Upcoming Hearings and Votes (Week of 2/12/24)
Welcome to another week of action at the State House! There are plenty of opportunities to use your voice to impact legislation on issues you care about this week.
At New Futures, we are focusing our efforts this week on legislation that would better equip child care centers to care for children with extra needs.
Below are updates on bills heading to the Senate floor this week, plus a recap of what happened last week!
Hearings on Monday, February 12
9:45 AM: HB 1287 - Protecting MTSS-B Programming in Schools (House Education, LOB Room 205)
HB 1287 would change the definition of “evidence-based” methods to remove peer-reviewed evidence practices to remove MTSS-B programming from schools. In New Hampshire, MTSS-B is a comprehensive system of social, emotional, and behavioral support to promote student wellness and improve engagement in learning.
Hearings on Tuesday, February 13
9:00 AM: SB 596 - Supporting Child Care Centers in Meeting the Needs of All Children (Senate Education, LOB Room 101)
SB 596 would provide additional funding to child care centers serving high-needs children through the NH Child Care Scholarship. This would allow child care centers to hire support staff to meet the needs of all children and safely maximize enrollment to help address the child care availability crisis.
Upcoming Executive Sessions
Two House Committees are expected to vote on recommendations for two anti-LGBTQ+ bills this week. There’s still time to call or email Committee members to urge them to vote against these harmful pieces of legislation.
- Tuesday, 9:45 am: HB 1356 would ban public school employees from using students’ preferred names and pronouns without written permission from the student’s parents or guardians.
Contact House Education to urge them to vote against HB 1356. - Wednesday, 9:30 am: HB 1660 would ban Medicaid insurance plans from covering gender-affirming procedures for youth.
Contact the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee to urge them to vote against HB 1660.
Upcoming Votes: Senate
On Thursday, February 15, the Senate will vote on two New Futures priority bills: SB 404, which gives child care workers automatic access to the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship program, and SB 499, which aims to reduce hunger for children, older adults, and people with disabilities in New Hampshire. Upon successful passage, both bills will likely be referred to the Senate Finance Committee for review.
Email your state senator to urge them to support:
What Happened Last Week
Votes: Senate
On Thursday, the Senate voted unanimously to pass two New Futures’ priority bills: SB 399, which increases access to lead testing, and SB 495, which will strengthen patient protections in New Hampshire’s substance use treatment system. SB 495 heads to the Senate Finance Committee for review, while SB 399 will cross over to the House of Representatives.
Public Hearings
Public hearings were held last week on bills looking to ban social-emotional learning in schools, as well as bills trying to ban transgender girls from playing sports and educators from using a student’s preferred name and pronouns without written parental consent.
Over 4,000 people submitted online testimony to oppose the ban on SEL in schools and 30 people testified in person, including six-year-old Cordelia from Concord.
There are still opportunities to take action on these bills:
- Email House Education to urge them to keep SEL in schools
- Share how you or a loved one are impacted by the attack on LGBTQ+ rights in New Hampshire
Thank you for your efforts in working to improve the health and well-being of Granite Staters! Please reach out if you have any questions about any of these bills.
