Nearly two months into the 2011 legislative session, the new roster of lawmakers in Concord have already considered and voted on a slate of bills from A to Z. The action is fast and, at times, furious. All the more reason to step back and review where we are.
Today and Monday, we offer a pair of dispatches checking in on the legislation Front Door Politics has highlighted so far this session.
Should New Hampshire citizens be able to make laws on their own, effectively bypassing the Legislature and governor? A proposal to amend the state’s Constitution to allow just that will get its first public hearing in the House Election Law Committee today.
Altogether, today is slated as the busiest day yet of the 2011 session, with 19 House and Senate committees meeting to consider more than 50 new bills.
It was a landmark year for New Hampshire government in 2009—not only for the size of its budget deficit ($250 million) and the number of state layoffs it induced (200), but also for legislative action on some controversial social issues, like gay marriage, the death penalty and medical marijuana.
But these scores are far from settled, as evidenced in the new round of bills up for debate in Concord’s 2010 legislative session, which officially kicks off on Wednesday, Jan. 6
