Upcoming Hearings and Votes (Week of 5/6/24)

Over the past few weeks, many of New Futures’ priority bills had public hearings and votes either in executive sessions or on the floor. Now, many of the bills will go to a second committee for further review. Find out the status of the bills and where each one is headed next.

Learn more and take action below:

Upcoming Public Hearings

Tuesday, May 7

10:30 AM - HB 1521: Supporting Development of Recovery Housing (Legislative Office Building, Room 103, Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs)

HB 1521 would expand access to recovery housing in New Hampshire by helping cities and towns develop recovery housing resources. This would help the state further address the ongoing addiction crisis.

Wednesday, May 8

10:00 AM - SB 505: Banning Hemp-Derived THC Products (Legislative Office Building, Room 205, House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs)

The House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on a non-germane amendment to SB 505. SB 505 in its original form would permanently ban hemp-derived THC products known as delta-8, delta-9, and delta-10. These dangerous and unregulated products were sold in NH due to a legal loophole, until a 2023 law banned them for one year. The non-germane amendment would legalize the sale of hemp-derived THC products at New Hampshire retailers, like gas stations and convenience stores, without imposing effective regulations. Sign in to OPPOSE the non-germane amendment!

Upcoming Executive Sessions

RSV Immunization: SB 559 would ensure access to the RSV immunization for New Hampshire children. This bill doesn’t make the immunization mandatory; it simply removes financial barriers for families who choose to get it. The House Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs Committee will hold an executive session to vote on a recommendation for the bill on Wednesday, May 8. There’s still time to email the committee to urge them to support SB 559.

Insurance Coverage Mandate for Youth Mental Health Services: Last week, the House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee held a public hearing on SB 411, the bill that as amended, would create a committee to study emergency mental health services for youth in New Hampshire. These services include wraparound services, behavioral or mental health crisis assessments, crisis intervention services, crisis stabilization services, intensive in-home services, residential treatment services, intensive structured outpatient programs, parent and youth peer support services, and partial hospitalization programs. These services are critical to ensuring that the needs of New Hampshire's most vulnerable children are met. The committee is scheduled to hold an executive session to vote on a recommendation for the bill on Wednesday, May 8 at 11 am. Email the committee to urge them to support youth mental health services in New Hampshire.

Cannabis Commercialization: HB 1633 is the only bill in the legislature this year attempting to legalize cannabis for adult use. The bill as amended by the House falls short of meeting the Principles for Responsible Cannabis Commercialization. In its current form, the bill does not provide any funding to reduce the harms of legalizing another addictive product. More money needs to be dedicated to mental health and substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery. The Senate Judiciary Committee will likely hold an executive session to vote on a recommendation for the bill on Wednesday, May 8. Email the Senate Judiciary Committee to ask them to oppose the bill in its current form and amend it to include funding for prevention, treatment, and recovery programming.

Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation: Five anti-LGBTQ+ bills remain from the original 30+ that were introduced in this session. All five bills have passed the House, and similar versions of all of these bills have been supported in the Senate. Public hearings have been held in Senate Committees, and the Committees are expected to hold executive sessions to vote on recommendations for four of the bills this week, and it’s critical we tell our lawmakers that we need to keep New Hampshire inclusive and welcoming for everyone. The bills:

• Discrimination in Public Spaces: HB 396 would allow for discrimination against transgender people by banning them from using restrooms or locker rooms and participating in sports that align with their preferred gender identity. Bans such as these prohibit transgender youth from participating in typical daily activities and make them feel unwelcome in their communities, which leads to poorer mental health outcomes.
• Sports Ban for Transgender Girls: HB 1205 would ban transgender girls from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity at public middle and high schools. It is unclear how this bill would be enforced, which could lead to intrusive and damaging inquisitions on any student-athlete.
• Restricting Access to Medical Care for Transgender Teens: HB 619, as amended, would ban gender-affirming surgery for transgender youth and prohibit doctors from referring care for transgender youth to out-of-state doctors. Transgender youth, like all youth, have the best chance to thrive when they are supported and can get the doctor-prescribed medical care they need when they need it. Gender-affirming care is evidence-based and supported by medical authorities like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association.
• Censorship in Schools: HB 1312 attempts to silence discussions of gender and sexuality in the classroom by implementing a two-week advance notice of any curriculum including those topics. When LGBTQ+ youth feel support, acceptance, and open representation within their homes, schools and communities, they have much better mental health, educational and social outcomes.

