Thoughts from the House Floor
In committee
Another week of legislating has come and gone in New Hampshire. It was, to be blunt, a depressing slog.
But I'm doing my best to not lose hope and to not burn out. Which takes me to the NH House Transportation Committee meeting of last Tuesday.
In the morning we heard testimony on HB368, prohibiting smoking or vaping in a car if kids are inside. Or we were supposed to. The prime sponsor didn't show up to introduce the bill (turns out it was a medical thing, but no one knew at the time). And so in the afternoon we debated what our recommendation should be. Typically that doesn't happen on the same day, but this time we moved forward with it.
Opposition was hardly a surprise. There are plenty of reasons – some good and some terrible – to oppose the bill. Eventually the conversation came around to the fact that this would be a secondary offense. That significantly limits enforcement opportunities. And one of the members suggested that, because it was only a secondary offense, it was not worth pursuing.
He closed his speech with a simple question, "What the hell is the point?"
I was sitting on the sidelines of this debate. But that line of reasoning pissed me off. And so I spoke up.
The point is we make incremental improvements. We help protect the people we can, when we can and where we can.
It's not going to be a panacea. None of these are, but we help the people we can, especially those who can't help themselves, when and where we can.
I know I'm going to be on the losing side of most votes this term. We certainly lost on that one, and many others this week. But the concept remains sound: We help where and when we can.
It is incredibly challenging to summon the energy to do so against the backdrop of the absolute disaster also unfolding at the national level. And the level to which any individual can make a difference is certainly limited. But if we give up on trying then, indeed, What the hell is the point?
A session of losses
The week also saw the first real floor session of the year, with action on 47 bills. Nearly half of them were disposed in the opening minutes, as 23 took the recommendation of their committee via the consent calendar.
Three others were withdrawn, including HB476 – the 15-week abortion ban – with overwhelming support. That was a good win, though it also involved some procedural chicanery.
And another 21 saw debate on the floor.
There was a Sanctuary City bill (HB511) that passed nearly unanimously. And it is, in many ways, a terrible bill. But guided by the principle of helping when and where I can, I ultimately followed the caucus advice and joined in voting to pass it. Getting this bill approved in this form – significantly toned down from the original – was the best we could deliver for our constituents. Sometimes harm reduction is all we can secure.
Beyond that were several losses. A bill demanding "evidence-based" curriculum in public schools (HB129) passed, but NH will continue to ignore the evidence around climate change, refusing even to study its impacts on the state (HB106). Other climate-related bills that moved through along party lines – bad news for Granite Staters – were HB189, HB306, and HB526. The last two lost on procedural plays rather than outright defeat.
A trio of bills (HB60, HB444, HB623) also passed, all of which will further stress the housing market in New Hampshire and increase the likelihood of residents becoming under or unhoused.
One of the other bills debated on the floor was HB133, a voter suppression bill hiding under the guise of compliance with drivers license rules. It passed along party lines, as expected. But it also gave me my first opportunity to speak on the floor.
Not my best performance, but I'm happy to have that out of the way and look forward to more as the session progresses.
A fun little win
Finally, an amusing reminder that understanding parliamentary rules matters.
At the end of the day Hope Damon offered a floor speech under Unanimous Consent.
This is essentially open mic time for members to raise awareness of things on the floor. In this case it was about respecting the feedback our committees receive via online submissions. Another member of the Democratic caucus moved that the speech be printed in the official record of the session; that it not automatic for UC speeches. And a Republican objected. Which was probably not the smartest thing to do.
The objection triggers a vote, but dozens of the Republicans had already left the room. The remaining Democrats forced it to a roll call vote, meaning each member's position is on record. Despite the Speaker providing a bit of extra time for members to get back into the room the final tally was 164-105 in favor of recording the speech.
It is a silly win, but at this point I'll take what we can get.
Up Next
Next week one of my bills will be heard in the Transportation Committee. HB249 legalizes the Safety Stop (a/k/a the Idaho Stop) for cyclists in NH. I think it stands a decent chance of getting out of committee, and I have some strong support from residents I've worked with to get the word out. Here's hoping...