Dozens of supporters of a bill that would offer paid family and medical leave for private-sector employees gathered at the State House on Wednesday to share personal stories in one last push to save the legislation.
The bill would establish a state-run program to provide up to six weeks of paid leave, which could be used to care for a new baby or a relative with a serious illness.
Legislators are set to decide the bill’s fate Thursday. Early recommendations indicate Senate lawmakers may send the bill back to committee, a tactic often used as a way to effectively kill legislation.
But the State House event Wednesday focused not on parliamentary maneuvering but on supporters’ stories of how a lack of paid leave has affected their lives.
“Our utilities were shut off. Our refrigerator was bare, and our arms were empty,” said Nancy Glynn, a mother from Manchester who said that paid medical leave would have helped after the loss of her child. “We were never able to give Sawyer a proper funeral.”
Nikki Casey of Nashua, who has struggled with addiction, said a family and medical leave insurance program would be a critical tool in combating New Hampshire’s opioid crisis.
“My recovery would have been a lot easier if I had been able to take the time I needed to get better without the fear of losing my job and the income I rely on,” said Casey, who is now the director of a recovery center.
Supporters say the program is also essential to strengthen the state’s workforce and care for an aging population.
But opponents have argued it’s unsustainable and there remain too many questions. Republican Gov. Chris Sununu came out against the plan, saying more research is needed.
Amid fears the proposal will be put out to pasture, supporters hoped their presence Wednesday would put pressure on lawmakers to reconsider the plan. Many dismissed the idea of studying the proposal as a ruse to kill off the plan.
On Wednesday, hours ahead of the bill’s final vote on the Senate floor, Democrats ramped up attacks on the governor, who they say reversed on his commitment with the bill.
Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn, D-Whitefield, claimed in a news release that the governor “cut a secret deal with insurance company lobbyists and the out-of-state Koch brothers to try to sink bipartisan family and medical leave insurance legislation.” Woodburn offered no evidence to support the charge.
Other supporters of the bill kept a more positive tone.
“I urge the Senate to let these stories drive their policy,” said Amanda Sears, director of the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, a group that campaigns for working families’ rights. “This bill would help families when they are experiencing the joy of welcoming a newborn into their lives, or the heartbreak of helping their spouses through their last days.”
(Ethan DeWitt contributed to this report.)