2023 Gold Standard

• Anti-libertyHB 142relative to the operation of the Burgess Biopower plant.NAY Override
  Why

  This bill cancels $50 million of debt that the Burgess Biopower plant owes to NH ratepayers.

  * Eversource customers have already paid more than $150 million in above-market rates for electricity generated by the Burgess Biopower plant. This bill reduces the amount that the Burgess Biopower electricity generation plant owes the ratepayers of Eversource.
  * The operation of the Burgess plant is a market-distorting jobs program funded by a mandatory rate increase on Eversource customers. With electric rates at near-record highs, the plant is still unable to operate competitively. This bill does nothing to address the long-term problem that has required legislative interference on a regular basis, but simply kicks the can once again to the commissars who will be back in two more years asking for further relief.

• Anti-libertyHB 342relative to lead testing in children.NAY Override
  Why

  This bill denies children access to public education, which is paid for by dollars that have already been forcibly extracted from parents, making it more difficult for them to afford private education.

  * This bill would force parents to pay for a blood test for children to test their lead levels.
  * Lead poisoning is not communicable and should not be a requirement to be in class with other children.
  * This pushes entrance criteria into public schools over the edge toward requiring blood tests for disclosure of any number of unnecessarily privacy-invading attributes such as a proclivity to certain potential traits based on genetic investigation.

• Anti-libertySB 256establishing a safety program for off-highway recreational vehicles.NAY Override
  Why

  This bill creates the illusion of safety by creating an online safety certificate program for the operation of OHRVs.

  * There is no evidence that a one-time online training program would have any measurable impact on safety; however, it is likely to push would-be visitors to other states that do not have such burdensome requirements to ride OHRVs.

• Anti-libertySB 79relative to the participation of customer generators in net energy metering.NAY Override
  Why

  This bill risks shifting utility rate costs from industrial and municipal hosts to consumers by allowing for subsidy to those that use the electrical grid as a zero-cost energy storage solution (the large institutions) while shifting costs to consumers.

  * This bill subsidizes industrial hosts that choose to operate large scale energy generation facilities by increasing the subsidized net metering cap from the current 1 megawatt limit up to 5 megawatts for industrial hosts.
  * The recipients of these subsidies will get millions more at the expense of others without providing guaranteed benefits to the grid, as the energy from these systems is often intermittent and unreliable.
  * Large subsidies for renewables no longer make sense, as studies claim that solar energy is cheaper than fossil fuels. If this is true, then operators of these facilities already have a significant competitive advantage and would not require subsidy to be profitable.
  * Forcing utilities to purchase additional excess power without regard to when the grid needs the power is a state-mandated handout to big business.

5 bills with no position.

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• Pro-libertyHB 275relative to schools approved for a school tuition program by a school board.Support CofC
  Why

  This bill allows a pupil's parents to pay the difference between a receiving district's school tuition cost and the sending district tuition cap in a school tuition program. With the proposed committee amendment, there must be at least one option that is a public school or public academy that does not require additional tuition payment from the parent.

  * Since the "Croydon bill", a few school districts with town tuitioning have been setting a tuition cap, any amount over which would be paid by parents who selected those schools. Putting it into law would allow more districts to go this route, which can expand school choice and provide certainty to parents making use of town tuition dollars at institutions that charge a higher fee than the town's base rate.
  * All current tuitioning towns already have a public school or public academy option that does not require additional tuition payment from the parents.

9 bills with no position.

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• Anti-libertySB 132prohibiting cities and towns from adopting sanctuary policies.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill requires cities and towns to comply with potentially-unconstitutional detainer requests.

  * This bill would require police departments to enforce ICE detainers, which have been declared in the First Circuit to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. As a result, this bill violates Article 19 of the NH Constitution as well as the US Fourth Amendment. See the case <i>Morales v. Chadbourne</i> (<a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne>www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne</a>).
  * Officers and towns would be subject to 18 USC 1983 civil rights claims, which would result in towns having to pay monetary settlements, and thus increase town budgets.
  * Local officials and law enforcement agencies would incur costs to enforce federal laws of potentially no interest to the local taxpayers — who would ultimately be forced to pay for these activities.

• Anti-libertySB 160relative to the use of OHRVs on designated trails and requiring a permit to operate certain OHRVs from before sunrise to after sunset.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill prohibits the use of Off Highway Recreational Vehicles (OHRVs) on designated trails, and requires a permit to operate certain OHRVs from before sunrise to after sunset.

  * Granite state taxpayers who own and enjoy OHRVs should not be arbitrarily restricted from using them recreationally.
  * There is a long history of freely and responsibly using OHRVs for purposeful travel and recreation in New Hampshire, which should not be abrogated.

15 bills with no position.

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• Pro-libertyHB 367relative to eligibility of students in the education freedom account program.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill makes a modest increase in the income eligibility threshold for participation in the Education Freedom Accounts program.

  * Education Freedom Accounts have partially shifted the locus of control from government bureaucrats to families — allowing parents additional options for their children based on their individual education needs, using funds that the state had already dedicated to education on a per-pupil basis.
  * The legacy education system has failed to keep pace with the evolving improvements that are happening around the world. Shifting power from a government monopoly to families choosing in a market will spur innovation (e.g., online education, competency-based education, etc.). Having accountability rest directly on those who bear the consequences of a school's performance is superior to top-down regulatory accountability.
  * Although all families should have access to their tax dollars back, this bill increases the number of families that are provided with additional choices in where and how their children are educated.

8 bills with no position.

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• Anti-libertyHB 435relative to relief aid calculation in determining grants for adequate education.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill increases the amount for relief aid grants based on eligibility for free or reduced-priced school meals and adjusts the grants by changes in the consumer price index.

  * This bill removes a barrier that prevents runaway spending by tying the already very-generous free school food program to the inflating CPI instead of its current limit of $17.5 million.

• Anti-libertyHB 532(New Title) relative to the licensure and regulation of music therapists and other occupations and professions.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill expands occupational licensing without a compelling public interest.

  * Music therapy does not include the screening, diagnosis, or assessment of any physical, mental, or communication disorder. Music therapists are not qualified mental health professionals.
  * This bill simply creates a new state-granted barrier of entry into a profession. This will limit consumer choices, ultimately growing state government under the guise of providing an option for such therapy to be covered under health insurance.

8 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertySB 164(New Title) relative to consideration of biodiversity in the land and community heritage investment program.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill defines biodiversity and requires its inclusion in certain land use regulations, and creates a formal contract to preserve the rights of domestic animals and wild animals.

  * This bill inserts a new requirement to protect "biodiversity" into numerous land use regulations throughout the NH RSAs.
  * This bill fundamentally infringes upon private property rights, increases costs and regulations to private property owners, and restricts their rights to their own land.
  * Much of this bill could be construed as a regulatory taking of private property.
  * These infringements upon private property are a violation of Part I, Arts. 2 and 12 of the NH Constitution.
  * This bill additionally attempts to extend the concept of human rights to animals.

• Anti-libertySB 258relative to the disposal of highway or turnpike funded real estate.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill allows the Department of Transportation to sell real estate at below-market value to their friends or whoever they deem is best for the "public benefit" and intervenes in a free marketplace.

  * The sale of public land should be put on the open market and available to all to bid on and purchase.
  * This bill steals from the taxpayers who deserve to get the most money possible from any sale of public land.
  * This bill promotes cronyism and rewards backroom deals and unethical political practices by allowing government officials to sell land without considering the market value, but rather the benefit to themselves or what they claim is the benefit to others.

• Anti-libertySB 58relative to arrests without a warrant while in the care of a medical professional on the premises of a residential care or health care facility.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill lowers the threshold needed for a warrantless arrest in medical facilities.

  * This bill lowers the threshold for a warrantless arrest without defining "threatened violence".
  * The police already have the authority to arrest people if they view someone committing a crime or have probable cause to believe that the person will cause further personal injury or damage to property.

9 bills with no position.

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• Anti-libertyHB 114relative to the age at which a minor may receive mental health treatment without parental consent.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill allows a minor 16 years of age or older to consent to mental health treatment without parental consent.

  * Parents are legally and financially responsible for their children up to the age of 18 years. This bill would force parents to pay for treatments they did not want or consent to.
  * Minor children should have no ability to consent to mental health treatment if they are suspected of poor mental health. Instead, the responsible, mentally-healthy parents should be the sole decision makers for such critical, potentially life-altering choices.

• Anti-libertyHB 142relative to the operation of the Burgess Biopower plant.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill cancels $50 million of debt that the Burgess Biopower plant owes to NH ratepayers.

  * Eversource customers have already paid more than $150 million in above-market rates for electricity generated by the Burgess Biopower plant. This bill reduces the amount that the Burgess Biopower electricity generation plant owes the ratepayers of Eversource.
  * The operation of the Burgess plant is a market-distorting jobs program funded by a mandatory rate increase on Eversource customers. With electric rates at near-record highs, the plant is still unable to operate competitively. This bill does nothing to address the long-term problem that has required legislative interference on a regular basis, but simply kicks the can once again to the commissars who will be back in two more years asking for further relief.

• Pro-libertyHB 343 relative to release of confidential records of a person appointed a guardian.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill provides that a person who has been appointed a guardian shall retain the right to access and consent to the release of his or her confidential records unless the terms of the appointment provide otherwise.

  * This bill returns the liberty to a ward who was previously deemed incapacitated to release and share their very own private records with another of their choosing, which may allow another professional to render an informed opinion of their present state.
  * Those under court-appointed conservatorship may find relief from their situation by offering for review documentation that the present appointed 'guardian' may find disagreeable.

• Pro-libertyHB 360an act legalizing cannabis for persons 21 years of age or older.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill legalizes the possession and use of cannabis for persons 21 years of age and older.

  * NH remains an island in a sea of cannabis legalization; most Granite Staters live within a 30 minute drive from a cannabis dispensary in another state.
  * This bill will give NH the best cannabis laws in the US, which sets the bar rather low; however, the United States is slowly becoming an epicenter of cannabis industry, with NH hopefully leading the forefront after legislation like this.
  * With fentanyl and other opioid death rates at an all-time high, now is the time to start to bring an end to the failed 52-year-old War On Drugs policies that have contributed to dangerous products and underground usage that has helped to fuel the crisis.

• Pro-libertyHB 367relative to eligibility of students in the education freedom account program.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill makes a modest increase in the income eligibility threshold for participation in the Education Freedom Accounts program.

  * Education Freedom Accounts have partially shifted the locus of control from government bureaucrats to families — allowing parents additional options for their children based on their individual education needs, using funds that the state had already dedicated to education on a per-pupil basis.
  * The legacy education system has failed to keep pace with the evolving improvements that are happening around the world. Shifting power from a government monopoly to families choosing in a market will spur innovation (e.g., online education, competency-based education, etc.). Having accountability rest directly on those who bear the consequences of a school's performance is superior to top-down regulatory accountability.
  * Although all families should have access to their tax dollars back, this bill increases the number of families that are provided with additional choices in where and how their children are educated.

• Pro-libertyHB 431permitting qualifying patients and designated caregivers to cultivate cannabis for therapeutic use.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill allows qualifying medical cannabis patients and designated caregivers to cultivate a limited number of plants for therapeutic use.

  * This bill decreases medical costs for patients by allowing them to grow their own medicine.
  * People should not have to choose between fearing criminal prosecution and not having access to medicine.
  * This bill gives patients better access to their medicine. Many patients do not live near the few dispensaries in the state, and will benefit from this bill.

• Pro-libertyHB 473relative to penalties for controlled drug violations.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill reduces the penalty for certain schedule I, II, III, and IV drug offenses.

  * This bill reduces the number of people incarcerated for these nonviolent, victimless offenses. Currently it costs $64,233 per person per year to incarcerate someone in New Hampshire.
  * This bill reduces the number of NH citizens with a felony record, and it eliminates some exorbitant fines for drug use.
  * This reforms our drug laws to be more in line with the New Hampshire Constitution's Part I, Art. 18.: <i>"No wise Legislature will affix the same punishment to the crimes of theft, forgery, and the like, which they do to those of murder and treason. Where the same undistinguishing severity is exerted against all offenses, the people are led to forget the real distinction in the crimes themselves, and to commit the most flagrant with as little compunction as they do the lightest offenses."</i>

2 bills with no position.

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• Pro-libertyHB 135prohibiting no-knock warrants.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill, with the proposed committee amendment, raises the bar for the execution of no-knock warrants.

  * "No-knock" warrants allow law enforcement to use force to gain entry into a residence without giving any prior notice or announcing their entry. This is dangerous both for the police and the potentially-innocent occupants of the household, as the resulting confusion dramatically increases the probability of inadvertent injury or death.
  * When individuals are not aware of who is trying to break down their door, they can, will, and should use deadly force to defend their property.
  * Originally conceived as a means to prevent the destruction of evidence, no-knock raids have been misused by law enforcement, executed at incorrect addresses, and resulted in fatalities, both to law enforcement personnel and to civilians. Between 2010 and 2016, 81 civilians and 13 officers have died during no-knock raids (<a href=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/18/us/forced-entry-warrant-drug-raid.html>www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/18/us/forced-entry-warrant-drug-raid.html</a>).
  * Per the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Manual (<a href=https://www.doj.nh.gov/criminal/documents/law-enforcement-manual.pdf>www.doj.nh.gov/criminal/documents/law-enforcement-manual.pdf</a>) the purpose of 'knock and announce' is to protect people's rights to privacy in their homes and to prevent unnecessary violence that could result from unannounced entries.
  * While rare, there are instances across the country of no-knock warrants being executed at the wrong address due to typographical or other errors that have at times lead to disastrous consequences. As such, a complete prohibition on the ability to execute a no-knock warrant would be preferable. However, this bill, even with the proposed amendment, is a small step in the right direction.
  * While voting for the unamended bill is preferable, the bill should be supported with or without the amendment as a small step in the right direction.

• Pro-libertyHB 174relative to the filing of notice of intent to cut timber.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill enables a land owner to cut timber in certain cases where they have not received a response to the notice of intent to cut timber, and makes it a violation for assessing officials to fail to forward a notice to cut to the Department of Revenue Administration in a timely fashion.

  * In the event that a tax assessor delays or refuses to process an application by a landowner to log their property, this bill would allow such owners to proceed.
  * During the public hearing, testimony was provided that indicated that while not systemic across the state, some towns have not responded to requests for four months. This bill protects the right of a property owner to use their private resources as they choose without being effectively denied that right by an assessor refusing to do their job.

• Pro-libertyHB 201relative to changing the penalties for driving without a license.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill decreases the penalty for driving without a license from a class B misdemeanor to a violation (for the first offense).

  * It is unlikely that the high potential penalty for first time offenses is well understood by individuals who may be impacted by this law. What is certain is that a misdemeanor conviction may negatively impact their ability to find a job. The "crime" of driving without a license, for an individual who is not otherwise committing any other offense, does not have a clear victim and thus the existing penalty is unreasonable.

• Pro-libertyHB 252exempting agricultural operations from certain municipal noise ordinances.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill exempts certain farming and agricultural operations from municipal noise ordinances.

  * Farm and agricultural land owners need to be free to conduct operations suitable to their businesses and livelihood without infringement by government from noise ordinances.
  * This bill protects farmers and other agricultural operators from noise complaints of new nearby residents who knowingly "moved to the nuisance" and now want to shut down existing operations.
  * Prospective property purchasers are required to perform due diligence to mitigate their own dissatisfaction. The government should not rescue the willfully-ignorant from the foreseeable consequences of their inaction.
  * With the proposed committee amendment, farm actvities associated with agritourism are excluded from this protection — putting farms on a similar footing to other businesses for non-agricultural uses of the property.

