Marijuana photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

Later today, the N.H. Senate will vote on House Bill 442, which would allow people to legally use marijuana to treat certain diseases, under narrow qualifying exceptions and with a medical doctor’s recommendation.

The bill has strong bipartisan sponsorship from both chambers, including Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster), the bill’s prime sponsor, and Sen. James Forsythe (R-Strafford). And the House overwhelmingly passed the measure by a 221-96 vote in March.

In a closer 3-2 vote and with many suggested changes, the Senate Health and Human Services Committee has given it a narrow recommendation. Among the many amendments the committee would like to see are a controlled patient ID system and state-licensed (but not state-funded) alternative treatment centers to distribute the drug. (You can read the complete amendment by going to the May 5 Senate calendar page here, then scrolling down the amendments in numerical order to HB 442.)

Veto History — and Future

Supporters say that, if passed, the bill would create the strictest medical marijuana law in the country. But Gov. John Lynch is not among the bill’s supporters. He vetoed a similar measure in 2009, and has vowed to do the same this year, saying there simply aren’t enough legal safeguards.

He’s not readying his veto pen yet, though. House Bill 442, if it passes the Senate today with the committee’s suggested amendments, will still need to go back to the House for approval of those changes. Only when it’s passed both chambers will it go to Lynch’s desk.

Two years ago, the House had enough votes to override the veto, but the Senate fell two votes short of the two-thirds majority required.

If it eventually passes this session, New Hampshire would join 15 other states — including neighboring Vermont and Maine — and the District of Columbia in permitting medical marijuana.

>> Wednesday, May 11, full Senate session beginning at 10 a.m. at the State House.

This Daily Briefing was written by Michael McCord, with contributions from Hilary Niles.

How lawmakers — and, more importantly, Gov. John Lynch — answer that question could determine the fate of the latest legislative attempt to legalize medical marijuana in New Hampshire.

Marijuana photo by Scott Beale / Laughing Squid

The proposal passed its first hurdle last month when the House approved House Bill 442 by a veto-proof majority. The question in this legislative session, as in 2009, is whether the measure will have enough support to override another potential veto by Lynch.

The Senate Health and Human Services Committee will hold its public hearing on HB 442 Thursday. Sponsored by Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster), HB 442 has significant bi-partisan support. But in 2009, a similar measure also sponsored by Merrick had strong support, then fell two votes short of overturning Lynch’s veto in the Senate.

Merrick, a cancer survivor, is now trying again. If it becomes law, chronically ill and terminal patients in New Hampshire would be allowed to buy and possess less than two ounces of marijuana at a time. The bill requires that the patient get a written statement from a licensed medical doctor. New Hampshire would set up as many as many as five state-regulated dispensaries to distribute the drug.

In 2009, Lynch said that the measure did not have sufficient safeguards to make sure the plant was only used for medical purposes. This year, medical marijuana supporters say that HB 442 would be the most tightly regulated medical marijuana legislation in the country.

New Hampshire would become the 16^th state in the country to allow some form of medical marijuana distribution. In neighboring Vermont, medical marijuana has been legal since 2004 and qualified users have been allowed to grow it for their own personal purposes. Vermont’s Legislature is currently debating a measure to establish dispensaries.

House Bill 442 passed in the House by a 221-96 vote, after being recommended 14-3 by the House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee. But its fate in the Senate remains uncertain.

As we noted back in November when we wrote our first dispatch about Merrick’s latest bill, the medical marijuana issue proves an intriguing and provocative debate about culture and compassion, competing scientific facts and myths, and liberty and law and order.

Should New Hampshire become the latest state to legalize medical marijuana? What does our answer mean for both medical compassion and law and order?

Share your thoughts in the comments box below (as long as you’ve ready our policy, here)!

>> Thursday, April 14, 1:00.p.m., Senate Health and Human Services Committee public hearings on HB 442 and other bills (State House, Room 100).

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

Here we highlight three proposals that were put on the regular calendar, which will likely be moved to next Wednesday. The Senate will hold its session tomorrow (Feb. 3) at noon.

Rx Drug Return

House Bill 71, which would allow for establishment of pharmaceutical drug take-back programs, was the subject of a Front Door Politics dispatch last month. The measure had strong bipartisan support and was recommended for passage by the House Health, Human Services & Elderly Affairs Committee with a unanimous 17-0 vote.

