By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – On Thursday, members of the House of Representatives will be asked to reconsider a bill related to gaps in child protection laws and House Democrats held a press conference Wednesday to urge their colleagues to support it and to protect New Hampshire’s children.
Senate Bill 23 isn’t political, said House Minority Leader Rep. Alexis Simpson, D-Exeter. “It’s a common-sense update to close dangerous gaps in our child protection laws. When Republicans voted it down last week, they ignored law enforcement, child advocates, and abuse survivors. The bill would ensure that repeated or reckless actions causing serious injury or death to a child are treated as the serious crimes they are. On Thursday, Republicans will have another chance to do the right thing. The question is whether they’ll choose politics or child protection. The state is watching.”
A copy of the amended bill is here: https://gc.nh.gov/bill_status/billinfo.aspx?id=1062&inflect=2
State Rep. Heath Howard, D-Strafford, has asked for reconsideration.
Gathered with other Democratic House leaders in the Legislative Office Building, Simpson said attacks on New Hampshire children and families this legislative session have “gone too far.”
She said Republicans in the majority have proposed eliminating the Office of the Child Advocate, taxing families whose children rely on the Children’s Health Insurance Program or CHIP for coverage, “and pushed policies that reintroduce preventable diseases into our classrooms and stripped away funding for police doing work to prevent internet crimes against children.”
She said as we approach Mother’s Day, “how can we look mom’s in the eye: mom’s who are working two jobs, mom’s who are navigating our broken child care system, mom’s who are trying to get their children the health care they need, and tell them the state government has turned their back on them. Mothers don’t need flowers and hollow tributes. They need policies that support their families that protect their children and help them thrive.”