• Anti-libertyHB 261authorizing residential tenants to terminate their lease in instances of domestic violence or following a disabling illness or accident.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill permits residential tenants to terminate their lease in instances of domestic violence or following a disabling illness or accident, and describes the written documentation required.

  * This bill does not define 'disabling accident or illness' and as such becomes an ad liberum legal loophole allowing for any tenant to exit any lease agreement at any time.
  * This bill essentially nullifies all lease agreements and will decimate the incentive for anyone to become a landlord in New Hampshire.
  * Without those willing to take on the risk of property ownership and renting to others, the availability of housing to renters will deteriorate, which will greatly increase rent throughout the state.
  * While NAY OTP is preferable, rereferal is OK; however, on rereferal we recommend that this bill be tabled.

• Pro-libertyHB 31repealing the prohibition on the possession or sale of blackjacks, slung shots, and metallic knuckles.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill repeals the prohibition, penalty, and exceptions relating to the carrying and possessing with intent to sell a blackjack, slung shot, or metallic knuckles.

  * Blackjacks, slung shots, and metallic knuckles are currently illegal in NH. This bill will make them legal.
  * The right to self-defense and to bear arms is fundamental to the citizens of the United States and the state of New Hampshire. Both entities' Constitutions make clear that those rights shall not be infringed.
  * Mere possession of these items harms no one; using them harmfully is illegal and would remain so even with passage of this bill.

• Pro-libertyHB 500relative to prescribing opioids via telehealth medicine.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill modifies the procedure for physicians, physician assistants, and APRNs to prescribe certain non-opioid and opioid controlled drugs by means of telemedicine.

  * This bill improves liberty through granting quicker and more efficient access to needed medicines via telemedicine with patients who already have an established patient-provider relationship.

• Anti-libertyHB 534relative to water assistance for natural disasters.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill creates a water assistance fund to be used to repair and replace drinking water treatment sources damaged by natural disasters. The bill also makes an appropriation to the fund.

  * This bill pointlessly allocates $5 million from the general fund to a new 'water assistance' fund. There is already a rainy day fund that would more effectively and efficiently provide relief for any type of disaster as the legislature sees fit.

• Pro-libertyHB 588relative to the criteria for applying for parole.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill allows an eligible incarcerated person to apply for parole upon the completion of 65 percent of such person's minimum sentence.

  * This bill allows an incarcerated person serving more than a 5-year sentence to be considered for parole at 65% of their sentence, provided they were not convicted of certain violent crimes and their minimum original sentence was 7.5 years.
  * The Department of Corrections says this bill could affect up to 915 inmates.
  * Releasing such non-violent inmates from prison will save the State $54,386/year per inmate.
  * This bill will reduce the burden on society of keeping these inmates in prison, and give them a second chance to be productive members of society.

• Pro-libertyHB 624relative to federal immigration checkpoints.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill requires local law enforcement give public notice when a federal agency intends to conduct an immigration
  checkpoint.

  * Part 1, Article 19 of the New Hampshire Constitution notes the <i>"...right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions."</i> In STATE v. KOPPEL (1985), the NH Supreme Court noted that <i>"Stopping and detaining an automobile and its occupants, whether by roving patrol or roving roadblock, constitutes a seizure within the meaning of article 19 of our State Constitution."</i>
  * In STATE v. HUNT (2007), the Supreme Court found <i>"To justify the search or seizure of a motor vehicle, absent probable cause or even a reasonable suspicion that a criminal offense is being committed, the State must prove that its conduct significantly advances the public interest in a manner that outweighs the accompanying intrusion on individual rights. It must further prove that no less intrusive means are available to accomplish the State's goal."</i>. Checkpoints at the border are clearly less intrusive than random stops of people traveling within the state. While the federal government may not be bound by the NH Constitution, our state law enforcement officers are and should make every effort to minimize undesired infringement and seizure.
  * Notification is consistent with the approach New Hampshire uses for sobriety checkpoints.

• Pro-libertyHB 639relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations therefor.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill legalizes cannabis in New Hampshire.

  * This bill would increase personal freedom by allowing adults 21 and older to purchase, possess, transport, and give away (but not sell) up to four ounces of cannabis, twenty grams of concentrated cannabis, and infused products with 2000 milligrams of THC.
  * Legalization would not only prevent innocent people from having their lives significantly impacted by minor possession arrests, but would also reduce the expense of the criminal justice system, allowing police and prosecutors to focus on serious crimes where innocent people have been victimized.
  * Polls have consistently shown that a substantial majority of Granite Staters support legalizing cannabis (<a href=https://scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/689>scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/689</a>).
  * A federal judge has recently ruled that prohibitions on firearms ownership simply for the use of cannabis is unconstitutional. While it is likely that further court battles on the topic remain, concerns expressed over the potential impact to gun rights are paternalistic.

23 bills with no position.

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• Anti-libertySB 149relative to nurse agencies.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill places state-imposed limits on the interactions between businesses and potential employees, resulting in nurses being less aware of employment opportunities which may be superior to their current employment.

  * This bill mandates the use of taxpayer funds by involving the OPLC to enforce terms that Health Care Facilities could otherwise establish through voluntary contracts with Nurse Agencies.
  * Additionally, the bill hinders a nursing agency's potential to offer higher wages to nurses willing to work under conditions they may consider high-risk. This restriction infringes upon individual choice, and like all price controls, will ultimately lead to service shortages.

• Anti-libertySB 152relative to New Hampshire workforce training programs.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires the Department of Education to establish a marine trades pathway at a regional career technology center, establishes a career and technical education workforce development and innovation fund, and establishes an offshore wind industry workforce training center committee in the Department of Business and Economic Affairs.

  * While government-sponsored job training programs are effective at spending taxpayer money, there is little evidence that they have any lasting impacts. Taxpayers have been funding jobs programs since the 1960s, yet federal auditors can find little evidence that they are effective: Government Accountability Office, "Multiple Employment and Training Programs," GAO-11-92, January 2011, p. 11 (<a href=https://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1192.pdf>www.gao.gov/new.items/d1192.pdf</a>).
  * The state should not have a role in determining the training that businesses will require, nor should taxpayers be forced to subsidize the training programs of specific industries.

• Anti-libertySB 69relative to allowing certain nonprofits to participate as a customer-generator group hosts under net energy metering.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires that utilities purchase power from non-profit net energy metering generators with a total peak generating capacity up to 5 megawatts at a non-market rate.

  * This bill subsidizes non-profit entities that choose to operate large scale energy generation facilities by increasing the subsidized net metering cap from the current 1 megawatt limit up to 5 megawatts.
  * The recipients of these subsidies will get millions more at the expense of others without providing any substantial benefits to the grid, as the energy from these systems is often intermittent and unreliable.
  * Large subsidies for renewables no longer make sense, as studies claim that alternatives such as solar energy is cheaper than fossil fuels. If this is true, then operators of these facilities already have a significant competitive advantage and would not require subsidy to operate.

• Pro-libertySB 77relative to changes in school placement for students.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill requires State Board of Education rules on manifest educational hardship to allow for a school board's assignment of a pupil to an approved private school.

  * This bill enables greater freedom of choice for parents and school superintendents by permitting the assignment of students facing "manifest hardship" to approved private schools.
  * This bill provides additional opportunities for enhancing educational outcomes for students who are not well-suited to their current public school assignments.

• Anti-libertySB 79relative to the participation of customer generators in net energy metering.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill would increase costs for New Hampshire ratepayers by requiring utilities to purchase power from industrial hosts (public or private entities) with a total peak generating capacity up to 5 megawatts at a non-market rate.

  * This bill subsidizes industrial hosts that choose to operate large scale energy generation facilities by increasing the subsidized net metering cap from the current 1 megawatt limit up to 5 megawatts.
  * The recipients of these subsidies will get millions more at the expense of others without providing any substantial benefits to the grid, as the energy from these systems is often intermittent and unreliable.
  * Large subsidies for renewables no longer make sense, as studies claim that solar energy is cheaper than fossil fuels. If this is true, then operators of these facilities already have a significant competitive advantage and would not require subsidy to be profitable.

8 bills with no position.

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• Pro-libertyHB 117relative to the termination of tenancy at the expiration of the tenancy or lease term.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill adds the expiration of the term of a lease or tenancy that is over 6 months as grounds for an eviction.

  * Common sense would lead a person to believe that at the end of a lease, with proper notice, a landlord would be able to reclaim their property, and if necessary, evict the tenant; however, courts have found that given current New Hampshire law, the end of a lease that is not renewed is not sufficient grounds for eviction.
  * A lease agreement is a contract between two parties to provide safe access to a property for a pre-determined period of time. Absent this bill, the time provisions of a lease are not meaningful.

• Pro-libertyHB 127relative to the declaration of a state of emergency.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill revises the authority of the governor and general court to declare, renew, or terminate a state of emergency.

  * This bill modifies existing law and limits the length of a state of emergency that could be declared by the governor.
  * This would prevent the governor from declaring an indefinite state of emergency. Dictatorial powers of the governor should not be allowed to perpetually constrain personal liberties of the citizens.

• Pro-libertyHB 167relative to nano brewery licensing.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill removes the requirement that nano breweries manufacture beverages in a public building.

  * This bill frees up economic access for the popular craft-brewing culture to grow and thrive in New Hampshire.
  * Allowing for the proliferation of nano breweries is good for the Granite State economy and increasing the happiness, prosperity, and wealth of Granite Staters.

• Pro-libertyHB 262relative to laboratory testing by licensed naturopaths.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill adds naturopathic doctors to the definition of "licensed medical practitioner" for health facilities authorized for laboratory testing.

  * Naturopathic doctors are licensed by New Hampshire and require the ability to utilize laboratory testing facilities to enhance the effective health outcomes for their patients.

• Pro-libertyHB 477to prohibit municipal inspections of owner-occupied units of multi-unit housing.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill prohibits municipal inspections of owner-occupied units within residential structures of 4 units or less.

  * The NH Constitution enshrines the right to privacy, and having municipalities conduct inspections of owner-occupied buildings of 4 units or less greatly infringes on that constitutionally-protected right.
  * This bill prevents the government from violating the sanctity of one's home by conducting inspections without the owner's consent.
  * Owner-occupied residential structures of 4 units or less are basically houses, and most NH home owners would view it as ridiculous if their houses were inspected by the municipality.

25 bills with no position.

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• Anti-libertyHB 250relative to the accidental death benefit payable to a group II member.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill increases the amount of the state retirement annuity payable upon the accidental death of a group II member to 100% of earnable compensation (up from 50%) at the member's death.

  * Under current law, government employees who are eligible for the current benefit receive a value equal to 50% of earnable compensation at the date of the member's death. As a result, the existing benefit already rises as wages rise. This bill would increase the benefit to 100% of earnable compensation.
  * Employees eligible for this increased benefit are generally covered by collective bargaining agreement. There is little evidence that expanding the total compensation/benefit package outside of the bargaining process does anything other than setting a new baseline expectation prior to the start of negotiations. If these employees would find this expanded benefit to be valuable, it should be sought through their collective bargaining process.
  * Per the fiscal note, this bill would require increased expenditures by local governments without full funding from the state and as such is a violation of Article 28-a of the New Hampshire Constitution.

• Pro-libertyHB 337relative to directing the office of professional licensure and certification to provide notice of public meetings and an opportunity for comment from the public.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill directs the office of professional licensure and certification to provide to the public notice of its meetings and an opportunity to comment in such meetings.

  * This bill increases government transparency by requiring the office of professinal licensure and certification to announce its meetings beforehand, allow for public commentary on matters of interest, and provide meeting materials beforehand or at the time of the meeting.

• Anti-libertyHB 430relative to applications for the education freedom accounts program.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill requires students to have been enrolled in a public school for at least one year, unless they're going into kindergarten or first grade, to qualify for Education Freedom Accounts.

  * This anti-liberty bill attempts to take freedom away from families by removing their opportunity to avoid public schooling entirely.
  * Education Freedom Accounts exist to provide parents the freedom to choose by whom and where their children are educated.
  * The public money provided is intended for the students to achieve top-notch educational outcomes as set by their parents, not any particular system.
  * Parents hold the highest responsibility, and therefore authority, for guiding their children to their successes, not the state.

• Anti-libertyHB 534relative to water assistance for natural disasters.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill creates a water assistance fund to be used to repair and replace drinking water treatment sources damaged by natural disasters. The bill also makes an appropriation to the fund.

  * This bill pointlessly allocates $5 million from the general fund to a new 'water assistance' fund. There is already a rainy day fund that would more effectively and efficiently provide relief for any type of disaster as the legislature sees fit.

• Anti-libertyHB 626requiring the department of education to administer the education freedom account.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill changes the administration of Education Freedom Accounts from non-profit scholarship organizations to the Department of Education.

  * The Department of Education would have to expend taxpayer funds to set up staff and infrastructure that the non-profit scholarship organization already has in place with no clear return on investment. Costs to adminster the program would, over time, grow as expensive taxpayer-funded retirement programs are expanded to provide benefits to the additional staff who would run the program.

• Pro-libertyHB 639relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations therefor.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill legalizes cannabis in New Hampshire.

  * This bill would increase personal freedom by allowing adults 21 and older to purchase, possess, transport, and give away (but not sell) up to four ounces of cannabis, twenty grams of concentrated cannabis, and infused products with 2000 milligrams of THC.
  * Legalization would not only prevent innocent people from having their lives significantly impacted by minor possession arrests, but would also reduce the expense of the criminal justice system, allowing police and prosecutors to focus on serious crimes where innocent people have been victimized.
  * Polls have consistently shown that a substantial majority of Granite Staters support legalizing cannabis (<a href=https://scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/689>scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/689</a>).
  * A federal judge has recently ruled that prohibitions on firearms ownership simply for the use of cannabis is unconstitutional. While it is likely that further court battles on the topic remain, concerns expressed over the potential impact to gun rights are paternalistic.

• Anti-libertyHB 74relative to an employee's unused earned time.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill is an incremental encroachment on interactions between private individuals.

  * The freedom to contract is paramount in a free society, particularly between an employee and employer. This bill seeks to restrict the freedom to contract by forcing employers to pay an employee for unused earned time under certain conditions.

10 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertySB 132prohibiting cities and towns from adopting sanctuary policies.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires cities and towns to comply with potentially unconstitutional detainer requests.

  * This bill would require police departments to enforce ICE detainers, which have been declared in the First Circuit to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. As a result, this bill violates Article 19 of the NH Constitution as well as the US Fourth Amendment. See the case <i>Morales v. Chadbourne</i> (<a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne>www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne</a>).
  * Officers and towns would be subject to 18 USC 1983 civil rights claims, which would result in towns having to pay monetary settlements, and thus increase town budgets.

• Anti-libertySB 133relative to changing the date of the state primary election and creates runoff election for federal primary election.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill changes the date of the state primary election to the second Tuesday in May (from September).

  * This bill will substantially restrict the ability of third parties to secure enough petitions in time to qualify. It further expands the use of taxpayer resources to enable entrenched private political parties to make use of election apparatus for free while reducing the time and thus increasing the costs for 3rd party candidates to qualify to be on the ballot.
  * This bill can be made at least neutral if it is amended to include a change to RSA 655:41 to untether the dates of independent filing from the primary to prevent inadvertently dramatically raising the bar for ballot access for these candidates.

• Anti-libertySB 145relative to New Hampshire housing champion designation for municipalities and making appropriations therefor.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill creates a new, expansive state government program to redistribute taxpayer dollars in an attempt to pick winners in the housing development market.

