The New Hampshire Senate has less than three weeks left to pass the budget, and budget writers are getting to work.

In the meantime, lawmakers are still deciding the fates of other policies: including annual car inspections, mandatory minimums on fentanyl-related crimes and the rights of parents in their children’s education.

Here’s what you need to know.

This past week

■State senators, unable to agree on a path forward for annual car inspections, reluctantly tanked a bill that would’ve eliminated them altogether. Republicans have sought to pass such legislation for years but said the language isn’t ready yet. The Senate voted, 19-3, to send it back to a committee for further consideration next year.

■What did pass the Senate was House Bill 324, which would outlaw “obscene or harmful” sexual content in school materials. Attacked by Democrats as a statewide book ban, the measure was viewed by Republicans as a necessary step to protect children and families. If signed by the governor, it’ll also establish a process for school districts to handle those types of complaints.

■The House Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety is still hammering out the details of how to employ mandatory minimum sentencing on fentanyl-related crimes. An amendment from Republican Rep. Terry Roy would include a “safety valve” to retain judicial discretion in certain cases, but Democrats favored keeping even more leeway for judges. More discussions are to come this week as lawmakers look at softening the provisions in Senate Bill 14.

The week ahead

■The Senate Finance Committee meets every day this week to deliberate on the next state budget, with the latter half focusing on health and human services. They’re set to convene Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 1:30 p.m., Wednesday at 11 a.m. and Thursday at 2:30 p.m.

■On Thursday, May 22, the House and Senate will meet for voting sessions at 10 a.m. They’ll handle bills on local zoning and housing authority, highway safety and delineating the rights of parents in their children’s education.

For more information on the budget process and other inner workings of the State House, check out our 2025 Legislative Guide.

For a detailed unpacking of weekly news from the State House, subscribe to my newsletter, Capital Beat. Please contact me if you have questions of tips about anything going on in the Legislature.

 

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.