June 13: Bills signed, vetoed and overridden

The to and fro between the New Hampshire Legislature and Gov. Maggie Hassan continued this week with bill signings, a veto, the threat of a veto, and an override.

The override, the first of this legislative session, concerned a bill that would have permitted labels on alcohol bottles — particularly beer bottles — to feature the images of children.

The Legislature had passed HB 122 to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages with images of children on their labels. Hassan, in her veto message last week, said: “In changing the way that we regulate, and in some cases loosening restrictions on referring to minors in the advertisement and sale of alcoholic beverages, House Bill 122 could undermine our efforts to prevent underage drinking.”

House members on Thursday reached the necessary two-thirds threshold to override the veto. Senators must also vote on whether to override the veto. And the state’s Liquor Commission would have to approve or deny labels under the law. See a Concord Monitor story here.

Friday’s veto was of HB 603, which allows students to opt out of standardized testing. “This bill would conflict with current state educational accountability laws, undercut one of the tools that educators use to evaluate K-12 student progress, and jeopardize federal funding for New Hampshire schools,” Hassan said in her veto message.

The veto threat was for this week was for SB 179, which has passed both the Republican-controlled Senate and House. It’s establishes a 30-day residency requirement for voters. A rally on Thursday in Concord by Democratic lawmakers and voting rights advocates encouraged the Democratic governor to veto it.

Her office telegraphed she would veto it with a statement expressing concern that the bill violates constitutional rights. “Governor Hassan supports the constitutional right of all people living in New Hampshire to vote and believes that we should ensure that people who are legally living in New Hampshire are not blocked from voting,” the statement said. Seen an NHPR story here.

The governor signed the following pieces of legislation:

• HB 354, relative to the closing of clam, oyster, and other bivalve areas in Great Bay for restoration: “The Great Bay is one of our state’s natural treasures, critical to our economy and our high quality of life, and we must do everything that we can to protect its magnificent yet fragile ecosystem,” Hassan said in a statement;
• HB 205, relative to lending practices of energy efficiency and clean energy districts. “As we work to reduce energy costs and build a more affordable, reliable and innovative energy future, we know that a successful long-term strategy must include stepping up our energy efficiency efforts and supporting small-scale clean energy projects,” her statement said;
• SB 244, relative to abuse and neglect investigations and establishing a commission to review child abuse fatalities. “We must always be working to do everything that we can to prevent child abuse and neglect so that every child can secure their fundamental right to be safe, to be cared for and loved, and to seize his or her vast potential. Senate Bill 244 helps ensure that all of our children have this opportunity, giving state officials another tool to help prevent child abuse,” the governor said in her statement;
• HB 520, which, in her statement, Hassan said “creates important protections that will help keep students’ personal online information secure, a critical step to ensuring that we maintain privacy while helping our young people compete in the innovation economy.”  The measure prevents students from having to disclose social media passwords to school administrators.

The governor has already signed the so-called Balsams Bill, but she announced a Friday trip to Dixville Notch in the North Country to do a ceremonial signing of SB 30 on location at the Balsams Resort. The measure allows the establishment of redevelopment in unincorporated districts so that the developers who are renovating the Balsams can qualify for a state-backed loan.

Meanwhile, work continues in the Committee of Conference to find common ground among House members and senators for crafting a new two-year state budget. At last count, the governor’s proposed budget was $11.5 billion, the House proposed budget was $11.2 billion, and the Senate’s proposed budget was $11.3 billion.

The clock is ticking because the current budget expires on June 30. raising concerns that without a budget state government would have to shut down. But In a joint statement Wednesday, Senate President Chuck Morse and House Speaker Shawn Jasper said leaders in state government are doing everything in their power to make sure a budget is passed before the deadline. See an NHPR story here.

And head on over to our Facebook page for continued lively discussion on a variety of topics.

We’ll see you back here next week.

Live Free or Die Alliance

www.livefreeordiealliance.org