By Rep. MARJORIE PORTER, D-Hillsborough

First off, I want to thank the voters of Antrim, Hillsborough, and Windsor for their trust and support, and for reelecting me to serve as your state representative once again. It’s and honor and a privilege, and I promise to continue to work as hard as I can for you, for as long as I am able.

It promises to be a very challenging term in many ways, not the least of which is how to meet safely during this surging pandemic. Under Speaker Shurtleff, and after weeks of planning and hard work by his office, a system was developed that allowed committee work to be done remotely, while our in-person sessions were held at the Whittemore Center at UNH.

At those sessions, members who refused to wear masks were separated from the rest of us, to keep us safe. Our meetings were held in the summer and early fall, when coronavirus case numbers in the state were low, and things were looking hopeful.

We voted to ask the Supreme Court to issue an opinion on whether meeting remotely, in whole or in part, would violate Part II, Article 20 of the NH Constitution. They have ruled that it would not, giving us the go-ahead to move forward with remote-meeting plans.

But the House has new leadership now, and they don’t seem to care much for us or our plans. Soon-to-be Speaker Dick Hinch has said publicly his intention is to meet in person, in the statehouse, and to hold committee meetings in the Legislative Office Building (LOB) as soon as possible. (The HVAC system in the LOB has been determined to be inadequate to non-existent, unable to properly ventilate the crowded committee rooms during hearings.)

And as for the governor’s mask mandate? Consider this. Reports are that half of the new Republican majority are members of the group that calls itself the Liberty Alliance, far-right legislators headed up by members of the Free State Project. This is the group that refused to wear masks when we met at UNH. Several of their members have filed a bill to investigate whether to begin impeachment proceedings against Governor Sununu for infringing on individual liberties. Some are protesting in front of the governor’s home today as I write.

Masks may be mandated, but their response seems to be “You’re not the boss of me.”

Last week, the House held its orientation for new members. Sessions were held in a very socially-distanced Reps Hall, and masks were mandated. Systems were in place for those who wanted to attend remotely. There were only about 50 new members there in person. I was there, masked and distanced, to help out.

Yesterday I received word that one of the new members has tested positive for the virus. Although the likelihood of my being infected is slim, I’m keeping my distance from my husband, who is in the extreme high-risk category.

Next week is Organization Day, the day we get sworn in, elect our new Speaker, and vote on some temporary rules. Our swearing-in must be done before the governor and the Executive Council, and we must sign a paper, to be official.

This event is being held at UNH once again. There will be no option for remote attendance. I am not sure what provisions are being made for mask-refusers.

We are being told if we don’t attend in person, we must wait until the governor meets with the Executive Council again on Dec. 16 to be sworn in. And even that must be in person, outside at the statehouse, and then inside to the Secretary of State’s office to hand in our signed papers.

I don’t know if the governor and the council will actually be present though, as they have been meeting remotely for months now. In fact, last spring a new member elected in a special election was sworn in remotely.

If we don’t attend in person, we won’t be able to cast a vote for Speaker, or to approve the rules. In effect, we will be disenfranchised from two particularly important votes.

Speaker Shurtleff’s office worked out plans allowing a hybrid version of Organization Day to occur—in person and remotely, so all could attend. Systems are already in place that, with a little tweaking, would allow for swearing in and voting even by remote attendees.

How foolish and short-sighted of the new majority leadership to not take advantage of these plans. The court has said it is legal to meet remotely; remote swearing in has occurred before; platforms are available to make it work.

During the recent election, one of my Republican colleagues was called out for missing many votes last year. His defense was he felt it was not safe for him to attend our long session day, as another member of the House had just returned from Italy. At that time, the number of cases of coronavirus in the state could be counted on one hand; there were no deaths.

As of today, there have been more than 18,000 cases in the state, and the numbers are rising by the several hundreds each day. Five hundred twelve people have died—most of them my age, or older—as are most NH state representatives.

I wonder how safe my colleague is feeling with this.

It pains me to say this, but I don’t think I will be attending Organization Day next week. I’ve already been exposed by volunteering to help at orientation. I don’t want to take a chance again.

I take the job you all elected me to do very seriously and will do everything I can to fulfill my responsibilities this term. But until all available options are used to keep us safe from infection during the winter surge we know is coming, I just can’t put my husband’s and my lives at risk.

I hope you understand.