While the N.H. House continues its budget bill session today, the state Senate will get back to work with committee hearings on the deluge of bills that successfully passed and crossed over from the House.
In this Dispatch, we highlight two public hearings on bills we have tracked this legislative session: public television funding and the new rail service in New Hampshire.
The vastly outnumbered N.H. House Democrats face almost certain defeat in the battle over the 2012-2013 biennium budget. But, with the floor amendments they’ve introduced, it’s clear they don’t plan to go down without a debate about how to raise and spend state funds.
Altogether, there are 19 Democrat-sponsored floor amendments to the House Finance Committee’s version of House Bills 1 and 2, which together comprise the state budget. …
The finer points of a proposed $2.796 billion two-year general fund budget for New Hampshire will be presented to lawmakers today by the House Finance Committee, in advance of a vote later this week. Here are a few notable points…
This week’s Senate votes include amending the N.H. Constitution regarding education funding, plus voter identification and payday loans.
With the deadline to “Crossover Day” on March 31 fast approaching, both the House and Senate are in session this week to finish work on their remaining bills.
The two main budget bills are the top remaining bills in the House. The Senate will clear its docket of more than 49 bills and amendments.
If you follow our Front Door Politics Bill Tracker, you’ll see the sometimes complicated journey bills take through the legislative process. There are, however, only a finite number of outcomes. Today, we are taking a closer look at the parliamentary maneuver known as Laid on the Table. So far this session, there are five bills in the House and nine in the Senate that have been Laid on the Table.
A logistically ironic item is up for discussion at the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority’s monthly meeting this Friday: repealing the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority.
Signed into law in 2007, the NHRTA is using federal grant money to develop plans for a return of passenger rail service through the so-called “capital corridor” from Boston to Nashua, Manchester and Concord.
House Bill 218, which has passed the N.H. House, would repeal the entity. It’s supported by House Transportation Committee Chair, Rep. Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry), who also serves as a legislative member on the NHRTA.
We continue highlighting some of the 34 bills and amendments scheduled for a session of the full Senate today.
The proposals include eliminating the state motor vehicle registration surcharge, repealing boating speed limits on Lake Winnipesaukee, and establishing a managed care platform for the state’s Medicaid program.
Today and tomorrow, the Daily Dispatch will highlight bills that have gone under the radar during the first part of the of New Hampshire’s 2011 legislative session.
The proposals cover a wide range of issues — from a constitutional amendment giving the governor line item veto authority over the state budget to increasing the allowable size of off-highway recreational vehicles on state trails. It’s all a part of government, folks. …
After the blitz of activity last week, most of the action in the N.H. House now shifts to the main spending, revenue and capital budget bills for the 2012-2013 biennium. Meanwhile, the Northern Pass project is still getting attention in the Legislature, as the committee deadline for reporting on two related bills has been extended.
We start a new, semi-regular feature today called “They Said It.”
Our goal is to capture a sampling of legislative and state government quotes that we hope illuminate, educate, entertain and reflect the tone of the current legislative session.
Here are our Top Six of recent vintage …
