By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — The House will not be meeting in Representatives Hall when it reconvenes next month to act on vetoes and retained bills.
Instead the House will meet beginning Jan. 5 in the exposition center in the DoubleTree by Hilton in Manchester.
The 30,000 square-foot center will allow legislators to be socially distant and there will be sections for those wishing to wear masks and another with masks optional, according to House Speaker Sherman Packard.
Some Republicans had pushed to hold sessions again in Representatives Hall, where they will not have met for 21 months, but many opposed the idea saying the cramped seating could easily lead to a super spreader event with the surging COVID-19 infections that have reached record levels this month.
“With hospitalizations at record levels and community transmission still high, the responsible thing to do is to maintain health and safety protocols for our legislators and hold off on returning to the House chamber, at least for now,” Packard said. “We plan on taking the same level of precaution as we did at UNH in 2020 and at the NH Sportsplex in 2021 to ensure as much risk as possible can be mitigated, while still being able to meet in person to get the people’s business done.”
There were no known incidents of COVID transmission at any legislative session event in 2020 or 2021, according to the speaker’s office, but there were several likely transmissions in committee meetings this fall.
House Minority Leader Renny Cushing of Hampton applauded Packard’s action.
“I applaud the speaker for making an attempt to meet in January in a safe manner,” Cushing said. “Obviously we are still in the midst of a COVID public health crisis, and our focus should be to protect public health.”
The House sessions will be live streamed to allow for public viewing, according to Jennifer Tramp, spokesperson for the speaker’s office.
“We have hired additional staff to operate our live-streaming equipment,” she said. “Our intent is to make all policy committee meetings available via live streaming starting in January.”
Last year, the House and Senate held hearings allowing for remote access for both legislators and public members who wanted to address lawmakers during public hearings on bills.
However, both the Senate and House ended remote access and required the public to attend public hearings in person if they wanted to participate and members could only vote in person.
A year ago, a number of at-risk Democrats sued the speaker for remote access to the House sessions in federal court claiming leadership had to provide accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities and Rehabilitation acts.
The U.S. District Court found for the speaker claiming legislative immunity, but a federal appeals court overturned that decision and sent it back to U.S. District Court.
Another hearing before the appeals court was held several months ago, but the justices have yet to issue an opinion.
Cushing said they have medical conditions that put them at elevated risk of death if they contract COVID-19.
The members were concerned about 80 to 90 House members who refused to wear masks during sessions and those not vaccinated.
“HIPPA prevents us from sharing personal medical information,” Tramp said when asked how many House members have contracted COVID-19.
“However, the Speaker has publicly stated in the past that he is fully vaccinated and plans on getting a booster shot at a clinic this Friday,” she said.
The Department of Health and Human Services COVID Mobile Vaccination Team will hold an in-house vaccine and booster clinic Friday at the State House for legislators, staff and their families, including children five to 12 years old.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.