  * This bill grows government by spending more than $28 million in taxpayer money in the next two years so that the state can pick housing development winners, which will likely be in the urban centers around the Seacoast, Manchester, and Nashua at the expense of all others in the state.
  * The urban centers already have the financial wherewithal to grow their advanced and expensive housing infrastructure.
  * This bill is unethical as it will also reduce the opportunities for rural communities to expand low-cost housing in their towns with their own money as their money is taxed away by the state.
  * The non-coercive way to incentivize the thriving New Hampshire economy to build more workforce housing is to reduce state interference such that private investment costs and delays are significantly decreased.
  * Once begun, this program will likely grow and become more expensive. Additionally, it will be quite difficult to end as the tyranny of the majority will likely overwhelm the smaller representation of the rural areas.

• Anti-libertySB 237relative to the child care scholarship program and making an appropriation therefor.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill increases state control of the private childcare industry.

  * This bill will increase and accelerate the costs of daycare and create a vicious cycle of enhanced government supplementation and accelerating child-care costs in precisely the same way as college tuition has skyrocketed over the last forty years due to government support.
  * The non-coercive manner for incentivizing child care is to allow the free market to arrive at the solution — businesses that desire enhanced access to employees who feel constrained by their choice to have children may offer their own benefits to supplement or provide daycare. This is already being done by some: <a href=https://www.brighthorizons.com/benefits/JPMCFullService>https://www.brighthorizons.com/benefits/JPMCFullService</a>, <a href =https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexible-companies-offering-childcare-assistance/>https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexible-companies-offering-childcare-assistance/</a>

• Pro-libertySB 238relative to the use of telemedicine to treat mental health conditions.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill permits doctors and APRNs to use telemedicine to prescribe medication to treat mental health conditions.

  * This bill makes a modest improvement to New Hampshire's restrictive drug laws by allowing doctors and nurse practitioners who are working with a patient via telemedicine to prescribe controlled drugs classified in schedule II through IV for mental health conditions in addition to the existing permission granted for treating substance use disorder.
  * Individuals should be free to decide on a course of treatment without interference from the state.

• Anti-libertySB 36relative to systems of care for healthy aging.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill will result in significant expenditures to support the growing number of older adults in the state to, among other things, allow them to stay in their homes by increasing the total tax burden on younger generations — many of whom cannot afford to buy homes.

  * This bill continues the great tradition of needing to pass bills to see what is in them, as the costs for the annually expanding programs are characterized within the fiscal note as "significant" and "indeterminable".
  * While it is a laudable goal to allow elderly to remain in their homes, doing so while increasing the future tax burden on the young, many of whom can't afford homes of their own, will only serve to accelerate the flight of younger families from the state, resulting in a unsustainable cost spiral and future tax increases.
  * While initially a portion of the expanded programs are paid for with federal funds, it is worth noting that the New Hampshire families also pay federal taxes, and with the federal deficit swelling to $1.4 trillion in 2023 and expected to grow to $2 trillion in 2024 and beyond (<a href=https://www.cbo.gov/publication/58848>www.cbo.gov/publication/58848</a>), we are building a new entitlement on a foundation that will not hold and putting state taxpayers on the hook for additional future costs when the federal funds inevitably dry up.

• Anti-libertySB 58relative to arrests without a warrant while in the care of a medical professional on the premises of a residential care or health care facility.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill lowers the threshold needed for a warrantless arrest in medical facilities.

  * This bill would lower the threshold for a warrantless arrest without defining "threatened violence".
  * The police already have the authority to arrest people if they view someone committing a crime or have probable cause to believe that the person will cause further personal injury or damage to property.

22 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Pro-libertySB 105relative to information collected by the division of vital records administration as part of the live birth worksheet.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill protects privacy by providing that only de-identified information shall be
  submitted on the facility worksheet for a live birth.

  * This bill promotes personal privacy as well as the freedom of choice by a mother for release or confidentiality of her personal information.
  * It removes the possibility that omission of certain information on a live birth worksheet may result in a violation or criminal penalty.

• Anti-libertySB 175relative to Medicaid coverage for mothers.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill significantly expands Medicaid costs.

  * In 2019, New Hampshire spent $2.16 billion on Medicaid for its 1.361 million residents, of which 72,901 were Medicaid recipients. New Hampshire taxpayers delivered an incredibly generous $29,629 per Medicaid recipient (<a href=https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/scorecard/annual-medicaid-chip-expenditures/index.html>https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/scorecard/annual-medicaid-chip-expenditures/index.html</a> , <a href=https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/adultmedicaidenrollment100119.pdf>https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/adultmedicaidenrollment100119.pdf</a>).
  * In 2023 and going forward, this bill would vastly increase the number of Medicaid recipients, the amount of money taken from taxpayers, and the amount spent per recipient.
  * The amount spent on Medicaid should be restructured to include these services without increasing the total spent.
  * In addition to supporting this handout, 94.6% of all residents in New Hampshire do not get Medicaid support for their own health care costs. This expenditure is grossly unfair to those who manage their health and expenses without this state handout.

• Anti-libertySB 231establishing a historic housing tax credit and making appropriations for workforce housing and affordable housing.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill, with the proposed committee amendment, would allocate $55 million for taxpayer-subsidized housing projects.

  * The projects that are funded by these programs needlessly encourage the creation of high density low-income housing, which crowds out other affordable housing options and raises artificial barriers that families must cross in order to distinguish themselves from those who do not strive for improved wages and living conditions.
  * Concentrating poor or low-income people in a small area, whether in the projects or due to the fact that only certain housing providers are willing and able to accept payment through welfare programs, creates unintended negative side effects such as crime, lack of social cohesion, and poor examples for children, affecting their future income potential (<a href=https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa773.pdf>https://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/pa773.pdf</a> pages 9 & 10).
  * The market will be better able to provide housing opportunities if New Hampshire's exclusionary zoning and ever-growing building codes are relaxed instead of distorting the marketplace and neighborhoods with government grants.

• Anti-libertySB 252relative to release of a defendant pending trial.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill presumes guilt of someone charged with a crime and allows the state to punish the accused before trial.

  * <i>"No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."</i> — 14th Amendment, Section 1 of the United States Constitution
  * <i>"That it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer, is a maxim that has been long and generally approved."</i> — Benjamin Franklin
  * This bill would deny persons charged with a range of specific crimes the chance to make bail. It would provide that, for those crimes, the accused would need to be held in custody for 36 hours on the presumption that the person is dangerous to society. Due process requires the accused be presented immediately before a judge for a determination of bail.
  * This change in existing law and procedure would incur large additional, although presently undetermined, costs to the judicial and corrections systems.
  * This bill deprives an accused of his or her right to be released on bail pending arraignment.
  * It presumes people accused of certain crimes are automatically a danger to society and should be held for 36 hours after arrest.

• Anti-libertySB 263extending the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program and reestablishing the commission to evaluate the effectiveness and future of the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill makes the temporary Medicaid Expansion program permanent.

  * This bill preserves Medicaid Expansion, which is currently set to sunset at the end of 2023. Medicaid Expansion provides able-bodied, childless adults in NH who are above the poverty line with free healthcare.
  * Federal money always comes with strings attached, and it is not free. The national debt, which is more than $31 trillion, is arguably the largest threat to national security.
  * The federal government will not keep its promises. Federal money will dry up and the financial transfer mechanism will break because hospitals and insurance companies will be unable to transfer the entire cost onto paying customers. This will place the costs squarely on the state’s General Fund, which will only be able to support it through a new broad-based tax, such as a sales or income tax, thereby destroying what remains of the New Hampshire Advantage. While there are protections in the existing law, one only need to look at the public hearing, where stakeholders showed up in support of this bill to recognize that the longer we run this 'temporary' program, the greater the constituency will be to keep it running even as it eventually grows to consume additional state funding.
  * A free market approach to health care should be the main priority of the legislature. This is the only way to sustainably lower costs and increase access for the majority of Granite Staters.

13 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertyCACR 4relating to compensation for legislators. Providing that legislators' biennial salary compensation shall be increased.YEA ITL
  Why

  This proposed constitutional amendment would increase the limit on legislator salary and enable future increases through the normal legislative process.

  * The existing constitutional language on legislator salary provides a cap on compensation that prevents individuals from taking on a role in the legislature as a career. This bill would weaken that language as a first step toward setting a higher salary via statute.
  * The existing modest compensation increases the probability that individuals will only attempt to serve for a limited number of terms and saves New Hampshire taxpayers from being compelled to further fund an organization that demonstrably has as its goal the expansion of state power.

• Pro-libertyCACR 7relating to use of money raised by taxation for education. Providing that money raised by taxation may be applied for the use of religious educational institutions.YEA OTP
  Why

  This constitutional amendment concurrent resolution removes the prohibition on the use of money raised by taxation for schools of any religious sect or denomination.

  * This amendment repeals the Blaine Amendment from the NH Constitution, thereby following US Supreme Court decisions in recent years that say that if you provide tax-paid tuition to secular private schools, it would be discriminatory if you did not also provide tax-paid tuition to religious private schools.
  * In Carson v Makin, Chief Justice Roberts noted that the First Amendment's free exercise clause protects against, <i>"...indirect coercion or penalties on the free exercise of religion, not just outright prohibitions."</i> (<a href=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-1088_dbfi.pdf>https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/20-1088_dbfi.pdf</a>)

• Anti-libertyHB 114relative to the age at which a minor may receive mental health treatment without parental consent.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill allows a minor 16 years of age or older to consent to mental health treatment without parental consent.

  * Parents are legally and financially responsible for their children up to the age of 18 years. This bill would force parents to pay for treatments they did not want or consent to.
  * Minor children should have no ability to consent to mental health treatment if they are suspected of poor mental health. Instead, the responsible, mentally healthy parents should be the sole decision makers for such critical, potentially life-altering choices.

• Pro-libertyHB 127relative to the declaration of a state of emergency.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill revises the authority of the governor and general court to declare, renew, or terminate a state of emergency.

  * This bill modifies existing law and limits the length of a state of emergency that could be declared by the governor.
  * This would prevent the governor from declaring an indefinite state of emergency. Dictatorial powers of the governor should not be allowed to perpetually constrain personal liberties of the citizens.

• Pro-libertyHB 135prohibiting no-knock warrants.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill, with the proposed committee amendment, raises the bar for the execution of no-knock warrants.

  * "No-knock" warrants allow law enforcement to use force to gain entry into a residence without giving any prior notice or announcing their entry. This is dangerous both for the police and the potentially-innocent occupants of the household as the resulting confusion dramatically increases the probability of inadvertent injury or death.
  * When individuals are not aware of who is trying to break down their door, they can, will, and should use deadly force to defend their property.
  * Originally conceived as a means to prevent the destruction of evidence, no-knock raids have been misused by law enforcement, executed at incorrect addresses, and resulted in fatalities, both to law enforcement personnel and to civilians. Between 2010 and 2016, 81 civilians and 13 officers have died during no-knock raids (<a href=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/18/us/forced-entry-warrant-drug-raid.html>www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/03/18/us/forced-entry-warrant-drug-raid.html</a>).
  * Per the New Hampshire Law Enforcement Manual (<a href=https://www.doj.nh.gov/criminal/documents/law-enforcement-manual.pdf>www.doj.nh.gov/criminal/documents/law-enforcement-manual.pdf</a>) the purpose of 'knock and announce' is to protect people's rights to privacy in their homes and to prevent unnecessary violence that could result from unannounced entries.
  * While rare, there are instances across the country of no-knock warrants being executed at the wrong address due to typographical or other errors that have at times lead to disastrous consequences. As such, a complete prohibition on the ability to execute a no-knock warrant would be preferable. However, this bill, even with the proposed amendment, is a small step in the right direction.
  * While voting for the unamended bill is preferable, the bill should be supported with or without the amendment as a small step in the right direction.

• Anti-libertyHB 142relative to the operation of the Burgess Biopower plant.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill cancels $50 million of debt that the Burgess Biopower plant owes to NH ratepayers.

  * Eversource customers have already paid more than $150 million in above-market rates for electricity generated by the Burgess Biopower plant. This bill reduces the amount that the Burgess Biopower electricity generation plant owes the ratepayers of Eversource.
  * The operation of the Burgess plan is a market-distorting jobs program funded by a mandatory rate increase on Eversource customers. With electric rates at near-record highs, the plant is still unable to operate competitively. This bill does nothing to address the long term problem that has required legislative interference on a a regular basis but simply kicks the can once again to the commissars who will be back in two more years asking for further relief.

• Anti-libertyHB 205relative to testing private wells.NAY OTP
  Why

  This paternalistic bill mandates testing of private wells.

  * Property owners have an incentive to test for contaminants in their private wells on their own. Mandating it will only force property owners to engage in a more arduous process to obtain testing for their own property which is particularly problematic if they do not desire that protection.
  * The choice to inspect one's own water or to request notification for potential contaminants should be the responsibility of the property owner.

• Anti-libertyHB 255relative to campaign contributions by limited liability companies.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill requires that a political contribution by a limited liability company be allocated to members for purposes of determining whether a member has exceeded the contribution limits.

  * This bill would assign to members of LLCs a proportion of the political contribution limit spent by the LLC regardless of whether or not that member actually supported the political contribution.
  * LLCs should not be especially penalized for campaign contributions; this would not apply to corporations and those employees therein.
  * This bill would force the LLC to provide the identities of all members irrespective of whether those members endorsed the political contribution, thereby violating their right to privacy.

• Anti-libertyHB 261authorizing residential tenants to terminate their lease in instances of domestic violence or following a disabling illness or accident.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill permits residential tenants to terminate their lease in instances of domestic violence or following a disabling illness or accident, and describes the written documentation required.

  * This bill does not define 'disabling accident or illness' and as such becomes an ad liberum legal loophole allowing for any tenant to exit any lease agreement at any time.
  * This bill essentially nullifies all lease agreements and will decimate the incentive for anyone to become a landlord in New Hampshire.
  * Without those willing to take on the risk of property ownership and renting to others, the housing availability to renters will deteriorate, which will greatly increase rent throughout the state.

• Pro-libertyHB 275relative to schools approved for a school tuition program by a school board.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill allows a pupil's parents to pay the difference between a receiving district's school tuition cost and the sending district tuition cap in a school tuition program.

  * Since the "Croydon bill", a few school districts with town tuitioning have been setting a tuition cap, any amount over which would be paid by parents who selected those schools. Putting it into law would allow more districts to go this route, which can expand school choice.

• Anti-libertyHB 299prohibiting discrimination in medical care.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill prohibits medical businesses from choosing not to treat someone based on their ability to pay for the services.

  * This bill would prohibit a medical business such as a hospital, employing surgeons, nurses, and others, to verify the patient's ability to pay for the proposed services such as providing proof of insurance or other credit.
  * Hospitals, doctors, and nurses spent immeasurable resources in the form of time and money to obtain the skills necessary to provide the outstanding health care options available in New Hampshire. These services cannot be required for free as citizens are not slaves or indentured to servitude due to the qualities of their skills.

• Pro-libertyHB 316relative to meetings of supervisors of the checklist.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill, with the proposed committee amendment, requires the supervisors of the checklist to meet every 90 days.

  * This bill increases government transparency by making the checklist maintenance process open and available to the public.

• Pro-libertyHB 331relative to the income threshold for the education freedom account program.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill removes the household income criteria from eligibility requirements for the Education Freedom Accounts program.

  * The Education Freedom Accounts have been a smashing success for providing Granite Staters with greater access to private, home, charter, or other alternative schooling options for their children for a lower tax burden on Granite Staters.
  * This bill would allow all Granite Staters to opt out of public school and choose a program that will cost the taxpayer generally half as much as the public option while providing the opportunity for superior education outcomes.
  * This also allows for greater innovation in the field of education in the state as the public schools are now having to compete for students as well as the private programs needing to innovate to be successful.

