March 9, 2018 - Bow, NH
The House made significant progress on its backlog of legislation this week but with snow forcing cancellation of Thursday’s session, a good number of legislative proposals now won’t come up until March 15. With the deadline of March 22 for bills to go to the Senate, the House has its work cut out for it.
In a Nutshell As always there is a mix of the good and the not-so-good in reviewing House actions. Highlights from the Consent Calendar include legislative deaths for HB 1803 (banning payroll deductions for union dues or any non-governmental entities) and HB 1608 (banning compensation for public employees on leave). The former would have caused great harm for United Way, AFLAC, etc. along with labor unions, while the latter would violate provisions in many collective bargaining agreements and remove the issue from local control. HB 1603, authorizing an employee representative on the investment committee of the NHRS did pass, thereby offering at least a small opportunity for voicing the concerns of those who pay into the retirement system and for whom the system exists. Lastly, a series of bills passed that adding to existing reporting requirements and accountability on the part of public schools. In and of itself, that may be fine, but it must be paired with the simultaneous rejection of even a modest increase in accountability for home-schoolers or increasing the required percentage of certified or experienced teachers in charter schools. Then there is also SB 193, which still contains virtually no accountability for home-schoolers or private schools benefitting from public funds. Just a smidge of inconsistency there!