House and Senate Open 2021 Session in Different Universes

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Nancy West photo

The parking lot at the University of New Hampshire in Durham was filling Wednesday morning for Convening Day drive-in movie style.

By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

DURHAM — The opening of the 2021 legislative session Wednesday for the Senate and House was like night and day.

The Senate, meeting remotely, finished its work in an hour and adjourned before the House had begun due to a traffic jam as nearly 400 Representatives in their vehicles entered one access point delaying the beginning of the session for more than an hour.

The Senate made quick work of its rules and also passed a bill maintaining the same voting processes as approved due to the coronavirus pandemic for the 2020 elections which resulted in record voting by citizens. The change allows citizens to request an absentee ballot for health concerns for the upcoming town meeting season and allows the early processing of absentee ballots. The House did not take up the bill Wednesday.

The first vote of the House session for rules for selecting the next House Speaker was delayed while technical problems could be resolved.

The House session was a drive-in theatre style affair in Parking Lot A at the University of New Hampshire’s Durham campus to better protect members from the spread of COVID-19 which claimed the life of newly elected House Speaker Dick Hinch last month, and infected other House members including one now in intensive care on a ventilator.

The race for new House Speaker between Republican Sherman Packard and Democrat Renny Cushing was won by Packard on a 202-150 vote.

Nominating speeches for Packard talked of his experience and his institutional and policy knowledge needed now as the state faces difficult times.  And his supporters praised his ability to get work done and to solve problems.

Packard urged the House members to work for what is best for citizens and what is best for the businesses of New Hampshire.

He focused on political issues noting the difference in policy between Democrats and Republicans on taxes, utilities, regulations, education and gun rights.

Packard noted lawmakers face a tough two years and a difficult budget to craft that he said should be as painless as possible without raising taxes.

Accepting the position as speaker Packard noted he would use the gavel his father used as Senate President.

“I want to thank everyone, this is an honor very few people get to have,” he said. “I promise you I will do what’s good for the citizens of New Hampshire.”

Those nominating Cushing talked about his respect for everyone and his work for social justice including ending the death penalty in New Hampshire.

Cushing said as speaker he would emphasize common ground between Democrats and Republicans and work on the things they agree need to be done for the people of the state.

“We should work to unite and do everything we can to defeat the COVID pandemic,” Cushing said. “It should not be a partisan issue and as Speaker I will not make it a partisan issue.”

He said he would lead by example and listen to health care professionals as they work to defeat the virus.

“The next two years are going to be a challenge as we have a somewhat toxic political climate in this country,” he said, “and sadly a somewhat toxic political climate in our state.”

But he said would listen to members from both parties and try to find common ground.

“We should work to perfect our democracy,” Cushing said, “to work toward a New Hampshire where everyone is welcome and everyone is included.”

Washington Unrest

The House voted to suspend the rules on a 236-35 vote to introduce a resolution condemning the ongoing violence at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. by pro-Trump protestors. The House passed the resolution on a voice vote.

Partisan Fights

The first day of the 2021 session included a number of highly charged partisan issues.

Democrats sought to have an election sub-committee determine if six Republican representatives who signed a petition declaring a Declaration of Independence for New Hampshire calling for the “Termination of office and Termination of the ‘state’” and finding the November election void should resign. 

The Representatives who signed the petition are: Rep. Jose Cambrils, R-Loudon; Rep. Anne Copp, R-Derry; Rep. Raymond Howard Jr, R-Alton; Rep. Dave Testerman, R-Franklin; Rep. Mike Sylvia, R-Belmont, and Rep. Scott Wallace, R-Danville, and the motion asked to determine if their actions mean they resigned their seats.

Speaking against the motion, Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said “we do not prosecute thought crimes or punish political speech outside this body.”

Packard ruled the motion was out of order, and Rep. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, who made the motion challenged the ruling, which was upheld on a 157-91 vote.

