Rejoice, residents. You may now be able to coast downhill in your car, play bingo with your kids at a private campground and drink beer at a farmers market.
The Legislature has been hard at work this session. While most of the news coverage has focused on lawmakers’ efforts to address substance abuse, expand Medicaid and fund state retiree health benefits, they have also been making less splashy changes that residents might notice over the coming months.
Some are quite serious. One bill that passed the House and Senate would let terminally ill patients get access to investigational drugs. Others are bound to cause a stir, like one bill that would let the state charge seniors to use state parks on weekends.
Many are quirky, like one that raises the prize limit for children’s bingo games from $2 to $5. It’s more than a 100 percent increase, Manchester Sen. Lou D’Allesandro pointed out.
“Gotta think about that,” the Democrat joked during debate.
Not all proposals are set in stone. Last week marked the last chance for the Senate and House to vote on each other’s bills.
Now both chambers will be working to finalize proposals, and find compromise on controversial bills they haven’t been able to agree on. Those they do settle on will make their way to Gov. Maggie Hassan’s desk for signature.
Here are some of the bills that haven’t gotten as much attention this year.
Parking hike
Residents could be paying more to park at state parks on weekends and holidays once the legislative session is through. Lawmakers passed a bill, SB 510, that lets the department of resources and economic development increase parking fees at the parks on holidays and during “weekend days with high traffic rates.” Any change needs sign-off from the legislative fiscal committee. The bill is heading to Hassan’s desk.
Brewers market
You may start to see beer and wine at farmers markets later this summer. The Legislature signed off on a bill, SB 306, that lets people sample the spirits at local markets if the town or city approves. Sample size per person is four ounces of beer and two ounces of wine. This proposal still needs a signature before it becomes law.
Start coasting
Keep it under 15 miles per hour, and you can legally coast your vehicle down a hill under a measure approved by the Legislature. The House originally proposed repealing the ban on coasting downhill all together, but the Senate proposed the limits that only allow motorcycles and private passenger vehicles to do it at low speed. This bill still isn’t finalized.
Free ski
In the bill’s latest version, seniors can still ski for free at Cannon Mountain on weekdays. While the Legislature voted to end the perk earlier this year, the House reversed course last week. Still, the legislation would let the Department of Resources and Economic Development start charging residents over age 65 to enter state parks on weekends and holidays. They can currently show up for free. The Senate and House still have to agree on a final proposal.
Silent shot
Hunters may soon be able to use suppressors to shoot deer and other game. Lawmakers voted to repeal the state’s statute that bars hunters from using gun silencing devices.
Advocates said the proposal, HB 500, has been adopted in a number of states, and is meant to protect hunters’ hearing from the ringing sound of a firearm. But opponents said a suppressor, while it doesn’t completely silence a gunshot, could make it difficult for hikers or homeowners to know when hunters are in the woods. Hassan has yet to sign off on this proposal.
Fly away from the fence
As drones’ popularity takes off, lawmakers are seeking to limit their flight here. The House and Senate passed competing bills this year that restrict where people can fly their drones, specifically barring them from hovering over prisons, jails or other correctional facilities.
Officials have spotted drones flying over the men’s prison in Concord at least nine times in the last year. They are becoming concerned that the devices could be used to drop drugs, weapons or other contraband into the facility. It’s happened in other states, such as Ohio, where a drone dropped a package of contraband into a prison yard last year, sparking a brawl.
Members of the House and Senate have to negotiate a compromise on the drone guidelines before they can send them to Hassan’s desk.
B-I-N-G-O
Starting June 24, adults can play children’s bingo at private campgrounds and hotels. But don’t get too excited, grown-ups can’t claim a prize in the kids’ games.
The legislation is meant to allow parents and grandparents to participate in the bingo game while they are supervising their kids. Hassan signed the change into law, which also raises the potential payout in kids’ games from $2 to $5.
Beaming
Don’t point that laser pointer in someone’s eyes. The Legislature passed a bill this year that makes it a violation for people who knowingly shine the beam into an occupied motor vehicle, vessel, window or at a person. Turning the laser pointer toward an aircraft carries a harsher punishment.
Charge it to my tab
The City of Dover has taken the state to court over school funding, and it’s costing the Legislature.
The city filed suit last year arguing a state cap on education funding is unconstitutional and has cost the district roughly $14 million, which it is now seeking in back pay.
When the state Attorney General’s office declined to defend the cap last year, Republican legislative leaders – House Speaker Shawn Jasper and Senate President Chuck Morse – stepped up and intervened in the case.
Legal costs have totaled $20,000 so far, according to House Chief of Staff Terry Pfaff. The House and Senate have legal counsel.
Both the state and the Legislature argued against the back pay. The judge is expected to release a decision in the case by June 30.
The cap on education aid is unlikely to stick around for long anyway. The Legislature agreed to lift it in 2017, and then eventually do away with it altogether.
Show me the money
The state’s new governor elected this November will be the first required by law to report inaugural contributions.
Governors typically hold inaugural celebrations and collect donations to fund the festivities. While state leaders, including current Gov. Maggie Hassan, have disclosed some information about the fundraising, it can be kept private under current law. That changed this year, after Hassan signed a bill that requires an inaugural committee to file financial disclosures with the Secretary of State’s office in March and July.
Hassan held two inaugural balls in Manchester and in the North Country following her 2014 re-election. Top donors for the events included Public Service of New Hampshire, now known as Eversource Energy, and Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell, which each contributed $25,000, according to a list released at the time by Hassan’s inaugural committee.
Late night laugh
The nation had a laugh at Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s expense last week, when Stephen Colbert poked fun at her stance on Donald Trump’s presidential bid.
Ayotte recently told the media she would support, but not endorse, the New York businessman and presumptive GOP presidential nominee.
“Support but not endorse. She is holding multiple positions at the same time. She’s in some kind of political quantum state,” the Late Show host said to laughs. “It’s like Schrodinger’s cat, except that she would rather endorse a dead cat, than Donald Trump.”
Ayotte is running for re-election to her second term in the U.S. Senate in a competitive race against Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan.
The Republican didn’t endorse any candidates in the presidential primary here, and a spokesman said she isn’t planning to endorse anyone this cycle.
Republicans in New Hampshire have mixed emotions about Trump. Some have pledged to get behind him as the nominee, while others are writing him off.
It’s clear Ayotte will face more questions about his candidacy, especially as the November election approaches.
Making it official
Dunbarton Rep. JR Hoell announced Saturday that he plans to run for state Senate to replace outgoing Republican David Boutin. Boutin is one of at least six senators who won’t be running for re-election this year. That leaves one-quarter of the chamber’s 24 seats up for grabs. Hoell, a Republican, had been exploring a run.
Republican Rep. Joe Lachance of Manchester has said he is considering a run too. Lachance sponsored the bill this year to extend Medicaid expansion in New Hampshire for two more years.
Portrait unveiling
Lawmakers and advocates on Monday will unveil a portrait of Marilla Ricker, a New Hampshire suffragist and attorney. Her portrait will join more than 200 others along the State House walls, but it will become the eighth portrait in the building to feature a woman. The event will start at 3:30 p.m. in the State House.
What to watch
The House and Senate will soon start wrangling over bills they disagree on in meetings known as committees of conference. When the House and Senate can’t agree on a single proposal, they must work together to find a compromise before sending it to Hassan’s desk for signature. If they can’t reach consensus, the bill dies. Proposals to fund state retirees’ health care benefits and another to require drug prevention education in each grade, from kindergarten to grade 12, are likely to spur debate.