• Anti-libertyHB 351relative to the negligent storage of firearms and relative to firearm safety devices.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill infringes on a person's own access to their firearms and has severe consequences if their Second Amendment right is not yielded.

  * This bill is a violation of Supreme Court precedent. In the 2008 Heller decision, the court stated: <i>"...Similarly, the requirement that any lawful firearm in the home be disassembled or bound by a trigger lock makes it impossible for citizens to use arms for the core lawful purpose of self-defense and is hence unconstitutional."</i> (554 U.S., pp 3).
  * This bill will force firearm owners to pay for the fearful emotions of some by forcing them to purchase an additional device with their firearms.
  * Children are fundamentally the charge and responsiblility of their parents. This bill violates the Second Amendment while making everyone responsible for someone else's child.
  * The primary ability of a person to defend themselves in their own home would be effectively disincentivized by this bill, making it far less problematic for home invaders to break in and have their way with homeowners.
  * Only a parent should be held to any responsibility for the actions of their children, not "Any person who stores or leaves on premises under that person's control a loaded firearm". Homeowners, or property owners who are typically without children should have no burden of protection for someone else's child.

• Pro-libertyHB 363relative to deadlines for candidates filing by nomination papers for state general elections.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill changes the deadlines for candidates filing by nomination papers for state general elections.

  * This bill decouples the filing period for candidates who wish to appear on the general election ballot but who are not participants in party primary elections from the date of the state primary.
  * This only impacts candidates who run as independents or as a member of a minor political party. Currently the barrier for these candidates to appear on the ballot is substantially higher than candidates who choose to run with one of the entrenched parties that utilize taxpayer-funded primaries to select their preferred candidate. This bill would leave the existing high barriers in place but would make a modest change that would prevent changes to the primary dates from inadvertently negatively impacting these candidates who would otherwise face shortened time to gather petitions/signatures.
  * While this bill on its own does not have significant impacts to liberty, the impact is significant when coupled with numerous bills from both this term and prior recent terms that seek to modify the primary date without correcting this oversight of an artificial coupling of independent candidate filings to primary elections.

• Pro-libertyHB 397relative to the prohibition of the possession of hypodermic needles by minors.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill clarifies the circumstances under which a minor may be in possession of a hypodermic needle or syringe.

  * This bill clarifies and provides for rational cases where a minor may need to have access to a hypodermic syringe.
  * Without this bill, an elder minor attempting to help a young sibling with an insulin injection would be in violation of the law.

• Pro-libertyHB 427relative to public comment and inquiry during school board meetings.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill establishes requirements for public meetings held by a school board to include a designated time period for questions from the public and answers from the board. The bill also allows an attendee of a meeting of the school board to demand which New Hampshire statute or administrative rule gives the school board the authority described in a school policy or operational procedure.

  * This should not be legislation that has to be made, but it has been increasingly common for school boards to deny the public opportunities to be heard and to have their questions answered.
  * Parents and members of the public have been arrested for speaking their minds at school board meetings with no knowledge of any NH statute or administrative rule that would enlighten the member of the public as to why the school board thinks that they have the authority to take that action.
  * This is common sense legislation for anyone who values transparency, accountability, and basic respect towards parents and members of the public at school board meetings.

• Anti-libertyHB 432relative to participation in the education freedom accounts program. NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires annual determination of eligibility for awarding of Education Freedom Account funds.

  * The Education Freedom Accounts should be available to all New Hampshire children, regardless of income.
  * This bill would make it likely that children, once qualified and in the Education Freedom Accounts program, would be disqualified if their parents got a raise at work that would put them over the aribtrary income limit; thereby promoting poverty at the cost of children's education freedom.

• Pro-libertyHB 486relative to vehicle registrations and reciprocal toll collection enforcement agreements.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill would prevent foreign states from using the power of the state to deprive a New Hampshire citizen of the ability to register any vehicle due to
  incurring civil fines associated with an alleged toll evasion.

  * Billing disputes should not be handled by invoking the heavy-handed power of the state to deny the right to travel and potentially cause a vehicle owner to lose their job. Collection of unpaid bills is a civil matter and should be handled accordingly.
  * This heavy-handed state action is particularly troubling when reciprocal tolling is used, as there have been a number of high profile cases of E-ZPass improperly billing people (<a href=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/local/2021/12/10/ri-ez-pass-truck-toll-gantry-system-incorrectly-charged-1800-cars/6460940001/>usatoday.com/story/news/local/2021/12/10/ri-ez-pass-truck-toll-gantry-system-incorrectly-charged-1800-cars/6460940001</a>) as well as instances of improper bills being generated by the pay-by-plate system that is used in multiple states (<a href=https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/despite-reform-instituted-last-year-some-illinois-tollway-users-struggle-to-resolve-incorrect-charges/>cbsnews.com/chicago/news/despite-reform-instituted-last-year-some-illinois-tollway-users-struggle-to-resolve-incorrect-charges/</a>).

• Pro-libertyHB 507relative to unauthorized practice in occupational and professional licensing and certification.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill clarifies existing law so that penalties for the unlicensed practice of a profession regulated under the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification do not apply so long as the person practicing does not hold themselves out as being licensed or certified and discloses the fact that he or she is not licensed or certified.

  * Occupational licensing offers little in the way of benefit, except for those who benefit from the limited competition that results from raising barriers for would-be entrepreneurs.
  * This bill would increase liberty by allowing consumers who would like the option of working with an unlicensed professional to do so without negatively impacting individuals who prefer the government stamp of approval by retaining state licensing structure, but not imposing penalties on individuals who are open with potential customers.
  * Democrat members of the House should consider supporting this bill as it aligns with the NH Democratic platform plank of "We recognize the importance of our immigrant population to our workforce and economic growth." A study by the Federal Reserve found that nationally, workers of color are less likely to be licensed (<a href=https://www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2022/how-occupational-licensing-limits-access-to-jobs-among-workers-of-color>www.minneapolisfed.org/article/2022/how-occupational-licensing-limits-access-to-jobs-among-workers-of-color</a>) and even within education groups, workers of color are underrepresented among licensed workers.
  * Republican members of the House should consider supporting this bill as it aligns with multiple NH Republican platform planks including: "Remove barriers to business formation and encourage small businesses", "Minimize business regulations, permits, licenses and paperwork".
  * All members of the House should vote OTP on this bill as it aligns with the NH Constitution — <i>"[Art.] 2. [Natural Rights.] All men have certain natural, essential, and inherent rights among which are, the enjoying and defending life and liberty; acquiring, possessing, and protecting, property; and, in a word, of seeking and obtaining happiness. Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by this state on account of race, creed, color, sex or national origin."</i>

• Anti-libertyHB 510relative to removing the exemption for premium cigars from the tobacco tax.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill removes the exemption from the tobacco tax on premium cigars.

  * This bill would directly erode the New Hampshire Advantage. NH presently has no tax on cigars. That fact has specifically drawn multiple cigar companies to NH; several moved here when MA imposed its cigar tax in 1996.
  * This bill seeks to raise revenue for the state, but will ultimately fail in doing so as the business taxes paid by cigar sellers and other businesses that benefit from the out-of-state traffic the sales generate would be lost due to decreased premium cigar sales.

• Anti-libertyHB 511relative to requiring the department of transportation to do road maintenance and repairs according to its complete streets program.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill requires towns, cities, state departments, and state institutions to coordinate with a new "complete streets" advisory committee to plan and follow the complete streets program.

  * This bill would increase costs to municipalties or force them to downshift costs to local taxpayers while seeing their tax dollars used to expand infrastructure in other towns.
  * This provides an incentive for a nationally-set strategy for local streets that may not align with the needs of the local taxpayer.

• Anti-libertyHB 532relative to the licensure and regulation of music therapists.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill expands occupational licensing without a compelling public interest.

  * Music therapy does not include the screening, diagnosis, or assessment of any physical, mental, or communication disorder. Music therapists are not qualified mental health professionals.
  * This bill would simply create a new state-granted barrier of entry into a profession that will limit consumer choices and ultimately grow state government under the guise of providing an option for such therapy to be covered under health insurance.

• Pro-libertyHB 538establishing a local education freedom account program.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill allows school districts to adopt a program for local education freedom accounts for a parent of an eligible student to receive a grant from a scholarship organization for qualifying educational expenses at a public school, chartered public school, nonpublic school, or program approved by the Department of Education.

  * Education Freedom Accounts have allowed for unparalleled innovation in increasing educational outomes, enhancing liberty and free choice, and moving towards a cost-effective, industry-responsive educational model that will enhance opportunities for Granite Staters.
  * Expanding this program to local communities will increase access to participation in the program.

• Pro-libertyHB 539relative to vaccination clinics at schools.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill prohibits a public elementary or secondary school from conducting a vaccination clinic during school hours.

  * The intended use of a public school is for education and this bill will allow those institutions to focus on education and protect them from expensive mission creep.
  * Vaccine availability is already prolific at pharmacies, clinics, and hospitals. This bill targets the very definition of wasteful spending.
  * Parents, not public schools, are responsible for the health and well-being of their children with respect to vaccination.

• Anti-libertyHB 552relative to making incentive grants for school districts that improve in certain assessment scores.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill removes money from the state's rainy day fund, which was established to address revenue shortfalls that result from things such as recessions, to a new program that rewards public schools that increase mathematics test scores in statewide assessments.

  * This bill establishes a dangerous precedent of pulling from a fund that was explicitly established to address shortfalls that result when general fund revenues in the most-recently-completed fiscal biennium were less than the budget forecast. Repurposing these funds for other purposes weakens the purpose of the fund and undermines public trust.
  * The bill allows the Department of Education to determine criteria to qualify for awards. While they may choose wise criteria, if too few schools qualify, there will be pressure to reduce the standards over time and no legislative oversight or guidance is present to prevent this.
  * The bill may have unintended consequences. Under RSA 193-C:6, parents may opt their children out of the statewide standardized assessment. While we support this option, there is a risk that a school may advise or pressure families of students with educational challenges to consider alternatives to standardized testing based not on what is best for the child as an individual but rather what is best for causing test scores to rise.

• Pro-libertyHB 557relative to the department of health and human services' rulemaking authority regarding immunization requirements.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill removes the rulemaking authority of the commissioner of health and human services on immunization requirements beyond those diseases identified in statute.

  * This bill limits the required vaccinations to those explicitly stated in RSA 141-C:20-a.
  * This bill would further remove the ability of unelected officials from dictating that parents vaccinate children with new and unproven therapies.

• Anti-libertyHB 572relative to eligibility for free school meals.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill increases the eligibility for free school meals to household incomes up to 300 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

  * The median income in 2023 in New Hampshire is $88,235 while in the United States it is $67,521. The poverty index for a family of four increased by 300% is $90,000. This bill would charge taxpayers for low-quality food to be provided to middle-class families.
  * The free school lunch program's intent was to make sure children from impoverished homes could have the energy to pay attention, learn, and perform in their education. This bill turns this into an entitlement for families who are doing well enough to feed their children.

• Anti-libertyHB 573limiting education freedom account funding to budgeted amounts.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill limits the amounts of funds distributed from the education trust fund to the Education Freedom Accounts program to budgeted sums.

  * The Education Freedom Accounts are not intended to be a separate tax on the citizens, but a direct replacement for public education through school choice.
  * This bill would de facto create a new tax cost in New Hampshire where instead of using the public's education funding for the education of their choice, they now have to generate new tax revenue.

• Anti-libertyHB 603relative to education service providers under the education freedom accounts program.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill adds compliance requirements for education service providers requesting payment from Education Freedom Account funds, including criminal history records checks of employees with direct contact with students.

  * The Education Freedom Accounts are available to New Hampshire parents who do not see the public school system as the best environment to achieve the highest educational outcomes for their children.
  * This bill attempts to enforce those policies, which in part make the public school system an exceedingly poor choice for many, onto the alternative providers parents have selected to assist in the education of their children.
  * This bill would add an anchor of unnecessary regulation, thereby making it too costly for talented independent education providers to offer desired services.
  * Instead of attempting to limit choice, public school systems should embrace the challenge to compete for the highest educational outcomes for the children of New Hampshire.

• Anti-libertyHB 61relative to teaching on discrimination in the public schools and discrimination in public workplaces.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill seeks to make it legal to discriminate based on race and sex in public workplaces.

  * This bill seeks to repeal from New Hampshire law the following: <i>"The general court hereby finds and declares that practices of discrimination against any New Hampshire inhabitants because of age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, marital status, familial status, mental or physical disability, religion, or national origin are a matter of state concern, that discrimination based on these characteristics not only threatens the rights and proper privileges of New Hampshire inhabitants but menaces the institutions and foundation of a free democratic state and threatens the peace, order, health, safety and general welfare of the state and its inhabitants."</i> (RSA 354 A:29 I)
  * The bill prevents teachers from being sued or otherwise challenged for teaching racist, discriminatory materials (and presumably child sexual grooming materials).
  * The bill would presumably shield teachers from parents' questioning or criticism for what they teach, thus suppressing the parents' First Amendment rights.

• Pro-libertyHB 621relative to funds of the education freedom accounts program after termination of a student's participation and responsibilities of the scholarship organization.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill requires that upon enrolling in a public school an Education Freedom Account program student's participation and funding are terminated. The bill also requires audits by the scholarship organization and investigation of misuses of funds.

  * This bill closes a loophole that allowed those who returned to the public school system from the Education Freedom Account program from continuing to spend previously awarded EFA grants.
  * This will reduce extra cost to the education system by preventing double-spending.

• Anti-libertyHB 629establishing a student bill of rights.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill establishes a student bill of entitlements.

  * This bill introduces a 'student bill of rights' that mostly says that any rights listed in the US or NH Constitutions apply to students in public schools. However, it also lists some entitlements, which should never be conflated with rights.
  * This bill would be aligned with liberty if it simply stated that schools have to apply the US and NH Constitutions to students in public schools.
  * This bill conflates rights with entitlements. The entitlement of one person requires the enslavement of another. Rights require nothing more than to simply live and let live.

• Pro-libertyHB 69relative to direct payment and membership-based health care facilities.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill exempts facilities operating with membership-based or direct payment business models from the special health care licensing requirement that the facility adopt a policy to assure that it provides services to all persons who require the services of the facility regardless of the source of payment.

  * This bill will protect vital health-care service facilities who are able to survive due to their membership-based and/or direct payment models from having to accept persons who can't participate in that model.
  * Those seeking treatment have a plethora of far more common options available to them than membership-based businesses.

45 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertyHB 125relative to youth employment during the school year and at night.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill seeks to further limit when and how much people aged 16 or 17 can work.

  * A young person aged 16 or 17 is fully capable of negotiating their responsibilities with their parents on how much and when they should work.
  * The parents, not the government, should be empowered to appropriately manage a minor child.
  * Some children learn more at a brief time at the workplace than they do during their entire academic career.
  * Students use employment as a means of generating more income for themselves for future endeavors, which should not be overly burdened by government restrictions on their ability to make money.
  * This restricts a person's ability to create more opportunity and wealth for themselves at a young age.

• Anti-libertyHB 208establishing greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the state and establishing a climate action plan.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill sets state policy of a goal of achieving net zero CO2 emissions by 2050 with a required expectation of net CO2 emissions 85 percent below the 1990 level.

  * Emissions as defined in this bill are not simply for those of the state and its political subdivisions but rather are all CO2 emissions/sequestration/etc by all sources in the state — as such this makes it official state policy to dramatically impact the actions of NH inhabitants without regard to the potential impacts.
  * While the bill offers no explicit policy recommendations and does not provide funding for the additional work that it mandates the Department of Environmental Services complete, the outcome of the bill would be additional work that would eventually require additional funding.

