PA Bill Number: HB917
Title: Adopting the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act.
Description: Adopting the Uniform Family Law Arbitration Act. ...
Last Action: Presented to the Governor
Last Action Date: Apr 29, 2024
New Hampshire Legislature to attempt override of governor's vetoes :: 09/16/2015
The New Hampshire Legislature goes back to the Statehouse this week for veto override day. Legislation covering parental notification of objectionable course material, an opt-out for state-wide assessments, a constitutional carry bill, and the state budget are among the agenda items.
HB332 addresses a hole in existing law where school districts are under no obligation to provide advance notice to parents of course material they may consider inappropriate. Parents who have protested the material after the child is exposed have been arrested, with court cases and lawsuits that follow. But HB332 prevents that by requiring districts to establish a policy to notifying parents of sexually explicit material in advance.
The governor took exception to HB332 claiming it, among other things, “aims to put in place additional barriers for New Hampshire students who decide to access education about sexual health.” Bill sponsor Victoria Sullivan, in her response to the governor, observed that “The barriers to which the governor refers to are Granite State parents.”
The governor again takes the side of the bureaucracy in her veto of HB603. This bill reinforces a parent’s right to refuse their child’s participation in any statewide assessment without schools penalizing students.
Watchdog Arena reported on state board of education efforts to discourage these opt-outs.
“…parents have no legal right to opt their children out, and so long as a student is in attendance at the school, they must report to their assigned classroom to take the assigned assessment, notwithstanding any objections or ultimatums by parents.”
But there are no laws in the state penalizing students who don’t take them, so many parents battled school administrators to opt their children out of the Smarter Balanced Assessment this year. Some parents had to hire an attorney to finally get their school administrators to recognize their parental rights. HB603 would alleviate that problem for parents in New Hampshire.
Education advocates are pushing hard with petition and “call your senator” campaigns, but Senate Democrats appear monolithic in their opposition. Like HB332, this veto stands unless Democratic Senators stay home, which is unlikely.
Constitutional carry is up for an override vote in the Granite State.
Both chambers passed SB116, which would allow residents who obtain a pistol and revolver license to carry and conceal the firearm. Currently New Hampshire law allows open carry without a license. One may also conceal an unloaded weapon as long as it remains unloaded until visible.
But one may not carry it loaded and concealed, or loaded in a vehicle, without a license. If one is carrying a firearm openly and they put on a jacket to protect themselves from the weather, they are violating the law. Anyone wishing to take advantage of reciprocity with other states would still need the license, but SB116 would remove local police chiefs, who are free to deny the license at will, from the loop.
The power of local police chiefs to discriminate based on whom they deem suitable is a key point in the ground war to pass the bill. In her veto response, the governor dismissed this, observing there is an appeal process when a permit is denied. If one wishes to exercise their Second Amendment right they must expend time and money–theirs and the public’s–to take the police chief to court.
The governor also vetoed the state budget, but there are rumors of backroom negotiations that might keep leadership from bringing the budget up for an override vote. Factions within the Statehouse on both sides see the veto as a chance to get concessions in a rewrite but the budget is on the House calendar, so a vote should be called.
Other vetoed bills up for an override vote this week include HB449, which changes rules for child support payments when dependents over 18 are pursuing a GED. HB550, the Planet Fitness bill, would remove a tax on initial public offerings by companies incorporated in the Granite State.
In all cases the state Senate is the roadblock to every veto override. Sympathetic Republicans are more likely to side with Democrats than the other way around. Advocates will continue to exert political pressure on Democrats and Republicans alike, but at the end of the day they should expect Gov. Hassan’s vetoes to stand.
