What Just Happened: This Week’s Highlights and Lowlights from the Legislative Trenches
Gov. Kelly Ayotte doing her part to advance the GOP’s manufactured, hate-driven, fear-mongering “criminal alien” crisis by signing two harmful anti-immigrant bills last Thursday at the State House.
While no one seems to have told Mother Nature that the month of March was over almost two months ago, a quick look at the calendar shows that with June approaching, the 2025 legislative session is nearing a merciful end. Here’s a quick summary what happened to key legislation during the week of May 18-24.
Setting the Scene
This is the time of year when raw numbers dictate outcomes on many controversial bills. With Republicans holding a 220-177 majority in the House and a 16-8 majority in the Senate, Democrats simply lack the votes to put the brakes on GOP overreach or to pass many of their own priorities. But occasional surprises do happen and there were several this week.
It’s also the time of year when bills passed by both chambers start going to the governor for signature or veto. While Gov. Ayotte has yet to pull out her veto pen, she found time earlier in the month to sign 23 bills and last week she rubber-stamped the following bills.
Signed Into Law
Harmful Anti-Immigrant Bills That Empower a Rogue Federal Agency and Disempower Communities. HB 511 and SB 62, both, billed as “anti-sanctuary cities”policies,, are now on the books. Fun fact: New Hampshire doesn’t have a single “sanctuary city.” But despite this, on Thursday, Gov. Ayotte made a big show of signing two anti-immigrant bills that will prohibit counties and municipalities from imposing any restrictions on county sheriff departments and local police departments who sign agreements to assist an increasingly rogue federal agency with immigration enforcement. What the governor framed in her signing ceremony as a “sanctuary cities ban” (with a large “Don’t Mass Up NH!” placed prominently in view) is actually a prohibition on elected county and municipal officials from prohibiting or limiting cooperation in any way between local law enforcement resources (FUNDED BY THEIR TAXPAYERS and NOT the state) and ICE. To add frosting on the cake, SB 62 also imposes a penalty of 25% of all state revenues a county or community receives should it enact restrictions or leave a welcoming policy in place on the books. The bill signings represent the successful culmination of years of right-wing efforts by GOP pols to make immigrants the enemy by falsely framing them as “criminal invaders.” Research consistently shows that on a percentage basis, immigrants— including undocumented immigrants—commit far fewer crimes than native-born US citizens. Go figure... More.
A Big Wet Kiss for Gun Manufacturers. Almost immediately after I unsuccessfully argued against HB 551 on the House Floor, Gov. Ayotte signed the bill. The bill includes an amendment made in the Senate at the request of gun maker Sig Sauer, which has been fighting hundreds of liability lawsuits across the country filed by owners of its P320 pistol. What the amendment does is create an exemption in state liability laws for gun makers who don’t include certain safety features in their firearms. While the bill won’t impact lawsuits that have already been filed against Sig Sauer, it will quash any future lawsuits from being filed in New Hampshire over this particular issue with the P320. Worth noting is that Ayotte, who has never been shy about her undying affection for the gun industry, signed the bill within hours of passage. Because the bill was written to take effect immediately upon passage, any New Hampshire gun owner harmed by a sudden unintentional P320 discharge who didn’t file their case before Friday is now out of luck. As I pointed out during my floor speech opposing concurrence with the Senate’s amendment, Sig Sauer is far from being the only company that has faced lawsuits for unsafe or defective products over the years. But to reduce the risk of future lawsuits, most companies in this situation do something different. Instead of going to lawmakers for a one-of-a-kind get-out-of-jail-free-card liability exemption, most bite the bullet and recall their products and fix or retire them to reduce the risk of their customers from being harmed. But those companies weren’t lucky enough to have a GOP-majority state legislature and eager-to-please governor willing to rig the legal system for them. Worth noting is that while Sig Sauer has made a “voluntary upgrade” available for P320 owners, it has never formally recalled them and owners—including police officers—continue to report P320’s suddenly discharging. Also worth noting is that prior to passage of the bill in the House, 25 law enforcement leaders from across the country, led by former NH Supreme Court Justice Chuck Douglas, urged the House to reject the bill. More.