• Anti-libertyHB 222to require the use of seat belts during the operation of motor vehicles.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill mandates the use of seatbelts.

  * This bill is paternalistic in that it forces adults to wear seatbelts when traveling in motor vehicles.
  * Since this bill allows for the violation as a primary enforcement, it increases the potential for contact between law enforcement and citizens, increasing the risk of adverse interactions that otherwise would be avoided.

• Pro-libertyHB 328an act legalizing certain controlled substances for persons 21 years of age or older.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill legalizes the possession and use of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), mescaline, psilocybin, and peyote for persons 21 years of age and older.

  * Some doctors are finding that the use of psychedelics can be a powerful therapy for the treatment of mental health disorders such as depression and PTSD.
  * The fundamental right to self-ownership is inviolate.
  * No person should, by the state, be forced to take or be prevented from taking any substance they choose.

• Pro-libertyHB 360an act legalizing cannabis for persons 21 years of age or older.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill legalizes the possession and use of cannabis for persons 21 years of age and older.

  * NH remains an island in a sea of cannabis legalization; most Granite Staters live within a 30 minute drive from a cannabis dispensary in another state.
  * This will give NH the best cannabis laws in the US, which sets the bar rather low, but the United States is slowly becoming an epicenter of cannabis industry, with NH hopefully leading the forefront after legislation like this.
  * This will result in increased prosperity and wealth for Granite Staters who grow or consume cannabis.

• Pro-libertyHB 399allowing for a testing exception for graduation from high school.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill requires the Department of Education to design and administer a high school diploma equivalency test, which would except students age 13 or older who pass the test from school attendance requirements. The bill also provides a private right of action to enforce the provisions of the bill.

  * This bill increases the opportunities for high-achieving students to graduate from high-school early and thereby potentially enter advanced training or education earlier.
  * This bill is an economic opportunity for New Hampshire, as high-achieving students who graduate early will create less burden over time on the school system, while also encouraging the greatest realization of such high potential in these students.

• Anti-libertyHB 444prohibiting possession of a firearm at a polling place.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill prohibits possessing a firearm at a polling place.

  * This bill creates an area of targets for easy criminal prey at polling locations.
  * Citizens of New Hampshire should not be required to surrender their right to carry an implement of self-defense or otherwise reduce their ability to defend themselves in order to exercise their right to vote.
  * This bill is largely unenforceable, as many citizens peacefully and inconspicuously carry a concealed firearm daily throughout the state.
  * As with the majority of proposed weapons regulations, this bill does nothing to prevent criminals from carrying out violent acts.
  
  * Granite Staters need to be free from constitutionally illegal restrictions on firearms in order to protect themselves and their families.

• Anti-libertyHB 524relative to regional greenhouse gas initiative funds.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill raises the threshold price for allowance sales eligible for rebate under the energy efficiency fund.

  * This bill would increase yearly ratepayer costs by $6.7 million in the first year and $70 million or more over the next ten years.
  * Granite Staters are suffering under the burden of drastically-inflated energy rates and do not need their government creating even more unnecessary, self-inflicted pain.

• Anti-libertyHB 58prohibiting payment of subminimum wages.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill would set the minimum wage for tipped employees to the federal minimum wage for untipped employees.

  * Minimum wage laws decrease the number of entry-level jobs and make it harder for people of low skill to get their start in the workforce.
  * Higher wages for everyone are better accomplished through job creation — more jobs means more competition to hire all workers.
  * Employers and employees should be free to negotiate the terms of employment without interference.
  * The very idea of a minimum wage is patronizing and demeaning as it implies that individuals don't know how much they're worth and are incapable of negotiating with an employer.
  * The restaurant industry is already very low margin; this could have the unintended consequence of forcing owners to cut staff, and/or raise prices on their food.

• Anti-libertyHB 596prohibiting the use of racial profiling in law enforcement activities and in sentencing.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill dictates the focus for the police and courts should be on racial sensitivity instead of law enforcement and crime prevention.

  * Racial profiling is already illegal under federal law. Section 242 of Title 18 makes it a crime for a person acting under color of any law to willfully deprive a person of a right or privilege protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
  * This law includes a requirement to make available on request a report on statistics of arrests and incarcerations broken out by 'white' and 'non-white'.
  * As a consequence of this law, police are encouraged to implement quotas for arrests based on race, sexual orientation, or ethnicity — which is racist and sexist.

• Anti-libertyHB 76imposing a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill infringes on the right to bear arms.

  * Waiting periods make it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to defend themselves and as a result, encourage criminal activity.
  * There is no statistical evidence that a waiting period for handgun purchases reduces violence (<a href=https://www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2015/apr/27/van-wanggaard/no-evidence-waiting-period-handgun-purchases-reduc/>www.politifact.com/wisconsin/statements/2015/apr/27/van-wanggaard/no-evidence-waiting-period-handgun-purchases-reduc/</a>).
  * The US Constitution is the supreme law of our country and in it the 2nd Amendment clearly states that <i>"the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."</i>
  * No law interfering with the ability to purchase arms or their components is legal, ethical, or moral.

16 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertySB 132prohibiting cities and towns from adopting sanctuary policies.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill requires cities and towns to comply with potentially unconstitutional detainer requests.

  * This bill would require police departments to enforce ICE detainers, which have been declared in the First Circuit to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment. As a result, this bill violates Article 19 of the NH Constitution as well as the US Fourth Amendment. See the case <i>Morales v. Chadbourne</i> (<a href=https://www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne>www.aclu.org/cases/immigrants-rights/morales-v-chadbourne</a>).
  * Officers and towns would be subject to 18 USC 1983 civil rights claims, which would result in towns having to pay monetary settlements, and thus increase town budgets.

• Anti-libertySB 133relative to changing the date of the state primary election and creates runoff election for federal primary election.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill changes the date of the state primary election to the second Tuesday in May (from September).

  * This bill will substantially restrict the ability of third parties to secure enough petitions in time to qualify. It further expands the use of taxpayer resources to enable entrenched private political parties to make use of election apparatus for free while reducing the time and thus increasing the costs for 3rd party candidates to qualify to be on the ballot.
  * This can be made at least neutral if its amended to include an amendment to RSA 655:41 to untether the dates of independent filing with the primary to prevent inadvertently dramatically raising the bar for ballot access for these candidates.

• Anti-libertySB 145relative to New Hampshire housing champion designation for municipalities and making appropriations therefor.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill creates a new, expansive state government program to redistribute taxpayer dollars in an attempt to pick winners in the housing development market.

  * This bill grows government by spending more than $28 million in taxpayer money in the next two years so that the state can pick housing development winners, which will likely be in the urban centers around the Seacoast, Manchester, and Nashua at the expense of all others in the state.
  * The urban centers already have the financial wherewithal to grow their advanced and expansive housing infrastructure.
  * This bill is unethical as it will also reduce the opportunities for rural communities to expand low-cost housing in their towns with their own money as their money is taxed away by the state.
  * The non-coercive way to incentivize the thriving New Hampshire economy to build more workforce housing is to reduce state interference such that private investment costs and delays are significantly decreased.
  * Once begun, this program will likely grow and become more expensive. Additionally, it will be quite difficult to end as the tyranny of the majority will likely overwhelm the smaller representation of the rural areas.

• Anti-libertySB 152relative to New Hampshire workforce training programs.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires the Department of Education to establish a marine trades pathway at a regional career technology center, establishes a career and technical education workforce development and innovation fund, and establishes an offshore wind industry workforce training center committee in the Department of Business and Economic Affairs.

  * While government-sponsored job training programs are effective at spending taxpayer money, there is little evidence that they have any lasting impacts. Taxpayers have been funding jobs programs since the 1960s, yet federal auditors can find little evidence that they are effective: Government Accountability Office, "Multiple Employment and Training Programs," GAO-11-92, January 2011, p. 11 (<a href=https://www.gao.gov/new.items/d1192.pdf>www.gao.gov/new.items/d1192.pdf</a>).
  * The state should not have a role in determining the training that businesses will require.

• Anti-libertySB 202relative to establishing a homeownership innovations fund in the New Hampshire housing finance authority.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill allocates $5 million of taxpayer money to a fund that will be used for grants and loans where state bureaucrats will attempt to pick the next winning technology that will contribute to lowering housing costs.

  * The state and its political subdivisions have created a 'housing crisis' through aggressive land use restrictions and incremental increases in regulations on housing. It now tries to mitigate this by attempting to replace market forces with the wisdom of govermment bureaucrats, who will redirect taxpayer money to poltiically-connected crony capitalists. While there is little evidence that such programs provide the values that they promise, they certainly do provide opportunities for photo opportunities for politicians and help to support the politically-connected class.

• Anti-libertySB 233re-establishing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill re-establishes the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program.

  * This bill seeks to further cripple the taxpayer by instituting another social program that will increase taxes, incentivize poverty, and expand the power of the government, all the while reducing the quality of life of Granite Staters in the process.
  * This also replaces private charitable work with government aid, which will always inevitably result in a decrease in the amount and care given to those that are genuinely disadvantaged.
  * There is already a government safety net program available for this very purpose: <a href=https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program>https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program</a>

• Anti-libertySB 234directing the department of health and human services to develop a public awareness campaign on brain health, Alzheimer's disease, and related dementias and making an appropriation therefor.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill allocates $500,000 of taxpayer money to fund a campaign to educate health care providers and the public on the importance of early detection and timely diagnosis of cognitive impairment including Alzheimer's disease.

  * While the amount of money is small compared to the entire state budget, this is still not a wise way to spend taxpayer funds. We live in an information age in which nearly any topic can be researched from a computer or cell phone but now, nearly 250 years after the founding of the state of NH, supporters of this legislation believe that it is imperative to 'raise awareness' through state action and spending.

• Anti-libertySB 237relative to the child care scholarship program and making an appropriation therefor.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill increases state control of the private childcare industry.

  * This bill will increase and accelerate the costs of daycare and create a viscious cycle of enhanced government supplementation and accelerating child-care costs in precisely the same way as college tuition has skyrocketed over the last forty years due to government support.
  * The non-coercive manner for incentivizing child care is to allow the free market to arrive at the solution — businesses that desire enhanced access to employees who feel constrained by their choice to have children may offer their own benefits to supplement or provide daycare. This is already being done by some:
  <a href=https://www.brighthorizons.com/benefits/JPMCFullService>https://www.brighthorizons.com/benefits/JPMCFullService</a>, <a href =https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexible-companies-offering-childcare-assistance/>https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/flexible-companies-offering-childcare-assistance/</a>

• Pro-libertySB 238relative to the use of telemedicine to treat mental health conditions.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill permits doctors and APRNs to use telemedicine to prescribe medication to treat mental health conditions.

  * This bill makes a modest improvement to New Hampshire's restrictive drug laws by allowing doctors and nurse practitioners who are working with a patient via telemedicine to prescribe controlled drugs classified in schedule II through IV for mental health conditions in addition to the existing permission granted for treating substance use disorder.
  * Individuals should be free to decide on a course of treatment without interference from the state.

• Anti-libertySB 247repealing limited liability for manufacturers, distributors, dealers, or importers of firearms or ammunition.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill repeals limited liability for firearm and ammunition sellers and manufacturers.

  * Firearms dealers and manufacturers are already required to meet numerous federal, state, and local regulations, regulations that exceed other industries. There is no need to have these regulations if the consumer can then sue them even if they are not party to the sale.
  * Thie liability shield does not protect these companies from issues arrising from defects in their products or by actions taken by the company, but only provides a shield from damages caused by criminal or unlawful use of a qualified product by a third party.
  * New Hampshire has a significant number firearms manufacturers (http://www3.nssf.org/share/PDF/EconomicImpact/2018data/newhampshire.pdf) and this bill would put those firms at financial risk or force them to consider moving those jobs elsewhere.
  * According the CNBC, the medical industry is the 3rd leading cause of death (https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/22/medical-errors-third-leading-cause-of-death-in-america.html) yet has a similar protection: 508:18 Liability Limited; Health Care Facilities and Personnel.

• Anti-libertySB 250relative to remote participation in government meetings.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill allows local government officials to officiate a meeting from out of town and out of state.

  * A local official should be present in the community while officiating under oath. This would open the door for out of state influence into our local governments.
  * This bill would also allow local officials to hide behind technology and not face their constituents face to face.
  Only one public official would need to be physically present in many towns with small boards, allowing the majority of the board to hide from their constituents.

• Anti-libertySB 58relative to arrests without a warrant while in the care of a medical professional on the premises of a residential care or health care facility.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill lowers the threshold needed for a warrantless arrest in medical facilities.

  * This bill would lower the threshold for a warrantless arrest without defining "threatened violence".
  * The police already have the authority to arrest people if they view someone committing a crime or have probable cause to believe that the person will cause further personal injury or damage to property.

20 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertyHB 106relative to extreme risk protection orders.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill allows personal property, including firearms, to be taken when no crime has been committed.

  * This bill violates the 4th Amendment protections under the US Bill of Rights and Article 19 of the NH Bill of Rights: <i>"[Art.] 19. [Searches and Seizures Regulated.] Every subject hath a right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions."</i>
  * The language in the bill allows for hearsay 'evidence' to be admitted into the trial violating Article 15: <i>"[Art.] 15. [Right of Accused.] No subject shall be held to answer for any crime, or offense, until the same is fully and plainly, substantially and formally, described to him;"</i>
  * The respondent will be stripped of personal property and will need to spend time and money via the court system for return of the property without having committed a crime.
  * Under this bill, courts are not bound by the traditional rules of evidence typically given to the defendant. (159-F:3 IX)

• Anti-libertyHB 112relative to tenant's right to notification prior to the sale of a multifamily home.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill requires the owner of restricted residential property to provide tenants with notice of sale of the property and an opportunity to make an offer to purchase the property.

  * Freedom to contract includes the right of the current and future property owners to be able to peacefully transfer the sale without interference of government.
  * If tenants and landlords wanted to voluntarily put in their lease agreement a provision that allows for a so-called "right to notification" there is nothing preventing them from doing so. Tenants are already protected by having a lease which remains valid and binding on the present and future owner regardless of the sale.
  * This bill significantly disincentivizes investment in the severely under-supplied New Hampshire real estate market.

• Pro-libertyHB 117relative to the termination of tenancy at the expiration of the tenancy or lease term.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill adds the expiration of the term of the lease or tenancy that is over 6 months as grounds for an eviction.

  * Common sense would lead a person to believe that at the end of a lease, with proper notice, a landlord would be able to reclaim their property, and if necessary, evict the tenant; however, courts have found that given current New Hampshire law, the end of a lease that is not renewed is not sufficient grounds for eviction.
  * A lease agreement is a contract between two parties to provide safe access to a property for a pre-determined period of time. Absent this bill, the time provisions of a lease are not meaningful.

• Pro-libertyHB 154relative to the adoption of public health ordinances by municipalities.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill changes when regulations relating to public health made by town health officers take effect.

  * This bill returns transparency to this crucial power and for the people where it will now require the majority of a legislative body at an annual or special meeting to approve before becoming legally binding.
  * Currently, a town's selectmen need only "approve" a public health ordinance and await a small notice period in order for such an ordinance to take effect.

• Pro-libertyHB 216exempting dimethyltryptamine from the controlled drug act.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill exempts dimethyltryptamine (DMT) from the controlled drug act.

  * This bill eliminates DMT from the controlled drug act, thereby supporting the fundamental right that a person owns themselves.
  * People have an inherent right to body autonomy and should not be coerced by the state with respect to what they do with or put into their own bodies.
  * This bill may save a modest amount of money in enforcement, prosecution, and incarceration costs, which would provide the potential to lower property taxes.

