
Issues: 1st Amendment, LGBTQ, Race, Equality
Comments: HB 544 defines and prohibits the dissemination of certain “divisive concepts” like unconscious bias related to sex and race. Under the bill, the State of New Hampshire shall not teach, instruct, or train any employee, contractor, staff member, student, or any other individual or group, to adopt or believe any of the divisive concepts – essentially banning things such as training on race or sex diversity, equity, or inclusion. The ban applies to all New Hampshire state agencies, contractors, and political subdivisions, including K-12 schools and public colleges and universities. The bill also states that no employee, contractor, staff member, or student of the state of New Hampshire shall face any penalty or discrimination based on their refusal to “support, believe, endorse, embrace, confess, act upon, or otherwise assent to the divisive concepts;” basically the bill provides a free pass for those who reject the reality of individual and systemic bias and its impact on social and institutional structures, and allows barriers to building a healthy and equitable society to remain in place.Particularly now, after a year of reckoning and sustained mobilization around racial injustice, and as the COVID-19 public health pandemic lays bare the disproportionate health and economic impacts on people of color and women, this bill creates more hurdles to adequately responding. It contradicts core public health findings; promotes a narrative that portrays diversity trainings that address racism as dangerous; is ahistorical; and is so vague that it has a foreseeable chilling effect on legitimate trainings.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB596 -FN: prohibiting public funding of abortions and establishing the New Hampshire foster care and adoption initiative fund.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Poverty
Comments: Insurance denial of abortion; institutes a gag rule on reproductive health care providers. Preventing people from using their health insurance coverage for abortion care is a discriminatory policy that is particularly harmful to people who are struggling financially, people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, and immigrants — who all disproportionately rely on Medicaid for their health care coverage.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB622 -FN: protecting nascent human life as a reasonable and valid state interest.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Legislators Practicing Medicine Without a License
Comments: Bans abortion later in pregnancy; class B felony for patients and providers. Bans on abortions intrude on patient-provider relationships by dictating to medical experts how to make complex medical decisions.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB625 -FN: relative to the protection of fetal life.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Legislators Practicing Medicine Without a License
Comments: Bans abortion later in pregnancy; class B felony for providers. Bans on abortions are deeply unpopular and not grounded in science. Pregnant people deserve medically accurate information, compassion, and support — not judgment and shame.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
CACR8: relating to firearms. Providing that the legislature make no law restricting the right to own, carry, or use firearms or firearm accessories.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: CACR 8 is not only unconstitutional, it prevents our state from taking meaningful action against gun violence.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
Committee: No committee assignment
Issues: Elections, COVID-19
Comments: Support local control, accessibility, and safety for COVID town meeting day elections
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB20 -FN-A-L: establishing the Richard "Dick" Hinch education freedom account program.
Committee: Education
Issues: School Funding, Equal Protection, Home/Private Schooling
Comments: School vouchers are just another attempt to divert public taxpayer dollars away from public schools and into private, religious, and homeschools. HB 20 seeks to establish the most expansive school voucher system in the entire country. It comes with no accountability requirements to ensure that students are receiving an adequate education, no provisions for protecting students from discrimination, and no financial audit requirement for the scholarship organization to be accountable for their use of public funds. It also sets up a dangerous precedence for students with disabilities to waive their rights under state and federal disability laws. The NH legislature rejected similar proposals in the past because of the deep inequities it would cause for students, as well as the steep costs to the state and local towns. NH should reject this school privatization scheme once again.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB81: relative to the justified use of deadly force upon another person.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: Expands the use of deadly force in non-life threatening situations.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB86 -FN: relative to voter qualifications and registration procedures.
Committee: Election Law
Issues: Voter Suppression
Comments: Eliminates same day voter registration, which most students use to register to vote
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB121 -FN-A: establishing an independent redistricting commission.
Committee: Election Law
Issues: Voter Suppression
Comments: Creates an independent redistricting commission to stop Republicans from gerrymandering
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB145: relative to physical force in defense of a person.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: Justifies 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.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB172: establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the state and establishing a climate action plan.
Committee: Science, Technology, and Energy
Issues: Climate Change Crisis
Comments: NH is woefully behind all New England states in terms of energy efficiency, the renewable energy portfolio, raising the net metering cap, and our carbon targets. We rank 20th out of 50 states in energy efficiency, while Massachusetts and Vermont are in the top ten. Our solar power penetration is a dismal 1%. The state has had several studies, starting with the Climate Change Policy Task Force in 2008, but little action has been taken on the recommendations. It’s time to act. This bill directs DES and all state agencies to act now at a state level. It requires annual — not occasional — greenhouse gas inventory reports. It requires DES to prepare and adopt a plan for achieving these goals and to report on the results every two years.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB185 -FN: removing the work requirement of the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program.