In the committee’s report to the full House, Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster) said the ability of New Hampshire communities and private entities to establish take-back programs for both uncontrolled and controlled drugs would build upon previous efforts with local law enforcement officials to remove “thousands of unused medications from homes and (the) streets of New Hampshire.”

Weeding Out Industrial Hemp

A Hopkinton lawmaker this year continues his quest to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp in New Hampshire. Rep. Derek Owen (D) has sponsored at least seven similar bills since 1998. This year’s measure, House Bill 101, would also set up a special state agricultural program to oversee the production. But there is a catch:

Federal law prohibits the growing of industrial hemp. Owen’s bill respects this by providing that the program would only be implemented once the federal government amends its laws.

By an 11-7 vote, the Environment and Agriculture sent the bill to the full House with an “Inexpedient to Legislate” recommendation, saying that if the federal law changes, then a New Hampshire law would be unnecessary. They also question the passage of creating a program to oversee the production, since costs are unknown at this time.

Critics of industrial hemp say it is closer to the drug marijuana than it is to a fiber. But advocates say there is a distinct difference in the chemical make up and the crop is grown and utilized in a wide range of products in Canada, China, Germany and a number of other countries.

Unrestricted Agents

By a 7-5 vote, the Executive Departments and Administration Committee recommended passage of a bill to repeal a 2007 law requiring sports agents to register with the state. House Bill 136 is sponsored by committee chair Carol McGuire (R-Epsom). In the majority report, Rep. Spec Bowers (R-Georges Mills) said only six agents have registered since the law was passed and there have been no enforcement actions.

“It is not needed because athletes, parents, and coaches are knowledgeable about the rules and are fully able to exercise individual responsibility,” Bowers said. “The statute is harmful in that it encourages reliance on the government to protect people from their own decisions.”

According the Secretary of State web site (the agency that oversees sports agent registrations), it costs $100 for a new sports agent application and $50 for renewal.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

Gay marriage was the only clear winner among these debates, as the Legislature’s spring vote to legalize same-sex marriage took effect Jan. 1. The death penalty was nearly outlawed and remains under scrutiny by a special study commission. And Granite State legislators narrowly approved a statewide medical marijuana program—only to have it vetoed by Gov. John Lynch.

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. Both the House and Senate will meet every Wednesday until June, and they’ll be busy. So far, 819 bills have been proposed to create, repeal or otherwise change New Hampshire’s laws.

gay marriage

Last June, New Hampshire became the sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, and about 200 gay couples were already registered to marry before the new law took effect on Jan. 1.

That’s the same date that House Bill 1590 would retroactively take effect if it’s approved. Sponsored by Rep. Alfred Baldasaro (R-Londonderry), the legislation would repeal the legalization of gay marriage, effectively nullifying the vows taken while the bill is debated.

When gay marriage was legalized in New Hampshire, the civil unions created for same-sex couples just two years earlier were incorporated into the new law. As it stands, current civil unions will automatically become legal marriages on Jan. 1, 2011, and there will be no such thing as “civil unions” after that.

In repealing the same-sex marriage statute, HB 1590 would also effectively reinstate civil unions, according to Rep. Jordan Ulery (R-Hudson). He stresses that, for his part at least, the legislation has nothing to do with discrimination against same-sex couples.

“I don’t care what you do in your bedroom, it’s none of my business,” he says. Ulery takes issue with use of the word “marriage,” which he believes lays the foundation of society by encouraging heterosexual couples to create families, “literally,” he says.

Ulery concedes that same-sex couples can form families in other ways, such as through adoption, artificial insemination or surrogate birth parents. “Certainly they can care for and love a child,” he says, “but there are certain times in your life when someone had to say, ‘You’re feeling this way because.’” If two men are raising a little girl, he says, “A guy has never felt that way, regardless of what his sexual orientation is.”

voters’ veto

In both California and Maine, voter referendums have reversed lawmakers’ actions and undone gay marriage. New Hampshire has no such mechanism, however. The state’s Constitution allows only the Legislature to “suspend,” or veto, a law.

Rep. Laurie Boyce (R-Alton) would like to change that with Constitutional Amendment Concurrent Resolution 25. It would allow citizens to veto specific laws through statewide votes, provided sufficient signatures are gathered in support of a veto ballot question. If passed, CACR 25 itself would require a statewide ballot vote, as does any constitutional amendment.