• Pro-libertyHB 281relative to least cost integrated resource plan of utilities.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill repeals obsolete laws adding cost to the energy sector.

  * This bill eliminates the obsolete requirement placed on energy companies by the state to submit least-cost plans on energy generation. Since most energy generation is not performed by New Hampshire energy companies it is an antiquated additional cost passed through to Granite Staters for no actual benefit.

• Anti-libertyHB 298relative to placement of personal wireless service facilities.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill heaps additional costs and burdens on those looking to use personal wireless services.

  * This bill seeks to force those who have applied for personal wireless devices such as HAM radio or cellular antennas to hire the services of a professional enginner to verify that all of the federal and state codes are being obeyed. This makes the barrier to entry for radio hobbyists so high as to effectively eliminate an activity that often inspires ingenuity and innovation.
  * The state already confiscates resources from the citizens to perform code inspections. This law is a double tax on Granite Staters and should not be tolerated.

• Pro-libertyHB 31repealing the prohibition on the possession or sale of blackjacks, slung shots, and metallic knuckles.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill repeals the prohibition, penalty, and exceptions relating to the carrying and possessing with intent to sell a blackjack, slung shot, or metallic knuckles.

  * Blackjacks, slung shots, and metallic knuckles are illegal in NH. This bill will make them legal.
  * The right to self-defense and to bear arms is fundamental to the citizens of the United States and the state of New Hampshire. Both entities' Constitutions make clear that those rights shall not be infringed.
  * Mere possession of these items harms no one; using them harmfully is illegal and would remain so even with passage of this bill.

• Anti-libertyHB 32relative to possession or discharge of a firearm in a safe school zone.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill infringes upon the natural rights of New Hampshire citizens.

  * The right to defense of one's self and property is paramount in a free society. This bill not only places a substantial burden on those who do not wish to compromise their safety in public areas, it also inhibits their right to vote in federal and state elections, which are often held in schools. No one should have to compromise their safety or liberty to take part in the civic process of voting.
  * Additionally, the absence of armed civilians puts everyone at risk. 94-97% of all mass shootings happen in gun free zones (<a href=https://crimeresearch.org/2018/06/more-misleading-information-from-bloombergs-everytown-for-gun-safety-on-guns-analysis-of-recent-mass-shootings/>crimeresearch.org/2018/06/more-misleading-information-from-bloombergs-everytown-for-gun-safety-on-guns-analysis-of-recent-mass-shootings/</a>).
  * The New Hampshire Constitution Article 2-a. states: <i>"[The Bearing of Arms.] All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state."</i>

• Pro-libertyHB 367relative to eligibility of students in the education freedom account program.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill makes a modest increase in the income eligibility threshold for participation in the Education Freedom Accounts program.

  * The Education Freedom Accounts have partially shifted the locus of control from government bureaucrats to families — allowing parents additional options for their children based on their individual education needs, using funds that the state had already dedicated for education on a per pupil basis.
  * The legacy education system has failed to keep pace with the evolving improvements that are happening around the world. Shifting power from a government monopoly to families choosing in a market will spur innovation (e.g., online education, competency-based education, etc.). Having accountability rest directly on those who bear the consequences of a school's performance is superior to top-down regulatory accountability.
  * Although all families should have access to their tax dollars back, this bill increases the number of families that are provided with additional choices in where and how their children are educated.
  * Oppose both 2023-0226h and 2023-0449h amendments. The former does make a modest improvement over the existing income test in current law; however, the unamended bill is superior. The latter adopts the same small increase in income theshold but would then require income threshold testing each year. This creates a perverse incentive that puts families in a untenable position of working to improve their incomes or losing the EFA funds.

• Anti-libertyHB 380relative to non-academic surveys administered by a public school or a chartered public school to its students.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill reduces parental control over non-academic social and behavioral content in public schools.

  * Prior to 2017, schools routinely asked students to complete non-academic surveys and questionnaires to assess their attitudes, values, decision-making, and behaviors. Some of these surveys could been seen as 'push polls' that were attempting to influence the non-academic beliefs of the student. SB43 (2017) modified our law to explicitly require parental approval for participation in these non-academic exercises. This bill would modify the existing 'opt-in' provisions to an 'opt-out' regime that would reduce parental involvement and allow for 'inadvertent' administration of potentially objectionable content.
  * Parents should be fully informed on what is being asked of their children and give explicit authorization for them to participate.
  * The portion of the bill that explicitly extends non-academic survey provisions to public charter schools is beneficial, however it is not worth the loss of parental control contained in the rest of the bill.

• Anti-libertyHB 401relative to evictions based on the owner's intent to renovate the property.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill establishes certain criteria for evictions based on the landlord's intent to renovate or remove the property from the residential housing market.

  * Property owners have a fundamental right to control who is on their property, when someone is present, how their property is used, and what it is being used for at all times so long as they are not infringing on the rights of their neighbors, without interference of government.
  * This bill fundamentally violates property owner rights by using force to coerce Granite Staters to serve the whims of the government instead of their needs.
  * This bill significantly disincentivizes investment in the severely under-supplied New Hampshire real estate market.

• Pro-libertyHB 464relative to eligible students in the education freedom account program.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill expands the definition of who is an eligible student qualifying under the Education Freedom Accounts program.

  * This bill serves to better protect and develop children by expanding eligibility for access to the Education Freedom Accounts (EFA) to certain groups of students regardless of the income of their parents. These groups include children in foster care, migratory children, homeless children or youths, children with a parent in the armed forces on full-time duty, English language learners, children who are persistently bullied, children with a disability, children with a documented approved manifest educational hardship, children living in school districts identified as a comprehensive support and improvement school (failing school), and children in school districts designated as being a persistently dangerous school.
  * These children have a more difficult time obtaining the opportunity for an adequate education and could benefit from the EFA program by being able to use their adequacy grant money to attend a different public school or a private school, or to pay to provide for their particular special education needs.

• Anti-libertyHB 467relative to public playground accessibility.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires public playgrounds in use on or after January 1, 2024 to have solid rubber or rubber composite surfacing for accessibility to the playground and each piece of equipment.

  * This bill removes the ability for towns, cities, and local communities to make their own decisions about how their public playgrounds are structured.
  * This will also increase the tax rates of all towns that do not have these accommodations already made without the consent of the people that live there.
  * Perhaps there is an even safer material to place; this forces a town to waste money on material that is not up to the safety standards of the town.
  * Rubber is not an indigenous product and forces New Hampshire localities to purchase imported products despite the fact that better domestic products may be available.

• Anti-libertyHB 469prohibiting discrimination against tenants holding certain vouchers for purposes of renting dwellings.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill prohibits discrimination against tenants holding certain vouchers for purposes of renting dwellings.

  * This bill seeks to strip property owners of their rights to their property by denying them the basic authority to decide who may or may not rent it.
  * There are property owners who believe that taking tax money for payment is unjust. This compels them to violate their reasonable moral beliefs to accommodate this government mandate.
  * This bill significantly disincentivizes investment in the severely under-supplied New Hampshire real estate market.
  * Receiving federal rent vouchers obligates the landlord to follow different rules from the federal government that they were otherwise except from. This forces them into a different type of business of providing federal housing they didn't set out to do and may not fit into their actual business model.

• Pro-libertyHB 477to prohibit municipal inspections of owner-occupied units of multi-unit housing.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill prohibits municipal inspections of owner-occupied units within residential structures of 4 units or less.

  * The NH Constitution enshrines the right to privacy; having municipalities conduct inspections of owner-occupied buildings of 4 units or less greatly infringes on that constitutionally-protected right.
  * This bill prevents the government from violating the sanctity of one's home by conducting inspections without the owner's consent.
  * Owner-occupied residential structures of 4 units or less are basically houses, and most NH home owners would view it as ridiculous if their houses were inspected by the municipality.
  * There is no reason why multi-family home owners should be treated as second-class citizens in terms of their protections from municipal inspections.

• Pro-libertyHB 498requiring fish and game officers to obtain a warrant to conduct a search and seizure.YEA Reconsider
  Why

  This bill requires conservation officers to obtain a search warrant for conducting certain enforcement operations.

  * Conservation officers do not have more important tasks to carry out than any other law enforcement official that should permit them to be able to operate above the law and the Constitution.
  * Conservation officers have also been tasked with enforcement of other laws, in particular, motor vehicle laws (RSA 206:26,XV).
  * In both the United States Constitution 4th and 5th Amendments as well as in the New Hampshire Constitution, Part First, Article 19, the government is prohibited from warrantless, unreasonable searches and people cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal proceeding. Unlike the other law enforcement agencies in the state, including the State Police that require probable cause, Fish and Game can detain and search under the far lower standard of 'reasonable and articulable suspicion'. This bill is necessary to ensure that all of the citizens of New Hampshire are treated equally under the law.
  * If reconsideration passes, recommend NAY ITL.

• Pro-libertyHB 51relative to requiring towns and school districts use warrant articles for lobbying agents.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill requires towns and school districts, when using local funds to lobby for legislation, to use warrant articles for each lobbying agency.

  * This bill increases transparency in municipal spending by allowing voters to make informed decisions in spending by towns and school districts.
  * This bill adds the simple requirement of towns and school districts that fund lobbyists defined under RSA 15:1, I, that they shall use a warrant article for each agency that reads as follows: "Shall the town or school district fund ____________________________ (name of lobbyist or lobbyist agency) using local funds to lobby for legislation."

• Anti-libertyHB 567relative to notice of $ x rent increases in certain residential rental property.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires a landlord of certain residential property to provide additional notice of a prospective rent increase.

  * Requiring additional government mandates to a consensual agreement between two parties undermines the purpose of the contract and restricts the freedom to contract and of association.
  * It is standard in lease agreements for landlords to warn tenants of a rent increase, so mandating this is pointless and just creates more barriers to investment in New Hampshire's greatly stressed real estate market.

• Anti-libertyHB 59requiring a background check prior to any commercial firearm sale.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill adds a new definition for commercial firearms sales that would result in a transfer being considered a commercial sale even if no money or item of value is exchanged but the transfer is initiated after the firearm was displayed.

  * This bill poorly defines "commercial sale" within 159-F:1, I, such that all transfers are commercial sales.
  * The bill will criminalize lawful firearms transactions between friends, family, neighbors, and members of the same shooting club by redefining these isolated events as "commercial sales".
  * The newly mandated background checks are effectively a 'poll tax' on a constitutionally-protected right.
  * This bill is unnecessary as private transfer of pistols and revolvers is already regulated under RSA 159:8, III and RSA 159:10 without the unintended consequences added by this bill.

• Pro-libertyHB 624relative to federal immigration checkpoints.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill requires local law enforcement give public notice when a federal agency intends to conduct an immigration
  checkpoint.

  * Part 1, Article 19 of the New Hampshire Constitution notes the <i>"...right to be secure from all unreasonable searches and seizures of his person, his houses, his papers, and all his possessions."</i> In STATE v. KOPPEL (1985), the NH Supreme Court noted that <i>"Stopping and detaining an automobile and its occupants, whether by roving patrol or roving roadblock, constitutes a seizure within the meaning of article 19 of our State Constitution."</i>
  * In STATE v. HUNT (2007), the Supreme Court found <i>"To justify the search or seizure of a motor vehicle, absent probable cause or even a reasonable suspicion that a criminal offense is being committed, the State must prove that its conduct significantly advances the public interest in a manner that outweighs the accompanying intrusion on individual rights. It must further prove that no less intrusive means are available to accomplish the State's goal."</i>. Checkpoints at the border are clearly less intrusive than random stops of people traveling within the state. While the federal government may not be bound by the NH Constitution, our state law enforcement officers are and should take every effort to minimize undesired infringement and seizure.
  * Notification is consistent with the approach New Hampshire uses for sobriety checkpoints.

• Anti-libertyHB 78repealing an act prohibiting the state from enforcing any federal statute, regulation, or Presidential Executive Order that restricts or regulates the right of the people to keep or bear arms.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill would repeal the modest protections provided by existing RSA 159-E which limit state and political subdivision resources from being used in certain cases to support federally initiated infringement on the right to keep and bear arms.

  * Article 2-a of the New Hampshire Constitution is quite clear stating that: <i>"All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property and the state."</i> — the existing RSA provides a small degree of protection to at least ensure that state resources are not used to enforce mandates that infringe upon this right.

• Anti-libertyHB 90relative to the municipal planning master plan.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill adds even more "suggestions" for local planning master plans to contain sections on transition to renewable energy and more.

  * This bill would add green initiatives to an already "suggested" and lengthy list of items contained in master planning RSAs.
  * This bill is unnecessary legislation amending RSA 674:2, III, which should instead be re-drafted in future legislation in an attempt to eliminate and consolidate language rather than adding on to an ever-growing list of "suggestions" for master plan considerations.

• Anti-libertyHB 92requiring the adoption of innovative vehicle emissions standards pursuant to section 177 of the federal Clean Air Act.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill seeks to impose California regulations in New Hampshire.

  * This bill would fine New Hampshire dealerships for not selling enough "Zero" Emission Vehicles (ZEVs). This would distort market forces and potentially lead to higher ZEV costs and crowd out lower-income residents.
  * As nearly all manufacturers have plans for sales of ZEVs, the market-distorting credit system that this bill enables New Hampshire to play in is unlikely to continue to have significant long-term value. As a result, concerns over the inability of New Hampshire dealers to obtain certain lower-demand vehicles is largely unfounded and unlikely to continue.
  * Consumers are already starting to adopt ZEVs as prices are coming down and range is increasing. New Hampshire citizens would be better served by removing state-imposed fees and removing barriers to the entry of new energy sources in the market, which would drive down New Hampshire's high electrical costs, and allowing the free market to adopt sales of ZEVs through normal human action.
  * This bill would abdicate control of what cars we could buy, when we could buy them, and how we could operate them to the dictates of California and its lawmakers.

8 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertySB 117relative to the definition of a "child" for the purpose of negligent storage of firearms.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill changes the age of a child for the purpose of negligent storage of firearms from 16 to 18.

  * In NH, it is common for parents to take their 16-year-olds hunting and to provide them with ready access to firearms for this purpose.
  * This greatly infringes on the parent's right to provide their responsible 16-year-olds with access to their firearms for the purposes of hunting and self-defense.
  * The parents already have an increased responsibility to ensure that their 16-year-olds act responsibly around firearms. This just denies New Hampshire's responsible 16-year-olds the ability to own and have ready access to firearms if needed.
  * Historically, New Hampshire people aged 16 years have not been wreckless handlers of firearms.

• Anti-libertySB 141relative to administration of the education freedom accounts program.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill creates a requirement to attend government institutions in a program designed to allow parents the choice of keeping their children from those institutions.

  *The Education Freedom Accounts are quite popular and successful at providing parents and students with a higher quality education at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
  *There is no logical reason as to why a child must be subjected to a lower quality, more expensive government institution at the expense of the taxpayer.
  * The goal of public support for education is to support the young student, not the failing infrastructure, systems, or unions. The investment should be completely tied to the child, and the child's parents should have the freedom to choose where, how, what, and by whom their child is educated.
  *The purpose of this bill is to undermine this successful program, which should instead be expanded.

• Anti-libertySB 212relative to the regulation of massage, reflexology, structural integrator, and Asian bodywork therapy establishments.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill requires licensure and inspection of massage establishments.

  * Currently, massage therapists need to be licensed to work legally in New Hampshire. This bill will now require massage establishments to also obtain a license.
  * This will increase costs to small independent businesses both to obtain the new license as well as to allocate time to work with state inspectors. This will be a disproportionate burden on owner/operator establishments in that not only will they have to pay a new license fee but they also may have to cancel client appointments to work with the inspector if they accept any walk-in clients.
  * This bill allows license revocation or suspension if the licensee "has engaged in illegal activity" (proposed RSA 328-B:8 VI.) which is subjective, overly broad, and may not require conviction before punishment.

