By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – The state primary could be moved from the second Tuesday in September to the second Tuesday in June after Senate Bill 222 cleared the Senate on a voice vote.
It was among a long list of bills that included ones related to abortion, Education Freedom Accounts, protecting women’s spaces and school sports on “crossover day,” the date when Senate Bills need to be dispensed with and bills that are going forward head to the House of Representatives.
Senate President Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, complimented the entire body for their work to not only meet the deadline but also to compress their session to end at about 3:30 p.m. when in previous years’ crossover day when debates extended into the late-night hours.
PRIMARY DATE
Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, opposed the change saying that it would put incumbent State Senators in a difficult position at a busy time in Concord while their competitors could have more time to campaign.
But fellow Republican Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, who was sponsor of the bill, said it would give the voters more time to consider their choices than September which comes so close to the November election.
There was bipartisan support for the bill with Senators David Watters, D-Dover, and Rebecca Perkins-Kwoka, D-Portsmouth co-sponsors.
NO FINANCIAL BARRIER TO EDUCATION FREEDOM ACCOUNTS
The Senate passed SB 295-FN which increases the number of students eligible for education freedom accounts by removing household income thresholds.
It was opposed by Democrats but supported by Republicans including Sen. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, who released the following statement after the vote.
“Every Granite State child deserves the best possible education. Our Education Freedom Accounts have helped thousands of working families find the best fit for their child’s education, and more families should have access to EFAs…We have repeatedly fought Democratic efforts to dismantle, repeal, and restrict one of the most successful educational choice programs in New Hampshire.”
Another bill related to Education, Senate Bill 303 failed. It would have directed the New Hampshire Department of Education to issue a report on the effects of the dissolution of the Department of Education.
Sen. Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, said in a prepared statement that “New Hampshire Republicans are following the MAGA lead, laser-focused on first weakening and then defunding our neighborhood schools…There is no daylight between what they are doing in Washington, and what they are doing right here in Concord. And as New Hampshire Republicans continue to dismantle our public education, where over 90 percent of parents choose to send their kids, our children and our communities will pay the price.”
Megan Tuttle, president of NEA-New Hampshire stated after the vote that, “Granite Staters believe every student deserves access to quality public education, regardless of their zip code. Unfortunately, out of touch politicians in Concord aren’t listening to their constituents. Instead of working across the aisle to address our state’s inequitable public education funding scheme, Senate Republicans voted once again to take public dollars away from public schools to subsidize private education for wealthy families.
“This vote to expand vouchers comes as New Hampshire builds our next state budget. Every single Granite Stater should be outraged that our elected officials are choosing to expand our state’s unaccountable school voucher program instead of fully funding special education or easing the burden of property taxes. Make no mistake, hardworking New Hampshire taxpayers will be forced to fill the manufactured budget gaps should universal vouchers move forward. Our students and our communities deserve better.”
BATHROOM BILL
Also, along partisan lines, the Senate passed Senate Bill 268-FN which clarifies that classifying individuals based on their biological sex in certain limited circumstances, such as bathrooms, locker rooms, sporting competitions, and detention centers, will not be unlawful discrimination.
Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua said in a statement after the vote that, “We need to recognize that biological sex is a basic scientific fact. Recognizing these fundamental differences between men and women is common sense when discussing bathrooms, locker rooms, sporting events, and prisons. This bill takes the necessary steps of protecting privacy, promoting safety, and preserving safe spaces for New Hampshire women.”
It also passed SB 211 which requires public schools to designate sports as male, female, or co-ed. The bill applies to New Hampshire public schools, grades 6-12, the New Hampshire University System, and the Community College System of New Hampshire, to prohibit students who are male at birth from participating in female sports.
It also requires that locker rooms used for games are separately designated for use by males and females.
Avard, again reacted to the successful vote saying that the state must protect the safety and opportunities of female athletes.
“In New Hampshire and across the nation, many biological males have joined middle and high school women’s sports teams. This significantly weakens Title IX, which has expanded opportunities for women’s sports nationwide for over 50 years. This makes contact sports more dangerous, unfair, and steals opportunities from female athletes by destroying a level playing field on which athletics rely.”
Democrats were not in favor of either bills.
Assistant Senate Democratic Leader Sue Prentiss, D-Lebanon, said in a statement that Democrats brought an amendment to balance fairness and safety arguments while protecting the rights of transgender athletes but it failed.
“It would enable each school district to develop their own policy on eligibility in female-designated sports, which must include an assessment that any student participating as a female is not doing so to gain a competitive advantage. Instead, what the Republicans passed is the same law they passed last year, the same law that is hung up in court. Rather than spend time lowering the cost of living for Granite Staters or strengthening our education system, they worked to pass legislation that will just end up back in court.”
TEACHER TRANSPARENCY
Senate Bill 96 which requires all credentialed educators to tell parents the truth about information relating to their children’s education passed.
The bill is focused specifically on credentialed educators under the Educators Code of Conduct. A similar bill, SB 341 (dubbed the Honesty in Education Act), was introduced last year.
Sen. Lang said in a statement that “this bill establishes the Honest and Transparency in Education Act as the law of the land in New Hampshire. Lying or misleading parents about their own children is never good public policy. Parents deserve to know the truth about what happens in the classroom and with their children in the school setting. Schools should be transparent and should not prevent Granite State families from being more involved and informed in their children’s education. This bill clarifies that parents can ask about their children’s education and ensure they are told the truth about classroom activities. It simply says teachers must answer honestly when parents inquire about their children. Schools should not keep secrets from parents as a public policy.”
ABORTION
Republicans also refused to support an affirmative right to abortion prior to 24 weeks gestation by voting down SB 260.
Perkins Kwoka said every year she has asked her colleagues to join in support of adding the right to abortion to state law “because I trust women to make their own health care decisions…By voting this legislation down, Senate Republicans ignored 78 percent of Granite Staters who support this legislation. Right now, there’s nothing in our laws that provides an affirmative right to reproductive health care. This is a major issue for our women, for our workforce, and for countless of my friends. It is past time we change this to provide certainty and clarity. I’m disappointed to see my Republican colleagues vote this effort down.”
AI CONTENT
The Senate will now send on to the House SB 300 which makes it a class B felony and a tier II registrable offense for a person to knowingly create, produce, manufacture, or direct an intimate visual representation of a child without a parent or guardian’s consent.
Sen. Dan Innis, R-Bradford, who was the bill’s sponsor, said with the advancement of Artificial Intelligence, “the legislature must act to keep children safe. AI has left the door wide open for suggestive artificially created images to target minors.”