Boyce could not be reached for comment, and it’s unclear whether her legislation was motivated by a desire to veto gay marriage. But gay marriage opponents would almost certainly start gathering signatures if the measure is approved.  Any law on the books would be subject to the voters’ referendum. The N.H. Legislature has historically resisted similar initiatives.

marijuana

Before a bill becomes a law, it’s the governor who holds veto power. Back in July, Gov. John Lynch used that power to stop HB 648, which would have legalized the use of medical marijuana through a regulated statewide program. Sponsored by Rep. Evalyn Merrick (D-Lancaster), the bill enjoyed solid support in the House, but the Senate remained two votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to override the governor’s veto. No medical marijuana bills are proposed in 2010.

Instead, Rep. Calvin Pratt (R-Goffstown) has sponsored House Bill 1652 to legalize one ounce or less of marijuana for people over age 21. He argues that since the 1937 Marijuana Tax Act, pot has been wrongly classified in the same group as drugs like heroin and has been denied legitimate agricultural, industrial or recreational uses.

Today, cannabis remains a Schedule I drug along with LSD, PCP and ecstasy, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Pratt believes marijuana should receive legal treatment on par with alcohol.

“We need to … point out the failure of our current policy,” Pratt says. The bill itself claims that decades of law enforcement have failed to prevent people from using the drug. “We keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome,” Pratt says, “and that’s how you measure insanity.”

By legalizing marijuana use for the majority of the population, he surmises, the energy and resources of police, courts and penal systems can be spent more effectively enforcing the ban for minors.

Money is also a factor. “Rather than spending millions of taxpayer dollars arresting marijuana users, the state of New Hampshire should instead generate millions of dollars by taxing and regulating marijuana,” the bill states. Part of this revenue could then be earmarked “to prevent and treat the abuse of marijuana, tobacco, alcohol and other drugs.”

Given that Gov. Lynch vetoed a medical marijuana bill only months ago, it’s not likely that a bill legalizing pot will make it past his desk. Pratt admits that it actually has a “less than 50-50” chance at succeeding.

But, the legislative process teases out people’s legitimate concerns and builds clarity on how to address potential problems, Pratt says. For now, he’s happy just to keep the conversation going.

death penalty

The death penalty is another ongoing conversation. Of five related bills considered in 2009, House Bill 520, sponsored by Rep. Jim Splaine (D-Portsmouth), was the only one to pass. It created a special commission to study the death penalty in New Hampshire.

A public hearing was held on Dec. 4 to compare the cost of prosecution for life sentences versus execution. Several more points remain to be addressed, including whether the death penalty is “consistent with evolving societal standards of decency”; if prosecution for capital punishment cases is discriminatory in any way; if the crimes that make convicted perpetrators eligible for the death penalty should be maintained, expanded or narrowed; and whether alternatives to the death penalty would sufficiently address both penal interests and the desires of victims’ families.

More information on the commission can be found at www.gencourt.state.nh.us/statstudcomm/committees/2009. The commission’s final report is due by Dec. 1, 2010, and the next public hearing is scheduled for Feb. 5 at the State House in Concord.

budget

If social issues continue to be big news in 2010, they’ll likely pale in comparison to headlines about the state budget and its shortfalls.

New Hampshire operates on a two-year budget cycle, meaning that plans for how to raise and spend all of the state’s money must be approved every two years—the same cycle on which representatives and senators are elected. We’re entering the second year of this two-year term, and the $11.6 billion budget that narrowly passed last June is facing several challenges from the recession, lawmakers and, possibly, the courts.

According to Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R-Manchester), who sits on the House Local and Regulated Revenues Committee, six-month revenues (July through December) will be about $50 million below projections. About half of that shortfall comes from lower than expected business taxes.

This gap could more than double in the second half of the fiscal year, Vaillancourt says, since the first half of the year typically only accounts for 42 to 43 percent of overall funding. If that holds true, it could put the state up to $118 million in the red by June.

That figure is almost matched by the contested surplus funds of the NH Medical Malpractice Joint Underwriting Association. The JUA is a private, statewide insurance pool created with the help of the N.H. Insurance Department in 1978 for doctors, hospitals and other healthcare providers.

Last year, faced with a major budget deficit in the midst of the national economic crisis, the N.H. Legislature laid claim to $110 million of the JUA’s surplus funds. Policyholders sued, saying that the funds, collected from their premium payments, were not the state’s to claim. A Superior Court judge sided with the plaintiffs and froze the money. The state has appealed the case to the Supreme Court, which is still in deliberation.