• Anti-libertySB 214establishing a department of early childhood education and relative to a pre-kindergarten pilot program. YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill establishes an executive branch department of early childhood education and establishes the authority for the department to design, create, and administer a public pre-kindergarten program.

  * Subsidized childcare by the government will eventually push small/individualized private childcare providers out of business . Many parents prefer home-based childcare to formal institutionalized daycare centers, and while the pilot allows for such home-based childcare, the program's reliance on subsidizing licensed childcare will result in the destruction of purely private programs.
  * Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for the care of others' children while struggling to pay to raise their own children.

• Pro-libertySB 238relative to the use of telemedicine to treat mental health conditions.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill permits doctors and APRNs to use telemedicine to prescribe medication to treat mental health conditions.

  * This bill makes a modest improvement to New Hampshire's restrictive drug laws by allowing doctors and nurse practitioners who are working with a patient via telemedicine to prescribe controlled drugs classified in schedule II through IV for mental health conditions in addition to the existing permission granted for treating substance use disorder.
  * Individuals should be free to decide on a course of treatment without interference from the state.

• Anti-libertySB 252relative to release of a defendant pending trial.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill presumes guilt of someone charged with a crime and allows the state to punish the accused before trial.

  * "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." — 14th Amendment, Section 1 of the United States Constitution
  * "That it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer, is a maxim that has been long and generally approved." — Benjamin Franklin
  * This bill would deny persons charged with a range of specific crimes the chance to make bail. It would provide that, for those crimes, the accused would need to be held in custody for 36 hours on the presumption that the person is dangerous to society. Due process requires the accused be presented immediately before a judge for a determination of bail.
  * This change in existing law and procedure would incur large additional, although presently undetermined, costs to the judicial and corrections systems.
  * This bill deprives an accused of his or her right to be released on bail pending arraignment.
  * It presumes people accused of certain crimes are automatically a danger to society and should be held for 36 hours after arrest.

• Anti-libertySB 262allowing municipalities to collect an occupancy fee from operators of local room rentals.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill enables increasing taxes by creating the option for a municipal room occupancy tax.

  * This bill increases taxes by creating an additional municipal room occupancy tax.
  * This bill will erode the New Hampshire Advantage by increasing taxes and disincentivizing tourism in our state.
  * Tourists may choose to overnight in Maine or Vermont instead of New Hampshire as this additional tax may be the deciding factor on where they choose to patron.

• Anti-libertySB 263extending the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program and reestablishing the commission to evaluate the effectiveness and future of the New Hampshire granite advantage health care program.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill makes the temporary Medicaid Expansion program permanent.

  * This bill preserves Medicaid Expansion, which is currently set to sunset at the end of 2023. Medicaid Expansion provides able-bodied, childless adults in NH who are above the poverty line with free healthcare.
  * Federal money always comes with strings attached, and it is not free. The national debt, which is more than $31 trillion, is arguably the largest threat to national security.
  * The federal government will not keep its promises. Federal money will dry up and the financial transfer mechanism will break because hospitals and insurance companies will be unable to transfer the entire cost onto paying customers. This will place the costs squarely on the state’s General Fund, which will only be able to support it through a new broad-based tax, such as a sales or income tax, thereby destroying what remains of the New Hampshire Advantage. While there are protections in the existing law, one only need to look at the public hearing, where stakeholders showed up in support of this bill to recognize that the longer we run this 'temporary' program, the greater the constituency will be to keep it running even as it eventually grows to consume additional state funding.
  * A free market approach to health care should be the main priority of the legislature. This is the only way to sustainably lower costs and increase access for the majority of Granite Staters.

19 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertySB 104to regulate online gambling and direct net proceeds to a community college education scholarship fund.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill regulates online gambling and directs the net proceeds to a newly established community college education scholarship fund.

  * Whether or not a New Hampshire citizen chooses to gamble online or elsewhere should not be infringed through government regulation.
  * This bill attempts to prey on Granite Staters who choose to gamble to pay for further expanding the state government by spending more on unnecessary gambling regulation and growing the state's community college expenditures.

• Anti-libertySB 117relative to the definition of a "child" for the purpose of negligent storage of firearms.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill changes the age of a child for the purpose of negligent storage of firearms from 16 to 18.

  * In NH, it is common for parents to take their 16-year-olds hunting and to provide them with ready access to firearms for this purpose.
  * This greatly infringes on the parent's right to provide their responsible 16-year-olds with access to their firearms for the purposes of hunting and self-defense.
  * The parents already have an increased responsibility to ensure that their 16-year-olds act responsibly around firearms. This just denies New Hampshire's responsible 16-year-olds the ability to own and have ready access to firearms if needed.
  * Historically, New Hampshire people aged 16 years have not been wreckless handlers of firearms.

• Pro-libertySB 119relative to criminal background checks for charitable games of chance license applicants.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill exempts members of charitable organizations who do not participate directly in the operation of games of chance from background and criminal records checks.

  * This bill enhances access for people to charitable organizations by reducing the barrier to entry.
  * Reducing this unnecessary restriction allows for those who may not pass a background check to participate in charitable organizations, which may provide a rehabilitative opportunity.

• Anti-libertySB 134relative to disability pensions for public safety employees who are victims of violence.Oppose
  Why

  This bill further expands the retirement system expense.

  * The NHRS reported an unfunded liability of $5.69 billion as of December 2022.
  * This bill would further add to that unfunded debt by no less than $2 million per year and up to an unlimited and unreported amount.

• Anti-libertySB 141relative to administration of the education freedom accounts program.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill creates a requirement to attend government institutions in a program designed to allow parents the choice of keeping their children from those institutions.

  *The Education Freedom Accounts are quite popular and successful at providing parents and students with a higher quality education at a lower cost to the taxpayer.
  *There is no logical reason as to why a child must be subjected to a lower quality, more expensive government institution at the expense of the taxpayer.
  * The goal of public support for education is to support the young student, not the failing infrastructure, systems, or unions. The investment should be completely tied to the child, and the child's parents should have freedom to choose where, how, what, and by whom their child is educated.
  *The purpose of this bill is to undermine this successful program which should instead be expanded.

• Anti-libertySB 143establishing a scholarship fund for certain small businesses applying for loans from the capital access program administered by the New Hampshire business finance authority.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill assigns taxpayer money to individuals based on racial preferences.

  * This bill increases the burden on taxpayers to support a program which will allow public monies to be redistributed based on racial preference.
  * The free market is the best measure of goods and services and should decide which ones get supported.

• Anti-libertySB 144relative to the state minimum hourly rate.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill establishes a state-dictated minimum wage.

  * Minimum wage laws decrease the number of entry-level jobs and make it harder for people of low skill to get their start in the workforce. The well-meaning carve out for younger employees adds a further barrier to older unskilled staff entering the workforce, potentially putting a path to employment forever out of their reach.
  * Higher wages for everyone are better accomplished through job creation — more jobs mean more competition to hire all workers.
  * Employers and employees should be free to negotiate the terms of employment without interference.
  * Economic conditions and cost of living vary dramatically across the state. A "one-size-fits-all" approach to a minimum wage will put unreasonable pressure on areas of the state with limited employment opportunities and lower costs of living.
  * The very idea of a minimum wage is patronizing and demeaning as it implies that individuals don't know how much they're worth and are incapable of negotiating with an employer.

• Anti-libertySB 175relative to Medicaid coverage for mothers.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill significantly expands Medicaid costs.

  * In 2019, New Hampshire spent $2.16 billion on Medicaid for its 1.361 million residents, of which 72,901 were Medicaid recipients. New Hampshire taxpayers delivered an incredibly generous $29,629 per Medicaid recipient (<a href=https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/scorecard/annual-medicaid-chip-expenditures/index.html>https://www.medicaid.gov/state-overviews/scorecard/annual-medicaid-chip-expenditures/index.html</a> , <a href=https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/adultmedicaidenrollment100119.pdf>https://www.dhhs.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt476/files/documents/2021-11/adultmedicaidenrollment100119.pdf</a>).
  * In 2023 and going forward, this bill would vastly increase the number of Medicaid recipients, the amount of money taken from taxpayers, and the amount spent per recipient.
  * The amount spent on Medicaid should be restructured to include these services without increasing the total spent.
  * In addition to supporting this handout, 94.6% of all residents in New Hampshire do not get Medicaid support for their own health care costs. This expenditure is grossly unfair to those who manage their health and expenses without this state handout.

• Anti-libertySB 186relative to an electric bicycle low-income transportation incentive program and making an appropriation therefor.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill creates an electric bicycle incentive and rebate program and fund for low-income workers and makes an appropriation to the fund.

  * This bill potentially harms good health outcomes for low-income residents as it encourages them to spurn traditional, exercise-powered bicycles for expensive electrically-powered versions.
  * This introduces an artificial factor into the market that will increase costs and decrease quality of products to the consumer as electric bikes will respond accordingly to this rebate.
  * Electric bikes are impractical for NH unless someone lives in Manchester, Nashua, or Portsmouth, so this legislation forces people that live outside of the cities to subsidize the lifestyles of city dwellers.
  * Even for city dwellers this is impractical for almost half of the year given that it is too snowy and cold to use them during the winter.
  * This is a misallocation of resources that will harm consumers that value electric bikes and Granite Staters who do not purchase electric bikes.

• Anti-libertySB 252relative to release of a defendant pending trial.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill presumes guilt of someone charged with a crime and allows the state to punish the accused before trial.

  * "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." — 14th Amendment, Section 1 of the United States Constitution
  * "That it is better 100 guilty persons should escape than that one innocent person should suffer, is a maxim that has been long and generally approved." — Benjamin Franklin
  * This bill would deny persons charged with a range of specific crimes the chance to make bail. It would provide that, for those crimes, the accused would need to be held in custody for 36 hours, on the presumption that the person is dangerous to society. Due process requires the accused be presented immediately before a judge for a determination of bail.
  * This change in existing law and procedure would incur large additional, although presently undetermined, costs to the judicial and corrections systems.
  * This bill deprives an accused of his or her right to be released on bail pending arraignment.
  * It presumes people accused of certain crimes are automatically a danger to society and should be held for 36 hours after arrest.

• Anti-libertySB 261relative to the interest and dividends tax rate and threshold.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill repeals the elimination of the New Hampshire tax on interest and dividend income.

  * Taxes on interest and dividends tend to discourage investment and savings, penalizing economic activity that would otherwise spur economic growth and improve productivity.

• Anti-libertySB 262allowing municipalities to collect an occupancy fee from operators of local room rentals.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill enables increasing taxes by creating the option for a municipal room occupancy tax.

  * This bill increases taxes by creating an additional municipal room occupancy tax.
  * This bill will erode the New Hampshire advantage by increasing taxes and disincentivizing tourism in our state.
  * Tourists may choose to overnight in Maine or Vermont instead of New Hampshire as this additional tax may be the deciding factor on where they choose to patron.

• Anti-libertySB 58relative to arrests without a warrant while in the care of a medical professional on the premises of a residential care or health care facility.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill lowers the threshold needed for a warrantless arrest in medical facilities, to "actual or threatened violence".

  * This bill would lower the threshold for a warrantless arrest without defining "threatened violence". One wonders, if a patient refuses to wear a mask or take a vaccine, could they be accused of "threatening violence"?
  * The police already have the authority to arrest people if they view someone committing a crime, with no requirement for a warrant.

21 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertyHB 191relative to voluntarily surrendered firearms.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill would allow state agencies to waste taxpayer money.

  * Under current law, voluntarily-surrendered firearms must be sold at public auction or kept by the state agency for its own use, with the proceeds from firearms sold at public auction deposited in the general fund. This bill would change that so instead of selling an asset and adding to the general fund, the agency would be able to potentially spend taxpayer funds to destroy the firearm.

• Pro-libertyHB 201relative to changing the penalties for driving without a license.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill decreases the penalty for driving without a license from a class B misdemeanor to a violation (for the first offense).

  * The statist portion of the committee "believes" that driving is a privilege to be handed out by an omipotent state. Furthermore, they presume to arbitrarily deem certain rights to actually be privileges and then assume the state has the power to parcel out these rights as paternalistic allowances.
  * It is unlikely that the higher potential penalty for first time offenses is even well understood by individuals who may be impacted by this law. What is certain is that a misdemeanor conviction may negatively impact their ability to find a job. An individual who drives without a license, who is not otherwise committing any other offense, does not have a clear victim, and as a result the existing penalty is unreasonable.

• Anti-libertyHB 226enabling municipalities to regulate the distribution and disposal of certain solid waste within landfills.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill allows towns and municipalities to regulate the distribution and disposal of certain solid waste within landfills.

  * This bill attempts to make it illegal to throw almost anything away. It gives municipalities the power to regulate what you can and cannot discard by applying the vacuous term 'single-use' as the only filter on this disastrously ill-conceived bill.
  * New Hampshire is known for its cleanliness and beautiful forests and roadways such as the White Mountains and the Kancamagus. One of the obvious side effects of not providing easily-accesible garbage disposal is illegal roadside dumping. The potential impact to the state tourism industry is profound.

• Anti-libertyHB 250relative to the accidental death benefit payable to a group II member.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill increases the amount of the state retirement annuity payable upon the accidental death of a group II member to 100% of earnable compensation (up from 50%) at the member's death.

  * Under current law, government employees who are eligible for the current benefit receive a value equal to 50% of earnable compensation at the date of the member's death. As a result, the existing benefit already rises as wages rise. This bill would dramatically increase the benefit to 100% of earnable compensation.
  * Employees eligible for this increased benefit are generally covered by collective bargaining agreement. There is little evidence that expanding the total compensation/benefit package outside of the bargaining process does anything other than setting a new baseline expectation prior to the start of negotiations. If these employees would find this expanded benefit to be valuable, it should be sought through their collective bargaining process.
  * Per the fiscal note, this bill would require increased expenditures by local governments without full funding from the state and as such are a violation of Article 28-a of the New Hampshire Constitution.

• Pro-libertyHB 252exempting agricultural operations from certain municipal noise ordinances.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill exempts farming and agricultural operations from municipal noise ordinances.

  * Farm and agricultural land owners need to be free to conduct operations suitable to their businesses and livelihood without infringement by government from noise ordinances.
  * This bill protects farmers and other agricultural operators from noise complaints of new nearby residents who knowingly "moved to the nuisance" and now want to shut down existing operations.
  * Prospective property purchasers are required to perform due diligence to mitigate their own dissatisfaction. The government should not rescue the willfully ignorant from the foreseeable consequences of their inaction.

• Anti-libertyHB 338relative to prescription drug assistance for individuals with diabetes.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill creates (but does not fund) a new taxpayer-funded benefit.

  * Shifting the cost of pharmaceuticals to New Hampshire taxpayers is a band-aid approach to a problem caused by federal and state interference in the marketplace. The answer is not to introduce additional market distortons for a select group of citizens.
  * Medicaid insulin coverage is already just a $1 co-pay for up to a 90-day supply.

• Anti-libertyHB 436relative to group II retirement under transition provisions in the retirement system.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill expands the retirement benefits paid in the retirement system.

  * This bill grows the bill to New Hampshire taxpayers by $25 million per year to fatten the state retirement plan.
  * The New Hampshire Retirement System (NHRS) reported an unfunded liability of $5.69 billion as of December 2022. This bill further piles on the debt to NH citizens.

• Pro-libertyHB 44relative to permissible residential units in a residential zone.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill would reduce the conditions under which a municipality may prohibit a property owner from exercising their private property rights.

