Legislative Update: House Session; End-of-Life Study and Birth Records.

Week of March 11th – March 16th

House to Vote March 14 on End-of-Life Study and Amending Gender on Birth Records

BILL: HB 291 Establishing a Committee to Study Certain Findings and other Initiatives Regarding End-of-Life Care. 

CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone supports the committee minority position of OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMENDMENT, which would ensure that a study of palliative and hospice care would not provide cover for physician-assisted suicide. The amendment number is 2019-0767h. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact your state representatives and ask them to overturn the committee majority’s recommendation of “ought to pass,” and instead vote for the committee minority’s report of “ought to pass with amendment.”

BILL: HB 446 Relative to Initiating Amendments and Corrections to Birth Records

CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone opposes HB 446, which would allow a vital record recording a child’s gender at birth to be amended years later. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Contact your state representatives and ask them to overturn the committee majority’s recommendation of “ought to pass with amendment,” and instead vote “inexpedient to legislate.”

Committee Hearings and Votes This Week

BILL: HB 481, Legalizing and Regulating Recreational Marijuana

WHEN: Public Hearing Thursday, March 14, 10:00am ; House Ways and Means Committee, LOB Rm 202 (NOTE: Because this bill has a huge financial cost connected to it, and will impact our state budget, it must be approved by the House Ways and Means Commitee) 

CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. Enabling widespread use of recreational marijuana brings social, economic, and health costs that far outweigh any benefit the state might derive from taxing the drug. Read more here.  How did your state representatives vote on this bill? The roll call is here, with NAY votes being the ones in support of Cornerstone’s position. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Plan to attend the March 14 hearing! The Ways and Means Committee needs to hear a strong message that HB 481 is wrong for New Hampshire.

Executive Sessions this week
Committee meets to discuss bills and vote on them. Open to the public, but no public comment taken. 

BILL: HB 669, Relative to Gender Identity Information Included on Drivers’ Licenses and Nondrivers’ ID cards

WHEN: Executive Session Monday, March 11, 10:00 am,  House Transportation Committee; Legislative Office Building, Room 203.

CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED to this bill which would add “X” (“nonbinary”) as an option to M for male or F for female on drivers’ licenses. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Watch Cornerstone’s updates for more information as it becomes available. Email the Transportation Committee at: HouseTransportationCommittee@leg.state.nh.us. 

BILL: HB 632-FN Education Tax Credit Repeal

WHEN: Executive Session (Committee Vote) Wednesday, March 13 10:00am; Legislative Office Building, Room 202.

CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. The bill would gut this important program that has made school choice a practical option for many New Hampshire families. Legislators need to hear from parents and students alike!

WHAT YOU CAN DO: If you have not already done so, send a message to the Ways and Means Committee at HouseWaysAndMeansCommittee@leg.state.nh.us  urging the members to vote “inexpedient to legislate” on HB 632. This is our last chance to reach out to the committee about this bill! 

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! 

SB 310, Relative to Casino Gambling
 The Senate tabled the casino bill on March 7. This is good news! If any further action is taken on the bill, Cornerstone will post an update.

BILL: SB 263 Relative to Anti-Discrimination for Students in Public Schools

STATUS: The bill had a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on March 4. The committee has not yet voted on the bill. Watch Cornerstone updates for further information.

CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. Cornerstone is concerned that the language in this bill will prohibit any all-girl or all-boy activity, as well as allow any transgender athlete to sue a school if the athlete is denied the right to compete on any gender team they want to join.

BILL: HB 158 Abortion Statistics

STATUS: Full House voted 218-144 “inexpedient to legislate” on Thursday March 7th. The roll call is here; note that a Yes vote on the inexpedient-to-legislate motion was a vote to kill the bill.Cornerstone supported a No vote on that motion.

CORNERSTONE POSITION: Cornerstone supported “ought to pass” on HB 158. See our written testimony on the bill. 

WHAT YOU CAN DO: Follow up with your state representatives. It’s a good idea to say thank you to those who voted No on the inexpedient to legislate motion! Look up your representatives here. 

BILL: HB 383, Relative to Gender “Discrimination” in Public and Private Schools 

STATUS: Full House voted 203-161 “ought to pass w/ amendment” on Thursday March 7th.

CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. The problem is in the details: the bill is vague, it is written to contain no religious exemption for private schools, and thanks to the new gender identity law (signed by Governor Sununu last year), the definition of “discrimination” now includes “gender identity.”  Read more about the bill here

WHAT YOU CAN DO: The bill has not yet been scheduled for Senate action. Watch Cornerstone updates for more information.

BILL: HB 608 Expanding the Law Against Discrimination Based on Gender Identity 

WHEN: Full House voted “ought to pass” on Thursday March 7th.

CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. What seems like a harmless housekeeping bill is a lot more insidious. Read our written testimony here.  

WHAT YOU CAN DO: The bill has not yet been scheduled for Senate action. Watch Cornerstone updates for more information.

Cornerstone keeps you updated on the bills that matter to you and your family! During the Legislative Session, watch your inbox every Saturday for our Legislative Update for the upcoming week.

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