Can you believe that the legislative year is over? What a year it has been!
We thank you for your testimonies, for the numerous opinion letters written to local newspapers, and for signing up to support and oppose so many priority bills. That is true people power!
We also thank our State legislators in the Senate, House, and Executive Council for courageously working to minimize the harms caused by Republicans in leadership. Despite long days, with sessions sometimes lasting more than 10 hours, as you reviewed hundreds of bills, you continued to stay positive for your constituents and we thank you tremendously!
In this final week of the session, we celebrated several victories.
HB 103, which will provide preventative dental coverage to NH Medicaid recipients, passed with a bipartisan vote; we now call on the Governor to sign it. It is the right thing to do for many residents!
We were relieved that two harmful bills were killed:
HB 1476, the bail reform bill, died in the Senate following a voice vote. This means that current legislation will remain in place.
HB 1431, the Parental Bill of Rights, was voted down 177-170. This bill, also known as New Hampshire’s “don’t say gay” bill, would have placed our at-risk youth in even greater danger. This outcome is a great victory for parents and our LGBTQ+ community members!
Unfortunately, we also experienced a couple of legislative setbacks.
Following the recent tragedies in Uvalde,TX and Buffalo, NY, a group of RAD and community leaders gathered this week outside the State House to urge our legislators to bring back gun reform legislation. Democrats attempted to introduce a universal background check bill, but it failed once again in the face of fierce and shameful opposition from the GOP.
SB 200, the gerrymandered congressional districts map, was approved by the Legislature and is headed to Governor Sununu’s desk. This fight isn’t over; click here to tell him to oppose this bill.
On a final note, the filing period to run for office is starting soon: it will run from June 1st to June 10th. We are watching amazing new leaders stepping up to the plate. If you are unsure what it takes to run for office or have any questions, please reach out to me at sebastian@radnh.org.
We are excited about the upcoming election season, where you will see numerous RAD staff and volunteers knocking hundreds of doors, calling thousands of residents, and holding countless signs. Watch out New Hampshire, RAD is taking our deep canvassing to a whole new level!
Once again, thank you for your support this year.
Please share this legislative update with your Spanish speaking family, neighbors, and friends. Here at Rights & Democracy, we want to get every community involved locally, regionally and nationally. Minorities deserve to be part of the democratic process. Adios amigos!
Spanish version of this letter here | Version en español aqui
In solidarity,
Sebastian Fuentes, NH Movement Politics Director