Back to all
2025 has begun marking beginning of the new Federal, and State governments elected in the 2024 election. The 169th General Court for the State of New Hampshire has started, and with it goes the relatively cordial nature the legislature had forced upon it by it’s close composition between caucuses in the last term. The Republican majority of the House began the session by offering a rule which would have allowed a committee to move that a bill be held by committee, prior to a public hearing. Effectively ending New Hampshire’s tradition of giving every bill a public hearing, vote in committee, and ultimately a debate and vote on the House floor. Beginning the end of New Hampshire’s transparent spirit.
The people of the State came out en masse to oppose this rule change. Calling, emailing, and rallying their legislators to oppose this change. The legislature was spooked, and the rule was ultimately killed on the table of the House.
Proving in a time where we desperately needed to be reminded, that the power of the people is still King in this State. That when we work together, not writing anyone off, and making our voice heard forcefully, but respectfully, we can effectuate change. There will be many losses this year. We must not let those losses keep us from the vision of a State that works for all it’s citizens, and not just the wealthy elite.
The composition of the new committees in the State House vary. Some are split by 10 members of the majority, and 8 of the minority. Some, such as my committee on the Environment and Agriculture, are split 9 to 7. The Finance committee has a split of 14 members of the majority, to the minority’s 11. Each of the three divisions of the Finance committee are split by 5 to 4. With a 44 seat split between the Majority and Minority parties of the House, and a split of 16 to 8 in the State Senate; barring decent from within their own caucus, the Republicans will be able to accomplish anything that they wish.
Based on some of the legislation filed by them we can expect cuts to the medicaid system, university system, the judiciary, and a whole host of other agencies. Funding of a universal Education Freedom Account program. Expanding on the existing program which provides taxpayer funds to those wishing to send their children to a private, home, or religious school. We can expect a continuation of the property tax scheme which continues to shack the burden of our public school system onto the towns. Leaving property poor towns, and their taxpayers, in the dust. While property rich towns get off. Rollbacks of the bail compromise that is only just being implemented this year. Pro-developer housing policy which leaves our home owners, and renters in the dust - a State Senate standing in our way of protecting the environment from the waste management industry, restoring the pensions stripped from our State employees; and I could go on. The GOP leadership, despite receiving a Majority to deal with the rising property taxes, safety in our streets, and inflating costs - are seemingly more vested in placating their wealthy donors over the people who got out to elect them.
I won’t give up on the issues I care about, nor the people with whom I am acquainted on the ‘other side of the aisle’. The legislature can still work but it will take the power of the people as displayed on the vote on Rule 44, the diligence of the members in the minority, and an unwillingness to bend to the apathy of loss.
During the campaign season, one of the bills constituents requested be sponsored in this session was around the issue of our public school start times in the State of New Hampshire. A group of committed Moms in the ConVal district had been advocating for this change at a district level, but found it hard to get a fair hearing by the school board. It didn’t take much to convince me of this idea. I’m someone who remembers how early you have to wake up for school having done it not too long ago. Ultimately it was decided that for the best product, the legislature should commission a study of the subject so that it can retain all the necessary data to craft a change which works for all the schools and their students. HB184 is the result of those conversations. A bill charging a legislative study committee on the issue. With the general charge of looking at the issue of school start times for the potential of future legislation. The committee’s report would be due November of this year.
HB184 had it’s first hearing in the newly formed Education Policy and Administration committee this month. The parents concerned about the issue, their kids, and other Representative’s from both sides of the aisle with school aged children came out to testify in support of the bill. The hearing is available online with every hearing on the House YouTube, but it is also clipped on my website.
I have also refiled my legislation on annulling the record of anyone convicted of a misdemeanor or violation level charge of cannabis possession. This session, I filed the bill as a reactive program rather than proactive. Meaning that anyone with a conviction as defined in the bill could petition the court without charge to have their record annulled rather than the court going through and annulling the convictions found in their system. I made this changed based on the feedback of the Senate Judiciary committee and other stake holders in order to better it’s chances of getting through the Senate in this session. That is the work of legislating between bienniums. Taking what was done in the last two years, and building on it to do your best to ensure it fits what is able to pass.
On the 20th, I was at the All Saints Church in Peterborough. Participating in the Martin Luther King day event held annually in either Peterborough or Hancock. There is a community breakfast, live music and song, and a morning of good conversation. My speech is available on my website and my YouTube channel. The President was being sworn in as we met in the church. There was a bittersweet irony to that. The message I had for the day was that we must not play into the show by reacting to all the traps that are planned in order to make us an unwitting participant in the play. It is time to step off the stage, and get into reality. The real dictators of our time are the oligarchs of tech, finance, other industry giants, and their patsies standing behind the podium. Underneath the grand rotunda of our Capitol. Rolling on sedatives to relieve their mind of the moral travesty going on within.
We are in Wackadoodleland. Our politics have become a complete clown show.
The unitary executive theory enshrined under President W. Bush, and utilized in various ways by all the Presidents succeeding; sets the country up in this moment for an executive branch the likes of which has never been seen. The President will be doing as many end-runs around the legislative branch as the judiciary will allow. Although there is a slim majority of less than five in the Congress, and filibuster minority in the Senate. Meaning the legislative branch will still have to rely on minority input to budget, and pass anything which requires sixty votes in the Senate. The Senate majority led by Senator Jon Thune will do it’s best to utilize the budget reconciliation process which only requires a majority vote but there are parliamentary guardrails to how that process can be used. A lot of policy can be done through a budget reconciliation bill as was seen during the Democratic majority in the 20-22 biennium, and I am sure the same will happen this Spring. What the Senate Democrats will choose to do about a continuing resolution and the budget process remains to be seen. They have leverage on passage of an actual budget as a filibuster worthy minority. If they withhold their support for a continuing resolution for concessions on protections for social security, medicaid, and medicare - or whatever they may be able to get - then the people will see who is working towards governing and who is working for their donors.
The issues of materialism, war, and poverty which were spoken to by King just over fifty years ago are still entirely relevant today. We live in a world of deception and deceit. Where we are told to ignore our lying eyes in favor of the story we’ve all been told. Where our eyes see our neighbors on the brink of or in homelessness, the story tells us there are very few of them. Where our eyes see our monthly budgets going up and up, while the services don’t get any better - the story tells us they’re better than ever, and that the raising prices aren’t as bad as they seem. Where our eyes see a digital prison being built around us, the story tells us it’s progress. Where our eyes see brutal military occupation, the story tells us it’s a routine military operation.
Those in power thrive on the fact many of us have our eyes wide shut.
In a world of such deceit, the truth is our greatest currency.
Their story is coming to an end. We must begin the new one unafraid to point out wrong when it is seen. Standing with our neighbors in the protection of our home.
Peter and I both plan on holding an in person event somewhere in the district on a monthly basis. This is an effort to bring people the first hand experiences of the legislature as it happens throughout the season. Our first event was held at the Peterborough Select Board meeting on the 7th. It was great to see a full room, and good questions which sparked even better conversation.
It is set to be a busy first year of the 169th General Court. The legislature will be quite the show this year.