Upcoming Votes

The Senate is not scheduled to hold a session next week. The House of Representatives will hold a session on Thursday, May 9, and is scheduled to vote on one New Futures priority bill:

Treatment Services in NH’s Criminal Justice System: SB 508 would increase access to substance use and mental health screening and treatment for individuals in New Hampshire's criminal justice system. This would help them receive the treatment services they need, reduce criminal recidivism, and help New Hampshire overcome the ongoing addiction and mental health crises. Email your Representative(s) to urge them to support SB 508.

Recapping Last Week

Public Hearings

Many of our advocates gathered at the State House to share their stories and deliver testimony to state legislators during public hearings last week.

Sports Ban for Transgender Girls: The Senate Education Committee held a public hearing on HB 1205, the bill that would ban transgender girls from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity at public middle and high schools. It is unclear how this bill would be enforced, which could lead to intrusive and damaging inquisitions on any student-athlete. Next, the committee will hold an executive session to vote on a recommendation for the bill. There's still time to email the committee to urge them to vote against this sports ban bill!

House of Representatives Votes

The following bills were voted on during the House of Representatives session on Thursday, May 2:

Child Care for Child Care Teachers: The House of Representatives voted to pass SB 404 as amended by the House Special Committee on Child Care. The Committee’s amendment restores the bill back to its original intent of providing child care workers with automatic access to the New Hampshire Scholarship Program. SB 404 will now advance to the House Finance Division III Committee. The Committee has elected not to hold a public hearing and will instead hold a work session on SB 404 on Tuesday, May 7 at 10:00 am. Email the Committee to show your support for SB 404.

Supports for Child Care Centers: After a brief debate, the House of Representatives voted 190-170 to pass SB 596. This bill provides additional funding to child care centers caring for children with extra behavioral or developmental needs through the New Hampshire Child Care Scholarship program. SB 596 will now advance to the House Finance Division III Committee. The Committee has elected not to hold a public hearing and will instead hold a work session on SB 596 on Tuesday, May 7 at 10:00 am. Email the Committee to show your support for SB 596.

Growing the Health Care Workforce: The House of Representatives voted 188-178 to pass SB 403. This bill aims to increase access to care by creating voluntary certification for Community Health Workers, which would provide a clear career path and greater financial stability for these frontline health workers. This bill will now advance to the House Finance Division I Committee. The Committee will not hold a public session on the bill and will instead hold a work session on SB 403 on Wednesday, May 8 at 10:40 am. Email the Committee to show your support for SB 403.

Sports Ban for Transgender Girls: The House of Representatives voted to send SB 375 to interim study after a motion to lay the bill on the table failed. A motion to reconsider also failed. SB 375 would have banned transgender girls from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity at both the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels. While it is good news that this bill is not going to the Governor’s desk, a similar bill, HB 1205, is still active in the state Senate. Email your Senator to urge them to oppose HB 1205.

Mandatory Outing in Schools: The House of Representatives voted 185-176 to Indefinitely Postpone SB 341, the bill that would have required teachers to out LGBTQ+ students to their parents when asked. This means the bill has been defeated for this session!

Oversight of Substance Use Treatment System: The House voted to send SB 495 to interim study, meaning the bill will not advance this session. SB 495 would have improved New Hampshire’s substance use treatment system by strengthening patient protections and ensuring high-quality services. New Futures will continue our work to improve NH’s substance use treatment system through other avenues.

Senate Votes

Legalizing Drug Checking Equipment: The Senate voted to kill HB 470 by voice vote. HB 470 would have made it easier for Granite Staters to access life-saving drug testing kits to prevent overdoses and save lives. Under current law, with the exceptions of fentanyl and xylazine test strips, possession with intent to distribute life-saving drug-checking equipment is an unclassified misdemeanor and punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of $2,000.

Immunization Requirements for Child Care Centers: The Senate voted to send HB 1213 to interim study. HB 1213, as amended, would have impacted child care reporting and exempted child care centers from any and all immunization enrollment requirements. This bill will not advance this session.

To check in on the status of all our priority bills, visit our Current Legislation page and select an issue you care about!