Committee: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
Issues: Healthcare, Poverty
Comments: 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.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB195: adding display of a firearm as an exception to reckless conduct.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: This bill would exempt brandishing (displaying) a firearm from the reckless conduct law. Currently, a person is guilty of reckless conduct if they recklessly engage in conduct which places or may place another in danger of serious bodily injury. Reckless conduct is a class B felony if the person uses a deadly weapon, or a misdemeanor for all other reckless conduct. Upon proof that the victim and defendant were intimate partners or family or household members, a conviction under this section is recorded as “reckless conduct-domestic violence.” HB 195 is an attempt to exempt displaying a firearm from the reckless conduct law. This dangerous move gives a free pass to anyone who wishes to recklessly brandish firearms to harass, intimidate, coerce, control, or threaten others—from domestic abusers to armed extremists.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB197: relative to the use of deadly force in defense of another.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: Would broadly expand where and when deadly force can be used, and it could be used to justify shooting at unarmed protestors.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB233 -FN: relative to the right of any infant born alive to medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice
Comments: So-called “born alive” bill; this inflammatory misinformation bill seeks a law around something that does not happen.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB307: relative to the state preemption of the regulation of firearms and ammunition.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: HB 307 would expand New Hampshire’s already-expansive firearm preemption law to prevent any regulation of firearms and knives in municipal, school district, and public college and university buildings and property. The bill would also add new punitive measures to intimidate and punish local communities and districts that establish or enforce common sense firearms and knives regulations. These measures include allowing any New Hampshire citizen, entity, or organization (including the gun lobby) whose membership is aggrieved to sue in court for $100,000.00 in damages, and making the enactment or enforcement of local gun laws grounds for termination of public employees or removal from public office by the Governor. School districts that tried to prevent parents, teachers, staff, or visitors from open carrying or bringing hidden, loaded guns into schools would be subject to the same punitive measures as other localities. Reminder: New Hampshire already has a preemption law, which broadly prohibits local municipalities and school districts from enacting common sense firearms regulations. This bill takes that a step further and intimidates local officials from doing anything regarding guns in our high traffic public spaces or learning environments.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB334: relative to prohibitions on carrying a loaded firearm on an OHRV or snowmobile.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: This bill would allow someone to carry a loaded firearm on an OHRV or snowmobile.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB343: relative to billing for ambulance services.
Committee: Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Issues: Healthcare Costs
Comments: In New Hampshire, local governments, supported by property taxes, provide the majority of emergency ambulance rides via fire departments or stand-alone rescue squads. This cost is a huge burden to our small towns and adds to our high property tax rate. This is because the reimbursement rates offered in contract negotiations with insurance providers are woefully inadequate. This bill requires the insurance carriers to offer a commercially reasonable payment. If there is a dispute, the NHID Commissioner will determine if the fee is appropriate, with consideration of the higher costs in rural communities.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB430: repealing the prohibition on entering or remaining on a public way or sidewalk adjacent to a reproductive health care facility.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Gun Violence
Comments: Repeals the patient safety zone law. No one should face violence, harassment, or threats when accessing safe, legal health care. Everyone deserves to feel safe, from legislators to patients at health care facilities, particularly during these times.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB434: prohibiting the use of public funds for abortions.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Poverty
Comments: Insurance denial of abortion; gag rule on NH public colleges and universities. This legislation seeks to prevent something that isn’t happening. Currently, state insurance does not cover abortion care and the Hyde Amendment bans the use of federal insurance for abortion.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB544: relative to the propagation of divisive concepts.
Committee: Executive Departments and Administration
Issues: 1st Amendment, LGBTQ, Race, Equality
Comments: HB 544 defines and prohibits the dissemination of certain “divisive concepts” like unconscious bias related to sex and race. Under the bill, the State of New Hampshire shall not teach, instruct, or train any employee, contractor, staff member, student, or any other individual or group, to adopt or believe any of the divisive concepts – essentially banning things such as training on race or sex diversity, equity, or inclusion. The ban applies to all New Hampshire state agencies, contractors, and political subdivisions, including K-12 schools and public colleges and universities. The bill also states that no employee, contractor, staff member, or student of the state of New Hampshire shall face any penalty or discrimination based on their refusal to “support, believe, endorse, embrace, confess, act upon, or otherwise assent to the divisive concepts;” basically the bill provides a free pass for those who reject the reality of individual and systemic bias and its impact on social and institutional structures, and allows barriers to building a healthy and equitable society to remain in place.Particularly now, after a year of reckoning and sustained mobilization around racial injustice, and as the COVID-19 public health pandemic lays bare the disproportionate health and economic impacts on people of color and women, this bill creates more hurdles to adequately responding. It contradicts core public health findings; promotes a narrative that portrays diversity trainings that address racism as dangerous; is ahistorical; and is so vague that it has a foreseeable chilling effect on legitimate trainings.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB596 -FN: prohibiting public funding of abortions and establishing the New Hampshire foster care and adoption initiative fund.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Poverty
Comments: Insurance denial of abortion; institutes a gag rule on reproductive health care providers. Preventing people from using their health insurance coverage for abortion care is a discriminatory policy that is particularly harmful to people who are struggling financially, people of color, people in the LGBTQ+ community, and immigrants — who all disproportionately rely on Medicaid for their health care coverage.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB622 -FN: protecting nascent human life as a reasonable and valid state interest.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Legislators Practicing Medicine Without a License
Comments: Bans abortion later in pregnancy; class B felony for patients and providers. Bans on abortions intrude on patient-provider relationships by dictating to medical experts how to make complex medical decisions.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
HB625 -FN: relative to the protection of fetal life.
Committee: Judiciary
Issues: Women's Healthcare Choice, Legislators Practicing Medicine Without a License
Comments: Bans abortion later in pregnancy; class B felony for providers. Bans on abortions are deeply unpopular and not grounded in science. Pregnant people deserve medically accurate information, compassion, and support — not judgment and shame.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
CACR8: relating to firearms. Providing that the legislature make no law restricting the right to own, carry, or use firearms or firearm accessories.
Committee: Criminal Justice and Public Safety
Issues: Gun Violence
Comments: CACR 8 is not only unconstitutional, it prevents our state from taking meaningful action against gun violence.
| NH GENERAL COURT STATUS PAGE | LEGISCAN SUMMARY PAGE |
