There are many important bills being introduced in this year’s legislative session. We are sharing our latest legislative update to help keep you informed. Chances are one of these bills impacts you personally. Please take a moment to review! (Photo Credit: Beth Scaer)
| Key Legislation Coming Up the Week of January 27: HB 1675-FN, Born-Alive Infant Protection WHEN: Wednesday, January 29, 1 p.m., Representatives Hall in State House (2nd floor), House Judiciary Committee CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone SUPPORTS HB 1675-FN. WHY: Children who survive attempted abortion, who are born alive, ought to be treated no differently than any other prematurely-born child of comparable gestational development. It’s time to spell that out under New Hampshire law, complete with penalties for abortion providers who refuse to comply. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Attend the hearing on Wednesday, January 29 at 1 p.m. in Representatives Hall at the State House. Plan to stay for the hearing immediately afterward on HB 1678-FN (see below). If you can’t attend, contact the House Judiciary Committee to encourage an “ought to pass” recommendation on HB 1675-FN. The formal title of the bill is “relative to the right of any infant born alive to medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment.” |
HB 1678-FN, Prenatal Non-discrimination Act WHEN:Wednesday, January 29, 2:00 p.m., Representatives Hall, House Judiciary Committee CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone SUPPORTS HB 1678-FN. WHY: HB 1678-FN would prohibit abortion for the purpose of sex selection or genetic anomaly including Down syndrome. No preborn child should be condemned to death because of being the “wrong” sex or for having a disability. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Attend the hearing on January 29 at 2 p.m. in Representatives Hall at the State House. If you or a family member are living with a genetic anomaly or disability, your presence in support of HB 1678-FN is particularly important to counter the “better dead than disabled” mentality. If you can’t attend, contact the House Judiciary Committee to ask for an “ought to pass” recommendation on HB 1678-FN. The formal title of the bill is “relative to prohibiting abortion in certain cases.” |
HB 1404, AIDS “Prophylaxis” for Minors Without Parental Consent WHEN: Tuesday, January 28, 11 a.m., House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee (HHSEA) CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone OPPOSES HB 1404 WHY: Parents need to be involved in medical decisions regarding their children who are minors. HB 1404 would allow minors to be given a drug (HIV/AIDS prophylaxis treatment) without parental consent. This means that sexually active minors could be given a drug to reduce the chance of contracting HIV/AIDS while parents are kept in the dark. WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact the House HHSEA Committee, and let them know that HB 1404 is a bad idea. Parents need to be involved in medical decisions regarding their children. |
| SB 663, Affecting Education Tax Credit Program WHEN: Wednesday, January 29, 9:20 a.m., Senate Ways and Means Committee, State House room 100 CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone OPPOSES SB 663. WHY: SB 663, whose title does not convey the impact of the bill, would severely undermine New Hampshire’s successful education tax credit program. The ETC program has enabled hundreds of New Hampshire families to exercise school choice for the benefit of their children. Read the summary of the bill by the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy: Senate bill would redirect money for lower-income scholarship kids to higher-income college grads WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Urge them to protect school choice, refuse to cut the education tax program, and vote “inexpedient to legislate” on SB 663. |
| Update on Recent Legislative Action — Bills we have been following that are now on to the next steps. Your voice still needed and still matters! |
| CACR 14, Abortion in the New Hampshire Constitution STATUS: The hearing was on Wednesday, January 22, and pro-life turnout was overwhelming in opposition to making abortion an inherent right under our state’s constitution! Thank you! Read Cornerstone’s report on the hearing, Constitutional Amendment on Abortion Meets Strong Opposition NEXT STEP: The Judiciary Committee has not yet scheduled a vote on CACR 14 so you can still contact the committee members. CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone OPPOSES CACR 14. Note: In last week’s legislative update, a headline about the measure incorrectly identified the bill number. All other references were correct: this is CACR 14. |
| HB 1251, relative to participation in school sports programs for female student-athletes (Saving Women’s Sports Bill) STATUS: There will be a second hearing in the House Education Committee, not yet scheduled, to accommodate people who had signed up to testify aloud but who were not able to do so in the time allotted for the hearing. The public is welcome to attend the second hearing, but the committee will not be accepting additional testimony. We will update our Facebook page with additional hearing information when we know. Read Cornerstone’s piece on HB1251, Act Now to Save Women’s Sports in New Hampshire. WHAT YOU CAN DO: 1) Attend the hearing. Even if you aren’t able to testify, you can sign in supporting the bill. Your presence and voice counts. 2) Contact members of the House Education Committee and ask them to recommend “ought to pass” on HB 1251. |
| Legislative Wrap-Up |
| Following are only a small number of the more than 100 bills that will have hearings next week. Cornerstone is monitoring these and many more, including several that are repeats from last year. Here are a few we want to highlight: Changing school records to indicate a student is “non-binary”: HB 1163 will require schools to update documents and software to include the option of identifying a student as non-binary (i.e. neither male nor female). This is the inevitable consequence of SB 263, which Governor Sununu signed in 2019, and HB 1319, which he signed in 2018. See our September 2019 coverage of another SB 263 consequence – one of many, and our February 2018 post on HB 1319, the gender identity bill (now law). Birth certificates: HB 1577-FN is a repeat of last year’s bill to allow changes in birth records to reflect gender reassignment. Cornerstone opposed last year’s attempt to tinker with vital records, and we will oppose HB 1577-FN now. Non-academic surveys: HB 1459 is yet another attempt to weaken a Cornerstone-supported law that respects parental rights and student privacy. There was a bill similar to this last year; here’s Cornerstone’s testimony from January 2019. Religious liberty for students and teachers: HB 1306, another re-run from 2019, would repeal a law allowing school districts to authorize the use of the Lord’s Prayer in school. (Here’s our 2019 testimony.) It is being countered by HB 1334, a thoughtful pro-religious liberty measure. Cannabis policy: numerous billsare under consideration, including one to use marijuana to “treat” children with autism (SB 700). Read Cornerstone’s testimony. Education tax credit scholarships: SB 663 (described above) isn’t the only threat to the ETC scholarship program. HB 1423 seeks to impose additional onerous reporting requirements. Contact us for more information on any of these bills. IMPORTANT: Mark your calendars for a hearing on a bill that seeks to legalize physician-assisted suicide, HB 1659 on Wednesday, February 12 at 1 pm in House Judiciary Committee, Legislative Office Building Room 208. |
