04/03/2022
Support Reproductive Rights!
SUPPORT HB1673, relative to the scope of the fetal life protection act.
By Wednesday:
1. Sign into the Senate Remote Testimony tool to voice your support.
2.Select:
Thursday, April 7th on the calendar
Senate Judiciary Committee
10:00 am - HB1673.
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Info on HB1673
On Thursday April 7th, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a public hearing on HB1673, which would alter the mandatory ultrasound requirement included in the third trimester abortion ban passed by Republicans last year.
HB1673 was filed in the House to repeal the ultrasound mandate and abortion ban. In a late night session on March 16, 2022, the House of Representatives overturned a bipartisan Committee amendment (175-177) and stripped the language on the floor to leave the state abortion ban intact. HB1673 now goes to the Senate with only language that clarifies the ultrasound mandate provision.
HB1673 narrows the situations under within which an ultrasound must be used to establish gestational age prior to an abortion. This bill would limit the requirement to those cases where the health provider knows or has substantial reason to believe the gestational age of the fetus is 24 weeks or more. Under the current late-term abortion ban passed last year, an ultrasound is required for all abortions.
Legislative Update
From Last Week
Crossover Day happened last Thursday. The bills that are going to make their way from the House to the Senate and vice versa have done so and now those bodies will begin work on them. The end of session will happen quickly. All bills must be acted on by the House and Senate by May 5th. After May 5th, the Committee of Conference process happens for bills that have been amended.
SB418 - In the Senate last week, all but one member of the Senate Republican caucus voted to adopt SB 418, a bill that disenfranchises the vote of our Armed Services members serving overseas, runs afoul of the Constitution, and effectively adopts provisional ballot voting in New Hampshire.
After the vote, Senate Democratic Leader Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) issued the following statement: “This bill is premised on the false and dangerous narrative that New Hampshire Elections are not safe, secure, or trustworthy, despite there being zero evidence of any widespread voter fraud in New Hampshire. Most alarmingly, this bill will disenfranchise members of our Armed Forces serving overseas With our late primary, passage of SB 418 will delay the Secretary of State’s ability to comply with federal law, and we will effectively be disenfranchising the ability of our military personnel serving overseas to vote. New Hampshire courts have repeatedly and resoundingly rejected claims that systemic voter fraud exists in New Hampshire and have held that it does not create a compelling state interest. Here in New Hampshire, we do elections right. If we adopt provisional ballots–which is exactly what this bill does–and we have election results come out and then change them 10 days later, it impairs our stature as the First-in-the-Nation Presidential Primary, and undermines our credibility. This bill would needlessly erode confidence in our elections,” said Sen. Soucy.
State Representative David Meuse (D-Portsmouth summarizes last week's House session results here. Below are some highlights from Rep. Meuse on one of last week's Action Item bills and Republican shenanigans.
ENVIRONMENT
HR17, a non-binding House resolution opposing all federal and state efforts to establish a carbon tax on fuels for electricity and transportation, was passed 178-159. While no one is a big fan of taxes, a carbon tax is potentially an effective approach to begin moving away from our dependence on fossil fuels, reducing pollution and greenhouse gases, and insulating residents of a state with no oil wells, gas fields, or coal mines from future fossil fuel price shocks. With climate change, New Hampshire is facing a future where taxes may unfortunately be the least of our worries. Burying our heads in the sand and passing meaningless resolutions does nothing to better prepare us.
SHENANIGANS AND GENERAL MAYHEM
HB1627, a bill establishing an administrative position to oversee education freedom accounts (aka school vouchers), was passed 204-131. The bill received bipartisan support and sailed through the Finance Committee, but had to survive two tabling motions and five failed attempts from Free Stater legislators and their allies to amend it with conservative priorities taken from other bills before it was finally approved - much to the relief of a hopping mad Finance Committee chairwoman. The attempt to kill the bill was part of a time-consuming tactic by a group of conservative GOP legislators who found themselves in the minority and were attempting to derail a bill with broad bipartisan support. More from New Hampshire Bulletin.