In the meantime, $110 million is missing from the state’s operating budget, and State Treasurer Cathy Provencher doesn’t know if she’ll get it back.

New Hampshire could be left with three choices, Provencher told the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy in a December interview. “It’s the same thing in our homes,” she said of budget shortfalls. “You have to cut. You have to … get more income. Or you have to borrow,” she said. “And I don’t think borrowing is going to be a viable option.”

Part of the income solution last spring was to broaden or increase a handful of taxes and fees. In all, more than 30 new sources of revenue were created. The three most hotly contested at the time will face formal legislative challenges this year: applying the meals and rooms tax to campsites, bumping that tax from 8 to 9 percent, and subjecting Limited Liability Companies to the 5 percent interest and dividends tax that other businesses pay.

Several bills sponsored by Herbert Richardson (R-Lancaster), Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester), and Rep. David Hess (R-Hooksett) will attempt to undo those charges in a variety of ways.

The so-called LLC tax drew a particular outcry, and a series of public hearings on the matter is being held throughout the state by the Dept. of Revenue Administration. The next public sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m. at White Mountain Community College in Berlin; Thursday, Jan. 7 at 6 p.m. at Plymouth State University’s Hyde Hall; and Saturday, Jan. 9 at 10 a.m. at Kennett High School Auditorium in Conway. More information on the hearings and proposed rules can be found at www.nh.gov/revenue/laws/proposed.htm.

gambling

Another controversial option for raising revenue is expanded gambling—an initiative that hasn’t yet succeeded in the Legislature, but which may have gained some traction in the governor’s office.

In July, Gov. Lynch established a gaming study commission by executive order, which will continue to meet monthly until delivering its final report in May 2010. An interim report was released in December, focusing in part on the financial and social cost-benefit ratio of new gaming ventures, from full-fledged casino resorts to video slot machines.

The report also explores the implications of potential “first-mover” status if New Hampshire were to lead its neighbors in expanding casino gambling. It may enjoy a temporary boost in revenue, but the move could also trigger a sort of casino boom in New England. Increased social costs along with potential market saturation could both reduce revenue and raise social costs in the long-term.

“No matter what the Legislature decides,” the report states, “revenues from expanded gaming alone will not eliminate long-term fiscal challenges facing the state.”

More information on the commission, including minutes from past meetings, can be found at www.nh.gov/gsc. The commission’s Web site states that UNH’s Carsey Institute will develop and implement a plan for public dialogue sessions about the issue in January, February and March.

retirement system

Part of the state’s structural deficit, as identified by the N.H. Center for Public Policy Studies, is funding of the state’s retirement system. And that system is facing some budget problems of its own, largely due to loss of investment income with the current recession.

A handful of bills approved last year—such as one that temporarily lowers the state’s match of employer contributions—helped balance the state’s books. But the decreased state match simply passed costs down to towns whose budgets are also in peril.

Several bills this year aim to limit benefits the $5 billion retirement trust fund pays out to state employees. House Bill 1576 (Rep. John DeJoie, D-Concord) would no longer allow active employees to receive their retirement allowance while they’re working. House Bill 1530 (Rep. Neal Kurk, R-Weare) redefines “earnable compensation” as only base pay. Holiday, vacation or sick pay, overtime and military differential pay, among other sources of income, would no longer help workers accrue retirement compensation.

On the other hand, House Bill 1512 (Rep. Janet Wall, D+R-Madbury) increases the annual amount of the supplemental allowance that judicial retirees may receive, doubling it from $50,000 to $100,000. Still other legislation (Rep. Charles Weed, D-Keene) would open the retirement umbrella to cover educational support personnel. House Bill 1428 (Rep. Patricia McMahon, D-North Sutton) would extend benefits for a surviving spouse, even when that person remarries.

health care

This year also brings an abundance of attempts to reform, revise and otherwise re-write the statewide health care system and health insurance policies.

They range from Sen. Bradley’s bill to allow the purchase of health insurance policies from out-of-state companies to Rep. William O’Brien’s (R-Mont Vernon) House Bill 1585, allowing health insurance policies to be sold without mandated coverage. Prohibiting the denial of coverage for preexisting conditions is also on the table with House Bill 1597 (Rep. David Hess, R-Hooksett).

