HOUSE FINANCE REPUBLICANS JAM THROUGH BUDGET AMENDMENT TO END STATE OF EMERGENCY

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Today, Republicans on Division III of the House Finance Committee introduced a last-minute amendment to the Health and Human Services part of the budget that would rescind the Governor’s State of Emergency. After the vote on the amendment, Ranking Democratic Member,Representative Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord) released the following statement:

“We have been working in Division III on our section of the budget for weeks now, and yet Republicans waited until the absolute last minute to bring forward a poorly written and confusing amendment to end the Governor’s state of emergency. A bill addressing this issue was passed the Executive Departments and Administration committee this morning after several work sessions and hours of public testimony, so there is no honest reason to sneak a new amendment in the budget in such a non-transparent way.

When discussing the amendment, Republicans said explicitly that they were bringing it forward to get votes from members of their caucus. The budget is no place to hide unrelated policy amendments, but apparently that’s what House Republicans are resorting to in order to appease the radical wing of their caucus.”

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NH SUPREME COURT RELEASES CONVAL DECISION

CONCORD – Today, the New Hampshire Supreme Court released their decision on the case of the ConVal School District v. State of New Hampshire. The decision sends the case back to the Superior Court for trial on the merits.

After the release of the decision, Senator Jay Kahn (D-Keene), Representative Mel Myler (D-Hopkinton), and Representative David Luneau (D-Hopkinton) issued the following statements:

“By remanding the case to the Superior Court, this ruling provides plaintiffs the opportunity to argue the harm in the state’s current adequate education funding formula,” stated Senator Jay Kahn (D-Keene). “By failing to distribute state funding based on a district's student needs and community characteristics, the opportunity for an adequate education is made more unequal across the state. This debate has been ongoing in the courts and the legislature for decades. It is long past time for New Hampshire to adopt a state allocation model that compensates school districts for differences in student need and community characteristics.

“The Commission has laid the foundation of new findings on the impact of improper school funding by the state that has led to unequal education opportunities for students across the state,” added Representative Mel Myler (D-Hopkinton).

“Legislative efforts to improve public education should be measured by meaningful improvements in student equity and the taxpayer equity that follows it,” said Representative Dave Luneau (D-Hopkinton). “The clock has started for the state to replace the antiquated one-size-fits-all funding model and make sure every school district has access to the financial resources they need.”

FINANCE REPUBLICANS SNEAK ANTI-ABORTION AMENDMENT INTO BUDGET

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – March 22, Republicans on the House Finance Committee stuck an amendment into House Bill 2, the “trailer bill” for the state budget bill, specifically aimed at eliminating abortion access in New Hampshire. After the vote, Representative Katherine Rogers (D-Concord) release the following statement:

“The GOP crusade against Granite Staters and their healthcare access continued today. Republicans in Division III of House Finance adopted an amendment that would force the closure of vital clinics across the state that provide critical services like STD treatment, cancer screenings, birth control, and reproductive health services, by placing arbitrary requirements on a clinic’s physical structures.

It became abundantly clear in committee that Republicans do not understand how these family planning providers operate, claiming without evidence that they are pressuring patients to consider abortions in a twisted financial kickback scheme. The truth is that these clinics, many which are already struggling to stay open, offer an affordable and often no-cost care alternative to thousands of low-income and underserved individuals across the state who cannot afford such preventative, life-saving care elsewhere.

While Republicans may performatively acknowledge the good work of the preventative and diagnostic healthcare these clinics do in fact provide, we know that their every intent in introducing this amendment is to reduce Granite Staters’ constitutional right to an abortion. “