CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – April 9, the three-day marathon House of Representatives Session ended without votes on 73 bills, many of which were sponsored and supported by Democrats. After the session Deputy Democratic Leader David Cote (D-Nashua) released the following statement:
“In the decades that I have served in the House, I don’t remember ever seeing such broad and aggressive moves by the Majority to rig our sessions to kill so many bills without discussion, debate, or votes. Last term when we had lots of bills and were pushed up to a deadline, the Democratic Majority showed leadership and a commitment to the institution by staying until 4 in the morning to finish the people’s business. This Majority showed that they have no interest in transparency or the legitimate functioning of this body.”
Representative Tim Smith (D-Manchester) added, “Today, at the end of three long session days, with 73 bills still left to be acted on, we were forced to end business due to a contractual obligation with the facility and vendors helping with sound and logistics. Running out of time to act on these bills effectively kills them for the year since today was the deadline.
Last week the Speaker took the unusual step of listing the bills recommended ITL at the end of the calendar, instead of the normal alphabetical-by-committee order, which meant they would be the last to be acted on. Most of the bills recommended ITL were sponsored or supported by Democrats. Our session days were scheduled at the last possible moment which resulted in us running into the deadline by which the House must act on all House Bills. Instead of having the courage to debate these bills on the floor and let the Full House vote on the outcome, it appears that House Republicans stacked the deck to arrive at this outcome.”