SUMMER SCHEDULE FOR OUR E-UPDATES
As the legislative session ends for this year, Cornerstone will send legislative updates less frequently – but keep looking for them! We will watch the committee work that will continue this summer and fall, particularly the negotiations on a state budget. Count on Cornerstone for timely updates and calls to action
Tell Governor Sununu it’s time to take out his veto pen!
While the following bills have not yet reached the Governor’s desk, the House and Senate have agreed on the language for each bill. The Governor is the last line of defense against ill-advised legislation. Urge him to veto the bills listed below!
STATUS: This bill has been enrolled, and it is awaiting action from the Governor.
CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. For more information including the text of the amendment the Senate adopted, see the blog post on the Cornerstone website.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Ask Governor Sununu to veto the bill. Vital records exist to document facts, not feelings about one’s own age, sex, or place of birth.
STATUS: This bill has been enrolled, and it is awaiting action from the Governor.
CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. The bill would allow a gender notation of M, F, or X (meaning non-binary or “other”) on drivers’ licenses and state-issued non-driver IDs. It makes no sense to allow a subjective feeling to determine the data appearing on such documents. Read Cornerstone’s testimony on HB 669.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Ask Governor Sununu to veto HB 669. Don’t be swayed by appeals to counterfeit compassion for people who identify as neither male nor female. The information on a driver’s license has never before been dictated by feelings.
STATUS: This bill has been enrolled, and it is awaiting action from the Governor.
CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED No one wants invidious discrimination in schools, but SB 263 does not attack the problem of discrimination or bullying among students. It poses more questions than solutions, and it requires far more serious study than it has received so far in the legislature. See “Gender Politics Goes to School,” Cornerstone’s most recent commentary on the bill. The very title of the bill – “relative to anti-discrimination protection for students in public schools” – is offensive and misleading, suggesting that anyone who points out the bill’s flaws is actually trying to discriminate against children.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Ask Governor Sununu to veto SB 263. It would allow lawsuits against school districts on grounds of discrimination, without holding individuals responsible; it does not protect students from bullying by their peers; it does not specify the burden of proof to be met after a discrimination complaint is made; it leaves open the question of what transgender “discrimination” means in the context of school athletics; and it provides no cap on the dollar amount of damages that can be paid out nor does the bill contain a cap on legal fees – causing the taxpayer to carry the financial burden.
STATUS: Passed by both the House and the Senate, this bill is awaiting the enrollment process before it goes to the Governor.
CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. What seems like a harmless housekeeping bill is a lot more insidious, a way to punish those who don’t get on board with LGBTQ policies. Read about the unintended consequences here.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Ask Governor Sununu to veto the bill.
STATUS: This bill has been enrolled, and it is awaiting action from the Governor.
CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. HB 480 would expand legal gambling in a manner that makes the state rely on gambling addiction in order to make sports betting a reliable state revenue source. Read Cornerstone’s op-ed, “Gambling With Our People.”
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Ask Governor Sununu to veto the bill. The profitability of the commercial sports betting industry relies on exploiting addicted gamblers. New Hampshire deserves better.
STATUS: This bill has been enrolled, and it is awaiting action from the Governor.
CORNERSTONE POSITION: OPPOSED. SB 196 would roll back a 2017 law protecting student privacy and parental rights. Instead of giving parents the right to “opt-in” before a non-academic survey is administered to their children in school, it would switch to an “opt-out” policy – meaning that if a parent doesn’t actively say NO, the school will administer the survey to the student. Read more here.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: Ask Governor Sununu to veto the bill and protect student privacy.
Update on New Hampshire’s State Budget
As we reported earlier, Governor Sununu has vetoed the budget, citing several reasons. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention abortion funding. No schedule has been set for an override vote or further budget negotiations. Watch for future Cornerstone updates as budget action resumes.
