By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD — For the first time in two years, the New Hampshire House met in Representatives Hall and began by honoring long-time legislator and advocate Renny Cushing who died from cancer last week.

Although returning to Representatives Hall has been somewhat controversial, including another attempt to have House Speaker Sherman Packard allow remote access to sessions spearheaded by Cushing, most members returned to the familiar confines but with upgraded protections against spreading the coronavirus.

In the day-long session, there were also familiar themes such as protecting gun rights, vaccinations, privacy, and labor issues.

Phone Records

The House approved a bill that will curtail the Attorney General’s Office from using administrative subpoenas to access phone records, which the agency says helps to jump start investigations into child sexual abuse investigations before seeking a search warrant.

Under House Bill 1282, investigators would have to seek a search warrant from a court before it could access a person’s phone records.

Bill advocates said obtaining a search warrant takes about an hour and should not slow down an investigation in order to have greater protections for a person’s privacy.

The legal bar should be the same as for a search warrant, said Rep. Terry Roy, R-Deerfield. 

The provisions are what the citizens of New Hampshire voted for when they approved a constitutional amendment several years ago protecting personal privacy, Roy said.

Others argued the attorney general has used the administrative subpoena process 43 times between 2018 and 2020.

But opponents to the bill said the process is rarely used but when it is, it helps investigators know quickly whether to go forward investigating that person or not.

Without the administrative process, Rep.Linda Harriott-Gathright, D-Nashua, said investigators would be forced to seek much more information on a suspect and that could include embarrassing if not criminal information that could be mishandled.

“Now an investigation can be jump started and quickly narrowed and targeted,” she said. “We heard no testimony at all that the current process is being abused.”

The bill passed on a 197-137 vote and next goes to the Senate.

Guns

The House killed a bill that would have prevented displaying a deadly weapon at a parade, funeral procession, picket line, march, rally, vigil or demonstration.

Under House Bill 1151, a person with a deadly weapon would need to be 100 feet from any of the events listed in the bill on public property.

Bill supporters said it would protect both first amendment free speech rights and second amendment or gun rights.

Rep. David Meuse, D-Portsmouth, said the bill would allow citizens to raise their voices in protest or advocacy without fear of intimidation.

Since 2020, weapon-bearing people have shown up at protests or rallies in many cities of the state, and violence and destruction is six times more likely when weapons are involved, he said.

An exemption is for anyone with a concealed weapons license and for 2nd amendment rallies, he noted .

“Preventing gun violence in our communities is critical to ensuring that New Hampshire is a place where families young and old can thrive,” said Meuse. “It is crucial that Granite Staters feel confident speaking truth to power, assembling at rallies, public events, and even funerals without concern for their lives and physical safety.”

But opponents said the bill has many unintended consequences. 

Rep. Daryl Abbas, R-Salem, said it is already a crime to threaten someone with a firearm or deadly weapon that includes a pocket knife.

The application and enforcement will create confusion for the public he said, and could ensnare innocent people with a firearm on private property or if a parade moves past someone who did not move.

The bill was killed on a 192-141 vote.

And for the third time, the House passed a bill allowing a person to carry a loaded firearm on a snowmobile or an off-road vehicle.

The bill has passed in the past but amendments were added that caused the governor to veto the bills.

House Bill 1636 now goes to the Senate.

Vaccines 

The House defeated House Bill 1126 on a 184-151 vote to allow minors 16 years old and older to obtain a vaccination without their parents’ consent.

Bill supporters said many vulnerable youngsters have parents who cannot provide a structured environment or offer guidance so many of these young people live on their own.

In some states children as young as 12 years old may make their own decisions on some medical treatments, supporters noted.

“Many states set the age of consent for mental health services at 16 or younger,” said Rep. Joe Schapiro, D-Keene. “Currently, minors while able to consent to sexual activity prior to 18 years of age, are not able to acquire the Human Papillomavirus Vaccines (HPV), putting them at greater risk of cervical cancer.”

He said allowing 16 year olds to consent to vaccines “is a measured and reasonable change in statute that would increase access to essential preventive healthcare for a vulnerable population.”

But opponents said the bill addresses symptoms and not the root of the problem which is the breakdown of the family structure. Others said it is the first of a number of bills this session to strip parental rights.

Rep. Bill King, R-Milford, and while the bill would help a few, it also has more far reaching effects.

“We are trying to solve the symptoms and not the root cause of the problem,” he said, noting the proposal would give children a decision they may not understand or consider all the possible outcomes.

“The root cause is related to the breakdown of the family unit,” King said. “Most kids are not capable of making tough decisions like whether to vaccinate or not.”

He said the real need is to strengthen family bonds and not allow youngsters to decide on vaccinations.

The bill was killed on a 184-151 vote.

Abortion

The House voted to send a bill giving a man claiming to be the biological father of a fetus the power to stop an abortion to interim study, which in the second year of a term, is a polite death because the next legislature does not have to take up the bill.

The bill faced staunch opposition at a public hearing, while receiving little support outside of bill sponsors who said it simply involves the father in the decision.

The bill would have allowed any man in New Hampshire or across the country, without first proving paternity, to delay a woman’s abortion by petitioning the courts.

“The decision about whether and when to become a parent is one of the most important life decisions we can make,” said Liz Canada, Advocacy Manager for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England and Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund. “Pregnant people deserve to make these decisions for themselves, with influence from their loved ones and health care providers.”

Probate 

The House approved a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the county position of Registrar of Probate.

Several years ago, the duties of the registrar were turned over to circuit court clerks, but the position remains in the state constitution and in statute.

The House voted by the necessary three-fifth majority,  294-42, to send CACR 21 to the Senate.

The proposed amendment will need a three-fifth majority in the Senate to be placed on the 2022 general election ballot, and requires a two-thirds majority of those voting to be placed in the constitution.

The House killed another proposed constitutional amendment that would give every worker the right to join a union on a 182-159 vote on CACR 14.

House Districts

The House voted to approve changes the Senate made in a bill drawing the boundary lines of the 400 house districts.

The Senate changed districts the House approved earlier this year in five counties.

The changes were done at the request of Republican House members.

The vote was 172-163 and the bill now goes to the Governor for his action.

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