Of course, it’s still unclear how any national health care reform, if passed, will affect New Hampshire.

weekly updates resume

Front Door Politics is thrilled to resume weekly reporting with this extended Year Ahead preview. Our weekly updates will explore issues like child support, transportation, broadband infrastructure, consumer protections and more.

Got your eye on a particular topic, or have a lead you’d like us to follow? Drop us a line. We love hearing from readers, and we’re here to find out what you want to know.

Earlier this session, Lynch had warned lawmakers that he would have vetoed the bill as first written, due to concerns about distribution. The law was restructured to accommodate the governor’s needs, but apparently the changes did not go far enough.

Rather than permitting qualified patients to grow marijuana for medical use at home, the revised HB 648 that passed both the House and Senate would create three to five “compassion” centers for cultivation and distribution. The compassion centers would be private, nonprofit entities overseen by the NH Dept. of Health & Human Services.

In addition to card-carrying patients and their caregivers, only relevant compassion center agents could access the otherwise-illegal plant. A “debilitating medical condition” would have to be certified by a registered physician to qualify patients for a registration card.

For now, the matter is on hold. The Legislature is in summer recess, with the House scheduled to reconvene August 4 and no date announced for the Senate. Since vetoed bills return to their originating chamber for a second vote, HB 648 will go back to the House first. House Chief of Staff Donald Manning said it’s likely that when the two chambers do meet to vote again, they will do so the same day.

HB 648 passed the House 232-108, so it is likely to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority when reconsidered. It will face more of a challenge in the Senate, where it passed 14-10. Two previous “no” votes would have to convert to “yeas” to reach critical mass in the Senate.

If Lynch’s veto is overridden, New Hampshire would become the 14th state to remove state-level criminal penalties for the medical use and cultivation of marijuana. Maine and Vermont are among the states that already do so.

HealthFirst for Small Businesses

Gov. Lynch last week also announced that the New Hampshire HealthFirst insurance plan for small businesses will be available starting October 1. It’s billed as an affordable, wellness-based plan for companies with one to 50 employees.

HealthFirst sets a target for monthly premium costs, based on 10 percent of the previous year’s median wage in New Hampshire. For 2009, that equates to just over $330 per month for insurance. Depending on an employee’s rating status—based on factors including age, group size, and industry type—the actual premium could be either higher or lower than the target, according to Deputy Insurance Commissioner Alex Feldvebel.

Anthem, Cigna, Harvard, MVP and Mega Life all will offer HealthFirst plans; four other insurance companies with fewer than 1000 people enrolled in small group coverage are not subject to the new program due to their smaller size.

Anthem has already agreed to meet the target premium rates. With this single insurance carrier onboard at the target rate, the other companies are allowed to set their own rates, subject to approval by the Insurance Commission. All have filed their proposed rates, but they’re confidential while under review. Feldvebel expects marketing of the new plans to begin soon to allow time for enrollment for October 1.

“It’s always preferable to have the system meet the target under the voluntary rating approach,” Feldvebel said, “so we’re happy that we do have at least one carrier that met the target.” If none of the affected insurance carriers had come forward to voluntarily meet the 10 percent target, the Insurance Commission would have been required to go through an alternative process to determine and mandate rates for the companies.

HealthFirst was born from Senate Bill 540, sponsored in 2008 by Sen. Kathleen Sgambati (D-Tilton). It passed both chambers and was signed into law by Gov. Lynch about a year ago. An advisory committee has been meeting since then to map out its details. The same committee will continue to meet at least every three years to make recommendations on required coverage.

Two consumer-oriented caviats are written into the law. Insurance companies may not offer similar plans that do not conform to HealthFirst standards “with the intent of likely effect of undermining” the HealthFirst program. Also, insurance companies are required to present the lower cost HealthFirst standard wellness plan along with any other quotes provided to a small business employer.

Open Roads, Commercial Rest Stops

Starting in Hampton, New Hampshire drivers will soon follow the direction of many states switching from toll booths to “open-road” tolling. Toll booths will be removed from the two middle lanes in each direction, allowing vehicles with EZPass transponders to zoom through at highway speeds. Cash lanes will remain open on the right-hand sides.

Construction dates are undetermined as of yet, but the Dept. of Transportation hopes to have completed the project by Memorial Day weekend next year. DOT already is working on additional toll increases in Bedford and Hooksett to install open-road tolls there.

