Politics
Drive Free or Die? NH considers restricting pets in cars
By HOLLY RAMER
New Hampshire is the only state that allows adults to drive without wearing seatbelts. Want to use your dog instead? Go for it, for now.While the state currently has no lapdog-related laws, the Legislature is considering a bill that would make it...
Cities, towns hoping state will make retirement contributions permanent
By ETHAN DeWITT
When New Hampshire lawmakers consolidated the state’s public retirement systems in 1967, they offered cities and towns a deal: Add municipal employees to the system, and the state would pick up 35 percent of the cost.At the time, the offer was deemed...
On the trail: Two weeks until DNC vote on presidential primary
By PAUL STEINHAUSER
Time is running out for New Hampshire Democrats in their campaign to keep the Granite State’s cherished first-in-the-nation presidential primary status in the Democratic National Committee’s nominating calendar for 2024.The full DNC is scheduled to...
Lawmakers spar over bills to expand or restrict Education Freedom Account program
By EILEEN O’GRADY
Republican lawmakers are seeking to expand the eligibility for the state’s Education Freedom Accounts program that allows lower-income students to use state dollars for non-public types of education, including private and parochial schools.Meanwhile,...
From where does state budget money come?
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
While lawmakers have filed over 800 bills addressing big issues such as abortion, education reform, climate change, and parental rights, their top priority will be passing a budget by July.Gov. Chris Sununu, whose proposal is due by Feb. 15, has...
Supporters seek to overturn bill stopping abortions at 24 weeks
By ANDREW SYLVIA
On Thursday morning, the Planned Parenthood New Hampshire Action Fund and other reproductive rights supporters held an event in the lobby of the New Hampshire Legislative Office Building advocating for the Access to Abortion Care Act.Upon the 50th...
Bid to alter NH's open primary system fails in committee
By RICK GREEN
A N.H. House committee on Tuesday unanimously recommended that the full House reject a bill that would alter the state’s open primary system.The House Election Law Committee voted 19-0 against House Bill 101, likely killing the measure.The proposal...
Cannabis legalization bill back in Legislature
By ETHAN DEWITT
Efforts to legalize cannabis in New Hampshire are coming back this legislative session, after years of legislative defeats.Lawmakers have tried simple legalization bills and complex legislation. Both approaches have crashed against opposition in the...
On the trail: Meet veteran political adviser helping New Hampshire Democrats save presidential primary
By PAUL STEINHAUSER
New Hampshire Democrats face major challenges as they try to save the state’s cherished first-in-the-nation presidential primary status in their national party’s nominating calendar. Now, they’re getting an assist from a veteran strategist with strong...
New Hampshire considers mandating cursive, communism history
By HOLLY RAMER
Communism and cursive would be part of the mandatory curriculum in New Hampshire schools under a pair of bills harking back to bygone eras of history and handwriting.The House Education Committee held public hearings Wednesday on Republican bills to...
House weighs making New Hampshire primaries closed to independent voters
By ETHAN DEWITT
New Hampshire lawmakers are weighing a bill to end the state’s tradition of open primaries by requiring residents to register with a political party at least four months before the state primaries in order to vote in that primary. House Bill 101 would...
Lawmakers consider raising primary filing fee or signatures
By ETHAN DEWITT
A trio of Republican House lawmakers are pushing to raise the entry requirements for candidates in New Hampshire party primaries, requiring significantly more money or signatures to get onto a primary ballot.But the measure has attracted opposition...
State audit of open-source voting machine gives thumbs-up, mostly
By DAVID BROOKS
The open-source software worked well but the hardware had a few issues.That’s the conclusion from audits of a new ballot-counting machine that was tested in three New Hampshire towns during the November election. The device, developed by a nonprofit...
Lawmaker withdraws right-to-know fee bill
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
A Newmarket lawmaker has withdrawn a bill that would have added as much as a $15 hourly charge to search for, redact, and provide public records requested under the state’s right-to-know law. Currently the law allows public offices to charge only for...
Senate Republicans remain opposed to pot legalization
By RICK GREEN
Marijuana legalization, favored by many New Hampshire residents, was not on the legislative agenda state Senate Republicans rolled out in a news conference Wednesday after lawmakers began their annual session.A bipartisan bill being drafted in the...
Confident Sununu calls for cooperation, local control
By HOLLY RAMER
Republican Gov. Chris Sununu was sworn in for a fourth term Thursday, exuding confidence and calling for increased cooperation, civic engagement and local control.Sununu defeated Democrat Tom Sherman in November, becoming only the second governor in...
NH political leaders want Democratic Party to call off attack on first-in-the-nation primary
By WILL WEISSERT
New Hampshire Democrats on Thursday asked the national party not to “punish” them while overhauling its 2024 presidential primary calendar, arguing that implementing the proposed shakeup may amount to a “poison pill” against their state's traditional...
Housing, child care to get special attention this session
By ETHAN DEWITT
House Speaker Sherman Packard will launch special legislative committees on housing and child care next year, bringing new focus to two persistent issues for the state.The special committees will join the House’s 24 existing standing committees and...
In a new legislative session, everything old is new
By AMANDA GOKEE, ETHAN DEWITT and ANNMARIE TIMMINS
It’s a new legislative year and a new Legislature, and once again New Hampshire’s lawmakers have carved out a daunting workload. The House and Senate will take up more than 800 unique bills this year.Lawmakers are likely to spar over many of the same...
McCarthy fails in marathon votes for speaker, House adjourns
By LISA MASCARO, FARNOUSH AMIRI and KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON — Failing to elect party leader Kevin McCarthy as the new speaker of the House, Republicans adjourned in disarray Tuesday night, ending a raucous first day of the new Congress but hoping to somehow regroup on Wednesday from his historic...
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