InDepthNH.org (https://indepthnh.org/tag/executive-council/page/4/)
There will be no more vacancies on the state’s Circuit Court if the Executive Council approves three new justices who have been nominated by the governor, which could come as early as Wednesday.
In an end-run around the Executive Council’s controversial rejection of $27 million in federal funds for a state vaccine program, the Joint Fiscal Committee unanimously supported the acceptance of $4.68 million in more flexible funding on Friday.
Fiscal committee member Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, called the decision to withdraw the items unbelievable.
Amidst an outpouring of anti-vax protesters, at the Executive Council meeting on Wednesday Gov. Chris Sununu quietly nominated two new circuit court justices and is requesting new terms and new faces for a number of key state commissions.
At a heavily attended meeting that saw the arrest of eight anti-vax mandate protesters, the Executive Council voted 4-1 to reject two controversial federal contracts to build out the state’s vaccine program and get more people vaccinated against COVID-19 through regional health networks. It makes New Hampshire the only state in the nation to reject such funding.
The five-member New Hampshire Executive Council’s email mailbox and phone lines are getting full these days, both before and after the cancellation of its raucous meeting Wednesday which left two federal contracts worth $27 million for the state vaccine program on the table and the meeting cancelled when state employees were threatened by protesters.
Anyone who follows politics in New Hampshire, had to be disturbed by what happened at the Executive Council meeting last week at Saint Anselm College.
Several House committees will be busy next session as Representatives have requested Legislative Services to draft at least 64 requests bills dealing with COVID-19 vaccines or face masks.
The state’s Executive Council and governor went on the road for a change, meeting at Cannon Mountain where they discussed the future of its iconic tramway, sole-source contracts, and the impact of the new law restricting abortions.