On the Way to The Governor for Signature
Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill. HB 148, which would eliminate certain transgender protections established by a 2018 anti-discrimination law in New Hampshire, was approved by the state Senate Thursday on a 16-8 party line vote and now heads to Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s desk. If signed, it will allow businesses other organizations to keep transgender people out of bathrooms and from participating in sports teams that align with their gender identity. Gov. Sununu vetoed a similar bill in the 2024 session. More.
Book Banning Bill. HB 324 was approved in the Senate after passing in the House. The bill would require all New Hampshire school boards to adopt a complaint process that parents could use to object to what they believe are inappropriate or obscene materials—and potentially remove them. Currently, school districts can choose their own policies for how to allow parents to object to materials. But the process outlined in the bill empowers aggrieved parents who don’t get the decision they want from their local school board or claim that it failed to comply with the law to sue for damages. Educators and librarians who fail to comply with a decision to remove a book can also face discipline for violating the state’s code of educator conduct. In response, the Manchester School Board has already sent Gov. Ayotte a letter requesting her to veto the bill, which the board claims fails to adequately define “materials harmful to minors. “It prohibits materials ‘harmful to minors in schools’ but it fails to define these materials adequately,” the letter says. “In its reach, the bill encompasses curricular materials, library holdings, and anything presented in schools, online or in-person. This is not only an overreach of state authority over local school districts, but also an egregious constraint on academic freedom and educational content.” More.
Anti-Teacher/Anti-Public Education/Anti-Local Control Education Bills. Also on the way to the governor are the first wave of a slew of “education” bills:
HB 520. This unnecessary legislation would allow the New Hampshire Department of Education to go on culture war fishing expeditions by requesting a subpoena when investigating possible violations of the Educator Code of Conduct.
HB 235: Expanding the Educator Code of Conduct to include an unknown set of responsibilities to parents, not just students, as it does under current law.
HB 90: Permitting unlicensed part-time teachers in classrooms and undermining the quality of public education
HB 235: Expanding the Educator Code of Conduct to include an unknown set of responsibilities to parents, not just students, as it does under current law.
Other Concord Shenanigans
A Measly $1 for the Arts. As it hurtles towards hammering a version of the state budget in line with its own vision of misplaced priorities, the Senate Finance Committee voted, 5-3, not to recommend restoring funding for the NH Council on the Arts during a work session last week. Ignoring Sen. Cindy Rosenwald who repeatedly reminded her colleagues that “the arts drive the economy”, the Republican-controlled committee adopted the old ruse of appropriating $1 for arts funding. The theory, as proposed by GOP Sen. Tim Lang with a straight face, is that this will allow a defunded Arts Council to solicit corporate sponsors and donations that…(wait for it!)…can be used to get matching donations from a federal government where a convicted felon and patron of teenage beauty pageants has put himself in charge of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and is slashing funding for anything that doesn’t align with a vision for the arts that includes restoring Confederate statutes across the US and proclaiming that “Taylor Swift isn’t hot any more!” on social media. Bottom line: any federal money for the arts that comes to states for the arts will need to meet the Trump’s ideological and propaganda needs. As Garry Rayno said in his Sunday column, “without art, the dust of daily life will pile up around the soul and a person will suffocate.” without art, the dust of daily life will pile up around the soul and a person will suffocate.” Prepare to suffocate, folks. Also be on the lookout for more performative hand-wringing from sweet-talking extremist Gov. Ayotte when it comes to cuts to popular programs like this. But don’t expect her to ask GOP legislators to cut even one thin dime from the millions of dollars set aside in the budget to pay for school vouchers providing a tuition subsidy for the wealthiest families in the state to send their kids to private schools—on your dime. Because priorities… More.
