By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — New Hampshire House members will return to Concord next month to take up Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s 11 vetoes of House bills.
The Senate met last month and sustained Ayotte’s one veto of a Senate bill dealing with landfill regulations, and could return again if the House overrides any of the 11 vetoes of House bills although that appears unlikely.
The House will meet for the first time since June on Dec. 17 beginning at 10 a.m. in Representatives Hall to take up the vetoes. It would require two-thirds of those present and voting in the House to override a veto.
The House vetoes range from a bill to give parents and others a process to remove books and materials from public schools and libraries if they find it offensive or inappropriate to an unneeded bill continuing to fund state government for six months if the House had failed to pass the budget package for the current biennium, but did approve the two budget bills.
Book Ban
House Bill 324 would have required school districts to adopt a state approved procedure that would allow parents or anyone else to challenge material used in public schools as well as books and other learning tools found in school libraries as being obscene or harmful to minors, with the State Board of Education the final arbitrator if parents are not satisfied with the school’s and school board’s actions.
The bill would have allowed a parent to seek civil action against the school and educators with financial penalties and loss of educator credentials as possible disciplinary action.
“Current State law appears to provide a mechanism for parents through their local school district to exercise their rights to ensure their children are not exposed to inappropriate materials,” Ayotte wrote in her veto. “Therefore, I do not believe the State of New Hampshire needs to, nor should it, engage in the role of addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness, particularly where the system created by House Bill 324 calls for monetary penalties based on subjective standards.”
She said the bill would open up the possibility of extensive civil actions including litigation from out-of-state groups.
Transgender Ban
House Bill 148 would have prohibited transgender people from using bathrooms and locker rooms that do not correspond to their biological sex, or compete in sports on teams that are not for their biological sex or in detention facilities not designated for their biological sex.
While Ayotte said she has safety concerns about biological males using female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities, the bill is too broad and impractical to enforce.
“While I believe that the legislature should address this serious issue, it must be done in a thoughtful and narrow way that protects the privacy, safety, and rights of all New Hampshire citizens,” she wrote in her veto message. “However, with House Bill 148, I have concerns about the broadness of this bill, the unintended impacts accompanying its implementation, and that it will spur a plethora of litigation against local communities and businesses.”
She said the state already has a stronger law prohibiting males from competing in women’s sports, although it is being challenged in federal court.
Former Gov. Chris Sununu vetoed an identical piece of legislation during the 2024 session.
Vaccination Exemptions
House Bill 358 would have allowed parents or legal guardians to claim an exemption from childhood immunization requirements on the basis of religious belief by providing a signed statement and not using the standard form to seek the exemption.
“Childhood immunizations play an important role in preventing the resurgence and spread of previously deadly diseases,” Ayotte wrote in her veto message. “While parents must be the final decision makers on what immunizations their child receives, the state already has an established process by which parents can claim a religious exemption, and I see no reason to change it.”
Youth Surveys
Under House Bill 446, parents would need to opt-in for their child to take non-academic surveys such as the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Current law allows parents to opt their child out of taking the surveys, so that if a parent does not object the child has to take the survey.
Ayotte said parents can already opt their child out of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, but she heard tremendous concerns about the bill form people on the front lines of addressing the youth mental health crisis and helping those with substance use disorders, including state and local public health officials, youth mental health professionals, as well as the Governor’s Commission on Addiction, Treatment, and Prevention.
“Making the survey ‘opt-in’ rather than continuing to give parents the choice to opt their child out could lower participation and undermine the reliability of the data collected, jeopardizing efforts to respond to the needs of vulnerable youth in our state,” she said in her veto message. “Moreover, it could reduce the state’s eligibility to receive critical federal funding that helps us protect our most vulnerable.”
No Accessible Voting Machines
House Bill 613 would have allowed cities, towns and school districts to post notices that accessible voting machines for those with disabilities would not be available on voting day. A person would have to request the machines be available for the city, town or school district to provide accessible voting.
“This legislation impacts people with disabilities and would conflict with federal law that requires accessible voting systems be available at all polling places during federal elections,” Ayotte wrote in her veto message.
Default Budgets
House Bill 475 would have allowed town officials to reduce the default budget in SB 2 towns by the salaries and benefits costs of unfilled positions at the time the budget is crafted.
Recruiting and retaining first responders is of the upmost paramount importance for public safety, Ayotte said, and towns and cities face enough difficulty with this already.
“This bill will make it even harder to hire police and fire personnel,” she said. “It is also an unnecessary overreach by the state into municipal affairs.”
Fetus Film
House Bill 667 would have required school districts to show a high-quality computer generation or ultrasound video of the gestational development of a fetus in health classes.
“That is not an appropriate role for the state to be mandating such requirements,” Ayotte wrote.
Kindergarten Transportation
House Bill 319 would have no longer required school districts to provide transportation to half-day kindergarten students.
Ayotte called the bill a step in the wrong direction.
“Half-day kindergarten helps provide New Hampshire children with an educational foundation that sets them up for a lifetime of success,” Ayotte wrote in her veto message. “To no longer require transportation for these children to and from these schools would place an undue burden on working families. It could force working families to choose between providing (the transportation) themselves or not having their children attend kindergarten at all.”
Partisan School Elections
House Bill 356 would have allowed school districts to hold partisan elections. They are currently non-partisan elections.
Ayotte said allowing partisan elections for school positions would create unnecessary division among Granite Staters.
“Local school boards are run properly and in a nonpartisan manner,” Ayotte said in her veto message. “Additionally, there is no need to fix a system that is not broken.”
Continuing Resolution
Although the budget package was voted down, initially, last June, it eventually was passed by the House and signed by the governor.
House Bill 115 would have appropriated 45 percent of the then-current funding levels for the first six months of the new 2026 fiscal year.
In her veto, Ayotte noted the bill was not needed because the two-operating budget bills were approved and signed into law.
Cellphone Ban
House Bill 781 would have required public schools to ban cell phone use from “bell-to-bell,” with some exceptions, but the state’s cellphone ban in public schools was included in the budget package approved in June.
Ayotte said she was grateful for the work done on the issue but the bill is not needed.
“Our bell-to-bell ban will ensure students can learn without the distraction from screens and ensures teachers do not have to police cell phone use in the classroom, making New Hampshire an even better place to learn,” she said.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.