Democrats also challenged the makeup of the House Finance Committee saying they should have had an additional member if apportionment followed the same percentage of Democrats and Republicans as are in the House.

Packard said the extra Democrat would have meant two of the three Finance subcommittees would have equal numbers of Democrats and Republicans.

And Democrats also attempted to prohibit hate speech by House members again but were also unsuccessful.

After the session Osborne blasted Democrats for playing political games.

“Coming into today’s session, House Democrats put more energy into manufacturing outrage and refusing to work with us than help put together a rule-compliant session,” she said. “However, they still showed up with their frivolous and circus-like political games. They claimed our session was unsafe and put them at risk, yet the Democrats offered numerous floor amendments to House Rules, keeping us here much longer than we needed to be.”   

The outdoor session was controversial, as Democrats pushed for remote access saying the drive-in arrangement disenfranchised disabled and health-compromised members of its caucus.

Disability rights activists protested the session at the entrance with one sign saying drive-ins are for “movies and making out” not legislative sessions.

House Rules 

The House also adopted rules for the upcoming session giving the speaker power to approve committees working together, combining bills and holding joint public hearings to expedite work on legislation in light of the pandemic.

The Speaker would also be allowed to change deadlines if needed due to issues related to the health and safety of members and to allow committee quorums to include members meeting remotely.

Democrats proposed a rule that would allow the House to meet and vote remotely, or in hybrid with some in person and other meeting remotely but that rule was voted down along partisan lines 187-149.

Packard said the lack of such a rule prevented him from allowing some members to meet remotely.

The Republican-controlled House did approve a change to rules to allow the Speaker to use all the space in the State House complex including the Legislative Office Building to allow House member to “spread out” according to Osborne “to get us back into the State House as soon as possible.”
The change passed on a 203-129 vote.

Many of the proposed rule changes had partisan votes including attempts to ban firearms from the House Chamber and anteroom as well as prohibiting the consumption of alcohol or illegal substances in the House chamber.

The two new rules were proposed by former Speaker Steve Shurtleff, D-Concord, who said firearms do not belong on the House floor when there is ample protection from security and fourth graders regularly visit sessions.

But Rep. John Burt, R-Goffstown, said “we all know we carry in the State House, I have been since I’ve been there for the last 10 years. Why play this game?”

Prohibiting firearms and other weapons in the House chambers was defeated on a 204-133 vote.

Shurtleff also pushed for making the consumption of alcohol against House rules noting that several members were drinking during the two House sessions held at the Whittemore Center on the UNH campus last spring that ended the 2020 session.

He noted the UNH Senate voted 45-1 to prohibit the Legislature from using campus facilities again and he met with the group to address the issues. He said a young lady said, “the New Hampshire legislature passes laws for the rest of us to follow, but they feel they are exempt from the rules and laws.”

But Osborne said the members did not view the setting as the same as the House Chambers and he believes they would not do the same thing again so the rule is unnecessary.

The proposed ruled failed on a 189-145 vote.

An attempt to require lawmakers to have training to prevent sexual harassment, or a hostile work environment or unconscious bias failed on a 188-133 vote.

The House adjourned after its five-hour session but did not set a date for its next meeting.

Senate

The remote Senate session included Secretary of State Bill Gardner reading the required vote totals in the governor’s and five Executive Council races, memorials to House Speaker Dick Hinch, R-Merrimack, who died a month ago from COVID-19 a week after being elected Speaker, and former House Whip Rogers Johnson, president of the Seacoast NAACP, who died in November. There were also shoutouts for colleagues and staffers.

 Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, said he wants to “focus on a limited amount of issues that have the greatest and most positive impact in the lives of Granite Staters.

“I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention we are starting our new session missing an important colleague. This was supposed to be his podium. It’s my honor to borrow it today. The late Speaker Dick Hinch was friend to many. He left us too soon but left behind a legacy of kindness, compassion and integrity,” Morse said.

Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.

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