Wednesday marked the sixth annual Hot Dog Day and the end of the 2018 legislative session. Lawmakers and staff exited the chambers about 1 p.m. for the cookout on the State House lawn.
The tradition started in 2012 when Rep. John Burt, a Goffstown Republican, became involved in House Bill 1711, which would have removed the requirement for a burn permit to have a campfire or cooking fire on one’s property.
“We should not need a permit to enjoy time with your children or grandchildren on your property,” Burt said at the time. The bill left committee with a 16-1 recommendation to kill it.
Burt was so invested in passing the bill that he implored House members to overturn the committee’s recommendation and invited anyone who voted in favor of the bill to a cookout, he explained in a 2013 video. “I’m going to have a small cooking fire on my property, without a permit, for you to stop by and have a hot dog with me,” he said.
And thus the seed of hot dog day was planted.
“Well, what happened is it was my first term, and I did not realize that you couldn’t bribe reps,” Burt said on Wednesday.
Burt explained it was after he left the House floor, “somebody came up to me and said, ‘You just broke the law,’ ” Burt said. Laughing about how he thought his story might make national headlines for being arrested for a bribe over a campfire, Burt walked back his offer.
A couple weeks later, Burt said, he stood up in front of the chamber where he recognized his mistake, said it was all a joke and opened the invitation to everyone in the State House, including employees – more than 800 people according to his count.
Burt started collecting money to host the event, but by those same ethics standards, this was seen as a potentially illegal campaign donation. Burt was ordered to give the money back or donate it to a nonprofit. In the video, Burt said for the second annual Hot Dog Day in 2013 he partnered with the Merrimack-Concord County SPCA, because, he explained, “I’m a huge dog lover.” He was able to abide by all the campaign finance laws and still ended up donating $5,000 to the animal group.
“So that’s how the idea for Hot Dog Day came about: it was over a campfire,” Burt said.
The campfire bill ultimately failed in the House, 186-135, but ever since, Burt has handed out hot dogs to legislators and state employees on the State House lawn each year.
“It’s been over seven years,” Burt said. “And over the last six years, six different dog groups have raised over $26,000.”
This year, Canine Commitment of New England, based out of New Boston, was the nonprofit dog rescue group of choice. Puppies were up for adoption, and information about the group was readily available to Hot Dog Day guests.
Ross Norwood, executive director for Canine Commitment, said Burt reached out to her personally and invited them to join in on Hot Dog Day.
“It’s a lot about visibility for us. We don’t really have trouble finding homes for dogs in New Hampshire, typically,” Norwood said, noting that Burt recently adopted a dog from the group. Norwood wasn’t sure how much money Canine Commitment was expecting to raise but was very thankful to Burt for the opportunity.
The more than 1,200 hot dogs supplied were donated by North Country Smokehouse with Burt’s wife, Phyllis, cooking them on a propane grill – not an open campfire, although there was one nearby. Phyllis Burt also said ice cream was available this year for the first time.
One point of emphasis for Burt was that the supplies for the event were donated and not a single tax dollar was used. But more important to him was the sense of community when lawmakers get out from under the State House dome.
“I want to show that with Hot Dog Day that we can come out here and be friends, because we do fight in there, sadly, and I think we can come out and be friends,” he said.