  * Government is most accountable and accessible when it is most local. Local control is generally preferable to state or national mandates. There is a higher principle, however: the principle of individual liberty. Indeed, the most "local" governance of all is the governance of an individual over his or her own life and property. This bill slightly reduces the ability of a political subdivision to infringe on the rights of property owners.
  * The right of property owners to make their own choices about their property should be respected. Increasing housing flexibility benefits everyone.
  * Lack of suitable housing in New Hampshire may be relieved if property owners have the freedom to build multi-unit homes on their parcels.

• Anti-libertyHB 45establishing a committee to study student loan forgiveness in New Hampshire.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill would form a committee to study student loan forgiveness options in New Hampshire.

  * There is no pro-liberty purpose for this study committee. Private businesses that would like to offer student loan forgiveness to attract talent may already do so without the permission of the state. Taxpayer-funded student loan forgiveness programs shift costs that individuals take on voluntarily to taxpayers — many of whom themselves did not choose to take on such debt.

• Anti-libertyHB 489establishing a county tourism development fund administered by the department of business and economic affairs and making an appropriation therefor.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill establishes a county tourism development fund administered by the Department of Business and Economic Affairs and makes an appropriation therefor. The bill also establishes a county tourism grant program funded from tax on meals and rooms income.

  * Tourism in New Hampshire already has state and local investments. This bill adds cost for nothing of substance.
  * This bill attempts to take money from taxpayers to promote the state without stipulating any objective performance requirements for the monies spent. This is not behavior in which most responsible individuals or businesses would engage and should not be tolerated from our government.

• Pro-libertyHB 498requiring fish and game officers to obtain a warrant to conduct a search and seizure.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill requires conservation officers to obtain a search warrant for conducting certain enforcement operations.

  * Conservation officers do not have more important tasks to carry out than any other law enforcement official that should permit them to be able to operate above the law and the Constitution.
  * Conservation officers have also been tasked with enforcement of other laws, in particular, motor vehicle laws (RSA 206:26,XV).
  * In both the United States Constitution 4th and 5th Amendments as well as in the New Hampshire Constitution, Part First, Article 19, the government is prohibited from warrantless, unreasonable searches and people cannot be compelled to testify against themselves in a criminal proceeding. Unlike the other law enforcement agencies in the state, including the State Police that require probable cause, Fish and Game can detain and search under the far lower standard of 'reasonable and articulable suspicion'. This bill is necessary to ensure that all of the citizens of New Hampshire are treated equally under the law.

• Anti-libertyHB 529relative to additional aid grants for schools based on free and reduced price meals and fiscal capacity disparity.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill establishes two additional aid grants for schools.

  * In 2021 alone, the state spent $649,510,185.66 in education grants. Instead of inflating this budget, it should be reduced (<a href=https://www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/2020-04/ad_ed_aid_fy2021.pdf>www.education.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt326/files/inline-documents/2020-04/ad_ed_aid_fy2021.pdf</a>).
  * In the United States, 60% of households do not have children under 18 living at home. They have no present, or potentially ever had, a need for public education services and should not be forcefully taxed to pay for them. <a href=https://www.statista.com/statistics/242074/percentages-of-us-family-households-with-children-by-type/> www.statista.com/statistics/242074/percentages-of-us-family-households-with-children-by-type</a>

• Anti-libertyHB 531relative to the taxation of tobacco and nicotine products.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill directs the commissioner of the Department of Revenue Administration to annually set the tobacco and nicotine tax based on the rates charged by neighboring states (MA, VT, and ME), and directs the commissioner to produce a report detailing the uses of such taxes.

  * The New Hampshire advantage exists due in part to our low taxes and as such, people from all over the Northeast and the country patronize New Hampshire.
  * The present 65% tax rate on tobacco products is already uncharacteristically punitive of New Hampshire and should not be capable of being adjusted up based on the command of an un-elected bureaucrat.
  *If anything, taxes on tobacco and alcohol should be eliminated to further drive business, prosperity, and wealth into NH.

• Anti-libertyHB 57relative to the state minimum hourly rate.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill establishes a state-dictated minimum wage that automatically elevates each year.

  * Minimum wage laws decrease the number of entry-level jobs and make it harder for people of low skill to get their start in the workforce. The well-meaning carve out for younger employees adds a further barrier to older unskilled staff entering the workforce, potentially putting a path to employment forever out of their reach.
  * Higher wages for everyone are better accomplished through job creation — more jobs mean more competition to hire all workers.
  * Employers and employees should be free to negotiate the terms of employment without interference.
  * Economic conditions and cost of living vary dramatically across the state. A "one-size-fits-all" approach to a minimum wage will put unreasonable pressure on areas of the state with limited employment opportunities and lower costs of living.
  * The very idea of a minimum wage is patronizing and demeaning as it implies that individuals don't know how much they're worth and are incapable of negotiating with an employer.

• Anti-libertyHB 571relative to the cost of living adjustments for certain group II retirees in the New Hampshire retirement system.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill provides a substantial cost of living adjustment to certain group II retireees in the New Hampshire Retirement System.

  * New Hampshire State retirees do not receive automatic cost of living adjustments — such adjustments must be approved by the legislature. While there is no doubt that government policies have resulted in high inflation, New Hampshire taxpayers are not seeing their own wages increase at the rate provided for in this bill.
  * New Hampshire tax payers should not be forced to pay for an increase to an already generous defined benefit program.

• Anti-libertyHB 574re-establishing the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Farmers Market Nutrition Program. NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill establishes an additional inflationary entitlement program by expanding the WIC program.

  * Welfare programs are detrimental to the people who are on them and to the taxpayer. While reestablishing a Farmers Market Program for WIC recipients may sound nice, it will actually just be incentivizing buying overpriced food paid for by the taxpayer.
  * This may also result in farmers market food becoming more expensive due to the increase in demand as a result of the flood of new cash into the market. This is a double whammy for taxpayers, who are also forced to pay for this program.

• Pro-libertyHB 581repealing the controlled drug act and establishing a committee to study the policy and statutory changes necessary to implement the repeal.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill provides for an orderly end to the New Hampshire controlled drug act.

  * This bill would effectively end the failed drug war conducted by New Hampshire and allow for there to be a smooth transition with a legislative committee to accommodate the transition.
  * The drug war has claimed countless lives, endless destruction of property, and has resulted in an untold number of years of incarceration for innocent people who simply changed their consciousness.

• Pro-libertyHB 639relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations therefor.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill legalizes cannabis in New Hampshire.

  * This bill would increase personal freedom by allowing adults 21 and older to purchase, possess, transport, and give away (but not sell) up to four ounces of cannabis, twenty grams of concentrated cannabis, and infused products with 2000 milligrams of THC.
  * Legalization would not only prevent innocent people from having their lives significantly impacted by minor possession arrests, but would also reduce the expense of the criminal justice system, allowing police and prosecutors to focus on serious crimes where innocent people have been victimized.
  * Polls have consistently shown that a substantial majority of Granite Staters support legalizing cannabis (<a href=https://scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/689>scholars.unh.edu/survey_center_polls/689</a>).
  * A federal judge has recently ruled that prohibitions on firearms ownership simply for the use of cannabis is unconstitutional. While it is likely that further court battles on the topic remain, concerns expressed over the potential impact to gun rights are paternalistic.

• Anti-libertyHB 74relative to an employee's unused earned time.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill is an incremental encroachment on interactions between private individuals.

  * The freedom to contract is paramount in a free society, particularly between an employee and employer. This bill seeks to restrict the freedom to contract by forcing employers to pay an employee for unused earned time under certain conditions.

• Anti-libertyHR 8urging Congress to enact legislation regulating and banning certain semi-automatic assault weapons and large capacity ammunition feeding devices.YEA ITL
  Why

  This resolution urges congress to enact unconstitutional and ineffective laws relative to firearms.

  * All persons have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of themselves, their families, their property, and the state. The state of New Hampshire should not be urging members of congress to infringe upon the right to self-defense.

39 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Anti-libertyHB 260prohibiting the operation of motor vehicles by drivers with animals on their laps.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill prohibits operation of a motor vehicle while the driver has an animal of any size on his or her person.

  * This bill provides a pretext for police to stop a driver who is not demonstrating any unsafe or negligent driving behavior.

• Anti-libertyHB 324relative to campaign contributions and expenditures and making an appropriation therefor.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill establishes taxpayer-funded campaign financing for eligible candidates for governor and executive council.

  * Taxpayers should not be forced to pay for the campaign activities of any candidate, particularly those with whom they vigorously disagree.
  * While the bill initially appropriates only $1 to the newly created fund, this is a placeholder which will eventually be funded with taxpayer dollars.

• Anti-libertyHB 341establishing licensure for massage establishments.YEA ITL
  Why

  This bill requires licensure and inspection of massage establishments.

  * Currently, massage therapists need to be licensed to work legally in New Hampshire. This bill will now require massage establishments to also obtain a license. This will increase costs to small independent businesses both to obtain the new license as well as to allocate time to work with state inspectors.
  * This bill is attempting to fix a perceived law enforcement issue with unwarranted inspections that presume guilt executed by the Office of Professional Licensure and Certification.

• Pro-libertyHB 388relative to number plates for motor vehicles.NAY ITL
  Why

  This bill would allow private passenger vehicles to display only one number plate on the rear of the vehicle.

  * Many vehicle types do not include mounting brackets for a front plate, which requires owners to damage/drill into the bumper to install a mount. The state should not require owners to damage their vehicles. Alternately, some vehicle manufacturers often provide adhesive plate mounts to handle states that have a front plate requirement. These adhesive-based mounts may break free resulting in the plate becoming a hazard to other drivers.
  * 20 states in the US (up from 19 in 2018 with the addition of Ohio) and 9 (of 13) Canadian jurisdictions do not require front license plates at all while another 7 states do not require them depending on certain circumstances. Vermont no longer requires a unique front plate as of 2012. Rear-plate-only vehicles are already on our roads.

• Anti-libertyHB 420relative to the availability and funding for the dual and concurrent enrollment program by the community college system and making an appropriation therefor.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill expands taxpayer costs to cover more college classes for high school students while eliminating STEM as a requirement for the two courses already allowed.

  * This bill adds cost for low to no-impact benefit by removing the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math requirement for the two concurrent college classes already offered at taxpayer expense to high school students.
  * Pressure in high-school is at an all-time high. By further prematurely over-burdening our young people with college stress, we are not allowing for healthy development that would offer them the best chance to be successful in their future endeavors.
  * This bill unfairly forces all New Hampshire citizens to pay for the choices a few parents make before their students go to college.

• Anti-libertyHB 429requiring the offering of breakfast and lunch in all public and chartered public schools.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill expands education costs by requiring all schools in New Hampshire to serve lunch and breakfast.

  * 67 more schools in New Hampshire would be required to add staff, logistical management, product, storage, preparation, and serving facilities to support the required lunch and breakfast provision, which is a massive expansion on costs to be passed down to the respective school districts.
  * School districts can decide for themselves already if they would like to provide lunch or breakfast to students. There is no need for a state mandate.

• Anti-libertyHB 430relative to applications for the education freedom accounts program.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill requires students to have been enrolled in a public school for at least one year, unless they're going into kindergarten or first grade, to qualify for Education Freedom Accounts.

  * This anti-liberty bill attempts to take freedom away from families by removing their opportunity to avoid public schooling entirely.
  * Education Freedom Accounts exist to provide parents the freedom to choose by whom and where their children are educated.
  * The public money provided is intended for the students to achieve top-notch educational outcomes as set by their parents, not any particular system.
  * Parents hold the highest responsibility, and therefore authority, for guiding their children to their successes, not the state.

• Anti-libertyHB 487establishing a New Hampshire farm-to-school reimbursement program.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill establishes a New Hampshire farm-to-school reimbursement program to provide children in public school with subsidized maple syrup and other local farm products.

  * Local school districts already have the option of running farm-to-school programs that take into account the needs of the students and the availability of appropriate food from farms. A state taxpayer-funded program is not needed.
  * Subsidy of local farm products provides an incentive for schools to purchase food that may be different from the dietary choices that the students are willing to make, potentially increasing food waste.
  * The proposed committee amendment to this bill grows the allocated funding for this program from $195,000 to $745,000 (nearly a 4x increase before the bill has even passed), reminding us that even low-cost state funding programs will tend to grow to consume all available funding.

• Anti-libertyHB 597relative to race and ethnicity data on driver's licenses, and race and ethnicity data collection.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill adds self-identified race and ethnicity as optional information that may be included on a driver's license and nondriver's picture identification card and requires law enforcement agencies to collect such data.

  * When the government is given the ability to easily identify the race or ethnicity of their population, there has historically been a negative outcome. While we might imagine the state only using such data for positive purposes, such a system is equally likely to be abused.
  * Having law enforcement agencies collect this information is especially problematic given the history of the police as it pertains to race.

• Anti-libertyHB 620establishing a department of early childhood education and relative to a pre-kindergarten pilot program.NAY OTP/A
  Why

  This bill establishes an executive branch department of early childhood education and creates a new taxpayer-funded pre-kindergarten program.

  * Though this bill only seeks to create a pilot program, the intended outcome is to establish a constituency for a new taxpayer-funded program that will grow in scope and costs in the coming years.
  * While the statement of findings makes a claim of the long-term benefits of such programs, randomized studies of similar programs demonstrate that any of the perceived benefits are inconsistent and/or short-lived and vanish by first grade (<a href=https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/head-start-impact-study-final-report-executive-summary>www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/head-start-impact-study-final-report-executive-summary</a>).

• Anti-libertyHB 626requiring the department of education to administer the education freedom account.NAY OTP
  Why

  This bill changes the administration of the Education Freedom account from non-profit scholarship organizations to the Department of Education.

  * The Department of Education would have to expend taxpayer funds to set up staff and infrastructure that the non-profit scholarship organization already has in place with no clear return on investment. Costs to adminster the program would, over time, grow as expensive taxpayer-funded retirement programs are expanded to provide benefits to the additional staff who would run the program.

22 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

• Pro-libertySB 119relative to criminal background checks for charitable games of chance license applicants.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill exempts members of charitable organizations who do not participate directly in the operation of games of chance from background and criminal records checks.

  * This bill enhances access for people to charitable organizations by reducing the barrier to entry.
  * Reducing this unnecessary restriction allows for those who may not pass a background check to participate in charitable organizations, which may provide a rehabilitative opportunity.

• Pro-libertySB 19relative to bingo dates.YEA OTP
  Why

  This bill increases the permitted number of game dates of bingo allowed for licensees each month and within each calendar year.

  * With the exception of a role to address fraud, the state should have no role in regulating bingo games that people consent to participate in. If the state is to be engaged in it though, it should increase the number of licenses allowed.
  *An improvement would be to remove the licensing system for bingo games altogether, or to increase the amount of licenses such that the number of licenses that could be obtained is essentially unlimited.
  * Bingo is disproportionately played by the elderly community; allowing for more bingo will encourage the retirement community in NH to flourish and promote more prosperity and happiness in NH.

• Pro-libertySB 192relative to the hours that Lucky 7 tickets may be sold.YEA OTP/A
  Why

  This bill allows Lucky 7 tickets sold in conjunction with bingo games to be sold starting at 8 a.m. instead of noon.

  * Charitable organizations should be free to run fundraising events at any time they choose. This bill slightly relaxes state-imposed restrictions.
  * The NH lottery allows for online gambling 24 hours a day. The state should not use its monopoly to restrict the actions of charitable organizations further than restrictions that it imposes on itself.

17 bills with no position.

Read the full Gold Standard

NHLA took no position on any of the 8 bills up for a vote.

NHLA took no position on any of the 4 bills up for a vote.

NHLA took no position on any of the 5 bills up for a vote.