Sorry About Your Medicaid Healthcare Benefits, But Horse Dewormer Will Soon Be Available to Everyone! In yet another echo of a COVID-era issue that House Republicans refuse to let go of, the House Republican majority has decided to make Ivermectin available over the counter to any person for any reason. Rather than simply allowing SB 119, a money-saving bipartisan bill that would allow dispensing pharmacies in the Medicaid program to dispense brand name medications if they are cheaper than their generic equivalent, House Republicans tacked on an amendment allowing anyone to self-medicate themselves or their kids with a drug of questionable efficacy against anything other than worms. The amended bill passed 196-164 and sets up a vote in the Senate to either concur with the House’s changes, to reject them (killing the bill), or to request a committee of conference. More.
Make It Easier to Apply for a Childcare Scholarship? What Color is the Sky in Your World? By a 277-83 vote, the House elected to table SB 243 , which would have established a pilot program to streamline the application process for the state’s childcare scholarship program More.
Criminalizing the Act of Driving for Immigrants. SB 13 passed 192-164 and will go back to the Senate for a concurrence vote. It invalidates licenses issued to undocumented immigrants by other states and criminalizes the act of them driving in New Hampshire. It also eliminates the ability of asylum seekers with federally issued work authorization to obtain a New Hampshire driver’s license until they have been granted full permanent residency (a Green Card)—which can take years— revokes the right of asylum seekers who currently hold licenses to renew them. In addition to failing to address any legitimate, evidence-based public safety concerns, the bill introduces unnecessary legal risk for both law enforcement and visitors while inviting profiling and discriminatory enforcement.
Did They Somehow Forget Elon—Their New Bestie—Sells EVs? In the continuing struggle to quash local control and to punish drivers rolling around on our roads and highways in electric vehicles, the House killed SB 272 by a 195-163 vote. The bill would have allowed voters in NH communities to decide if they want to establish a revolving fund for building EV charging stations. It also would have created penalties for people who park in designated spaces for EV charging when not actively charging.
Vote on “Parents Rights” Bill Delayed. The House voted to reschedule debate on SB 72 to the June 6 session day to allow more time for Republicans to get on the same page with proposed amendments to a bill that addresses another one of their favorite manufactured issues. In addition to undermining the Education Department’s One Trusted Adult program by requiring school staff to respond to “any and all” parental inquiries—even inappropriate ones about personal relationships—the bill would strip teens of access to birth control without parental permission. Meanwhile, the House version of a parental rights bill, HB 10, is scheduled to come up for a Senate vote on June 5.
Momentum Slows for Housing Changes. On Thursday, the House voted to table two bills that had major implications on local planning and zoning:
SB 170 is a multi-part bill with a number of unrelated provisions that raised concerns. Among them, restrictions ranging from the number of homes allowed on a dead-end street to the maximum road length and well-siting requirements that went beyond state standards, and the timeline for planning review.
SB 174 would have banned planning boards from considering the number of bedrooms a unit or development can have during the approval process. It was tabled after a vote to pass it failed 176-183.
With the deadline for action on Senate bills approaching in less than two weeks, the clock is ticking on any efforts to amend the bills and remove them from the table for votes on passage.
Later that day, a House committee voted to retain SB 84 , another statewide zoning mandate that would establish maximum lot sizes based on the type of water and sewer infrastructure serving the lot. While retaining the bill means the House won’t act on the bill in 2025, it allows committee members time to refine the bill for a final vote that will come early in 2026.
Not every housing-related bill was tabled or killed.
SB 188 , which would authorize licensed or certified third parties to certify documents and inspect buildings in compliance with applicable building and other codes, passed 276-82.
SB 291, which adds a series of tax exemptions for property other than churches owned by religious organizations, passed by voice vote.
The House next meets to inflict more mayhem on June 6.