2012 Bills and Groundhog Day Bill Review Training

Every year NHLA strives to review all of the bills brought forward by the New Hampshire State legislature. This year, there are more than 800 bills. Although NHLA trained bill reviewers have already started the process, we are in need of additional volunteers.

The purpose of bill review is to identify those high impact bills that will most affect the liberty of New Hampshire citizens, positively or negatively. Once a bill has been identified as pro-liberty or anti-liberty, it can be targeted while still in committee- where it is most vulnerable. Through our Activist Alert notices, we encourage NHLA members to actively participate by calling or writing their Representatives and/or provide public testimony to support or oppose a particular bill.

Our next bill review training session is scheduled for February 2nd from 6:30PM - 8:30PM in Epsom. All NHLA members are invited to attend. If you are interested in helping in this very important first step, please contact the Membership Director, Keith Ammon at membership@nhliberty.org to RSVP and to get directions to the event.

Our most recent bill review training session from December 14th at Murphy's Taproom in Manchester was graciously recorded by Bill A. and posted online.

Bill Review Training Part I
Bill Review Training Part II

Board Elections

This past November NHLA Board elections were held. The NHLA would like to congratulate Anthony Pugh who was elected to Political Action Director and Steve Villee who was reelected to Treasurer. The NHLA would like to thank the outgoing Political Action Director Joel Winters for his hard work and dedication in the NHLA and in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Civic Action

NHLA members have been getting increasing active in civic action ever since its return was announced at the last annual NHLA member meeting. Multiple members have been in contact with the Board to provided thoughts and ideas on how to further community efforts in New Hampshire. The civic action fund has more than doubled due to members directing their membership dues toward civic action as well as direct donations.

In December, the NHLA ran a donation drive for a local food pantry. The Goffstown Network has been providing food and other related services to people in need of emergency and short term help in Goffstown area. The NHLA has matched the gracious donations of NHLA members to provide the Goffstown Network with a check for $280 to help them continue a great community service.

In January, the NHLA took note of the great community work performed by Shire Sharing. The NHLA has donated $100 to help further their efforts in providing backpacks that include blankets, first aid kits, hats and gloves, personal hygiene items, hand warmers to the homeless in New Hampshire.

The mild weather this past December provided an opportunity for Honey P. to lead a winter litter pickup of the NHLA adopted highway on Route 4 in Durham, NH. The next litter pickup will be scheduled sometime this spring after the snow has made its final retreat.

Sandy Pierre Resigns from Vice Chair

In December, the Vice Chair of the NHLA, Sandy Pierre announced that she would be resigning for the position of Vice Chair of the NHLA. The NHLA would like to recognize Sandy for her service over the last two years that included relaunching the civic action leg of the NHLA, spearheading the NHLA presence at Porcfest, organizing the NHLA table at Liberty forum, and many of the other tasks that helped the NHLA function. With respect to the recent bylaws change, the position of Vice Chair is due to be replaced by Director of Civic Action. The Board is currently considering several candidates to be appointed to Director of Civic Action.

Spotlight on Shire Sharing

In January the NHLA would like to spotlight the recently created organization Shire Sharing and its founder Amanda Bouldin. Shire Sharing got its start when Amanda Bouldin sought to honor her father's memory by continuing a family tradition of a Thanksgiving Basket Brigade to deliver Thanksgiving meals to families in need. The idea quickly spread and soon over $1,000 was raise. The money was used to put together 174 Thanksgiving meals and delivered to families in Concord. The next project Shire Sharing is undertaking is to deliver backpacks with much need essentials to the homeless in New Hampshire. In addition to helping people in their community, many of the volunteers in Shire Sharing are interesting in doing so without the funding from the government. Shire Sharing self describes themselves in their Facebook group as "a group of individuals motivated to put their small-government values into practice in the form of private charity work. We believe that the actions of a bloated government cause and prolong social problems and we agree that only voluntary actions in a free market will solve them."

Regional Coordinators

The NHLA recognizes that its members in New Hampshire are from all parts of the state. While much of the activities take place in the Manchester and Concord areas the NHLA would like to expand it presence through the state. In the past few months the NHLA has appointed regional coordinators in the Upper Valley and Seacoast areas and has held events in Plymouth and Dover. Please contact the Membership Director, Keith Ammon at membership@nhliberty.org, if you are interested in becoming a NHLA regional coordinator in your area.

Liberty Forum

Tickets are on sale now for the 2012 Liberty Forum, New Hampshire's largest annual liberty-oriented convention that takes place February 23rd-26th! NHLA members and friends can get 10% off the cost of admission by registering with the code "NHLA2012". The NHLA will also lead a tour of the State House at 1:00PM on February 23rd. For more information visit the link http://freestateproject.org/libertyforum.

Gold Standard Subscriptions

Get a copy of the Gold Standard delivered right to your inbox every week for FREE! That’s right, you too can get this highly effective, very popular liberty cheat sheet.

Our Gold Standard team carefully selects bills going before the House for a vote each week that have a high liberty impact upon N.H. citizens and businesses. Our Gold Standard contains our recommendations and liberty talking points on each of these impactful bills. Feel free to use our talking points to contact your Representatives as a concerned citizen in support or opposition to specific legislation. Your correspondence could make the difference on whether or not these bills pass or fail moving N.H. towards more liberty or more tyranny.

To get your copy, login to the website and click "Newsletter Subscription" on the left sidebar. You can also email research@nhliberty.org and tell us that you wish to be put on the Gold Standard Subscription list.

Help the NHLA Support Pro-Liberty Candidates with a Monthly Donation

The NHLA website has been updated to enable reoccurring monthly donations to be made to the NHLA Political Action Committee. PAC funds will go toward NHLA endorsed candidates for state office. Endorsements are based on candidate surveys and/or Liberty Rating scores from previous House incumbency voting records if available. The goal of a monthly donation is to start early in building up funds to support pro-liberty candidates come election time. Please visit http://www.nhliberty.org/campaign-fund to help the NHLA make an even bigger impact on future elections.

Board Meeting Schedule and Venue Changes

For the past several years, Jim Dodson of Liberty Books in Concord has graciously stayed open late and hosted the NHLA monthly Board meetings. After the recent board elections, the Board has decided to move the monthly meeting to better fit the schedules and commutes of the current Board members. Future Board meetings have been moved to the first Saturday of the month from 1PM-3PM at Murphy's Taproom in Manchester. The next Board meeting is scheduled for February 4th at 1:00PM. The NHLA would like to thank both Jim Dodson and Keith Murphy for providing much needed public venues for our monthly meetings.

Jim Dodson of Liberty Books in Concord (75 Allison Street) hosts NHLA's monthly Board meetings. Please visit this treasure-filled store for books on history, economics, and politics, as well as an unrivaled collection of graphic novels and comic books. You may also visit Jim on the web at http://www.libertybooksnh.net/.

Get NHLA news and alerts fast by joining the NHLA group on Facebook.com. http://facebook.nhliberty.org

Help support the NHLA by making all your Amazon purchases through the NHLA/Amazon.com affiliate program. Go to http://www.nhliberty.org/books_and_videos and click on the Shop at Amazon.com! link.