And drivers taking a rest will see some changes soon, too. The privatization of highway “welcome centers” was approved with the budget last month. It replaced DOT’s suggestion to close nine of the state’s rest areas.

The plan will start with the liquor stores and welcome centers along I-93. A Request for Proposals is currently being prepared for the rebuilding of the liquor stores and restrooms, and addition of a restaurant or convenience food facility. Down the road, DOT is also hoping to expand the I-95 centers in Hampton, adding a gas station in each direction.

Summer Break

Along with the Legislature, Front Door Politics will be taking a bit of a recess this summer. Weekly coverage of the New Hampshire State House will return in the fall.

Next week marks the midway point in the 2009 legislative session, and only bills that are still afloat by Friday will have a chance at becoming law.

The official term is “Crossover,” and the official day this year is Thursday, April 9.  Bills that have passed their originating chamber (the House or Senate, wherever they were introduced) by the end of that day cross over into the opposite chamber for another round of public hearings, committee recommendations and full votes.  Whatever is voted down by then is simply gone, until a future session when someone may reintroduce the same ideas.

Crossover is basically a giant deadline for the Legislature, because it implies that the House and Senate must have voted on all of the bills that their members introduced—close to 1000 in all this year.

Crossover is also an important gauge, because by this point it’s at least half-clear which bills have a shot and which are out of the running.  A bill’s true fate is still left to the other chamber and, ultimately, the governor.  But now is a good time to reflect back on what’s happened so far.

surprise, surprise, surprise

And there have been some surprises.  Three, in particular, came from the House just last week when a majority of its members voted to approve the use of medical marijuana (HB 648), legalize gay marriage (HB 436), and repeal the death penalty (HB 556).

Gov. John Lynch has stated outright that he would veto a repeal of the death penalty, and it’s widely reported that he “has concerns” about medical use of marijuana.  And while he does support civil unions for same-sex couples, it’s noted that the governor has not supported equality of marriage for homosexuals in the past.

His signature may not come into play at all, though.  The N.H. Senate is traditionally more conservative than the House, sot the fate of all three bills is uncertain at best in that chamber.  And unless a bill passes both the House and Senate, it never gets to the governor’s desk to be either vetoed, signed into law, or allowed to become law without signature.

To override a veto, a bill must pass another chamber vote with a two-thirds majority.  In this case, both the bills to repeal the death penalty and legalize same-sex marriage passed by very slim margins (by 19 and 7 votes, respectively) that would not come close to standing up to a veto.  The medical marijuana bill passed with a stronger majority (96 votes), but it would take as many as 32 additional votes to reach a veto-proof margin.

Repealing the death penalty may not survive this session, but House Bill 520, establishing a commission to study the death penalty in New Hampshire, may have a chance.  The bill was amended after considerable discussion with the attorney general resulted in adding that post to the commission roster. Members of the N.H. Police Association and Mental Health Council were also added, and the specific scope of what the commission is to study were slightly changed.  All these amendments were approved by the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. James Splaine (D-Portsmouth).

A separate bill related to capital punishment was a bit of a surprise in itself.  House Bill 37 would have required death by firing squad for anyone found guilty of using a firearm to kill someone during the commission of a felony.  Sponsored by Delmar Burridge (D-Keene), the move was defeated by the House.

gambling still alive

Also shot down was House Bill 461 to establish a state-owned casino to fund public education, House Bill 593 to commission destination resort casinos expand gambling options at current gaming facilities.  Even the supporters of these bills acknowledged in their House reports that neither were ready for passage, but they didn’t want to dismiss them both outright.  By retaining the bills, they argued, the entire issue of gambling could be kept on the table.  Voting them down, they felt, would wipe out a true discussion.  But wiped out they were, with only 35 and 72 votes in favor, respectively (out of about 370).

The Senate Ways & Means Committee had a split response to two fairly similar bills it considered. Senate Bill 169, which would establish up to six state-run video gaming facilities, was not recommended for passage.  But Senate Bill 179, which would create two video gaming facilities in the North Country and allow video gaming at existing facilities, got a thumbs up.  However, neither have received their vote.  Both were laid on the table by the full Senate for further consideration, so the gambling discussion remains alive and well in the Granite State, so far.

And remember, our online learning center and a complete list of proposed laws for 2009 is available here at Front Door Politics: from the State House to your house.