By Dick Thackston State Rep. Cheshire 12 – Troy & Fitzwillam
The NH General Court, (the State House of Representatives and State Senate), is in full swing with a new term that officially began December 4, 2024, but in actuality didn’t get underway till February with Committee assignments of Bills, (new legislation). In New Hampshire every Bill is scheduled for both a Public Hearing and Committee action. Committees must refer Bills to the House with recommendations of either Ought to Pass, “OTP” or Inexpedient to Legislate, “ITL”. Every Bill does not make it out of Committee, although most do, Bills that a committee can’t find a consensus for – good or bad – or that need extensive amendment or have other problems can be “Retained” by the Committee to which they are assigned. Retained Bills are worked on either through special subcommittees or if they lack support/advocacy they may simply never move forward. (As an example of a Retained Bill that never moved forward in the last session, we had a Bill that would require that 2×4’s sold in New Hampshire be sold as 1 3/4th X 3 ½ Boards and failure to do so would be a crime – the Bill really lacked support.)
As of this writing in mid-May the New Hampshire House of Representatives has voted on over 200 Bills in General Session; about two thirds of these Bills originated in with House members and the remainder originated in the Senate. The House has only just begun to work on the Senate Bills and expects to meet every Thursday in June to complete work on additional Senate Bills as well as any Bills that originated in the House that have been amended by the Senate.
On a positive note, all three major rating agencies—S&P Global, Moody’s, and Fitch Ratings—have reaffirmed the existing credit ratings for the State of NH (AA+, Aa1, AA+), maintaining a stable outlook.
I was asked to serve on two Standing Committees at the beginning of the Session: the new Housing Committee and the Commerce Committee where I served last term. The Housing Committee is intended to review and develop legislation of any kind that affects homeownership, but the specific goal is to seek ways in which the State can positively impact home affordability and accessibility. The Commerce Committee reviews and develops legislation of any kind that affects or regulates Banking, Insurance, Liquor, Cigarettes.
I co-sponsored four bi-partisan Bills this Session, unfortunately all four have failed or stalled. My Bills this Session are:
HOUSE BILL 136: Extending the time period for delivering of an absentee ballot from 5:00 p.m. to the close of the polls.
HOUSE BILL 559: This bill provides that not more than one emergency medical care provider shall be required to provide care to a patient during transport in an ambulance or other emergency medical service vehicle. Passed House ITL in Senate.
HOUSE BILL 580-FN: This bill prohibits retaliatory defamation against a victim reporting sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or domestic abuse. Retained in House Committee. (I was only Republican to co-sponsor.)
SENATE BILL 259: This bill creates an exception to physical attendance and quorum requirements under the right-to-know law for individuals with disabilities. Voted ITL in Senate. (Senator Rosenwald Only Democrat to co-sponsor.)
I was asked to speak to the House by the Housing Committee in support of Committee Motions on two Bills:
HB 444 on February 6, 2025: This bill fundamentally socialist bill restricted the Sale of Residential Properties; ITL Motion Passed the House 213 – 144
SB 188 on May 22, 2025 (the last Bill of the day): This bill addresses hiring & qualifications of third-party building inspectors; OTP Motion Passed the House 276 – 82.
All the Sessions of the New Hampshire Legislature, both House and Senate, are live streamed and archived on U-Tube. If you are interested in following the schedule of bills, meetings or other current information in the NH Legislature just plug in the following address and it will take you to the General Court Home Page: https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/