As the legislative session comes to a close, it is essential for voters to understand what bills your legislator sponsored and what they voted for or against. The current Republican legislature is very different from the Republican legislature of 25 years ago that worked to make the quality of life in New Hampshire number one in the nation.
InDepth NH has a good article by Gary Rayno (past political reporter for the Manchester Union Leader) regarding what has happened since the Free Stater Movement came into New Hampshire. See below for some of the excerpts from his article entitled: “What is Your Legislature Doing?” dated March 30.
• “You better damn well know who you are voting for in the upcoming elections this year.
Most of the attention will be on the presidential race and the two open races in New Hampshire for governor and the 2nd Congressional District, but what will have a far greater effect on your life will be who are the members elected to the New Hampshire House and Senate.”
- “The last two legislatures elected should be a warning to anyone who has lived in the Granite State before the influx of the mob owned by the Koch Foundation and others of the same ilk who have used their fortunes to put people who do not represent the views of a majority of the state’s residents into the legislature.”
“That has brought the war on public education into our living rooms and kitchen tables in a way never envisioned by most residents who were happily living here before former Governor Craig Benson invited the Free State Project to become squatters in the Granite State. . . .”
Please, please, please know who you are voting for in the primary and the general election this year so maybe the legislature can return to dealing with the issues that New Hampshire needs to address, like equitable education funding and opportunities, homelessness and the housing crisis without the state mandating local zoning ordinances, more pervasive mental health services and addiction treatment, expanding affordable child care, funding social services to allow a hand up, reducing higher education costs so students can graduate without owing the equivalent of a mortgage, and more home-based services for the elderly.”
The two recent InDepth NH articles (at indepthnh.org/2024/03/30/what-is-your-legislature-doing/ and indepthnh.org/2024/04/13/distand-dome-education-priorities-upside-down-in-legislature) provide information on specific New Hampshire bills that are being voted on this year. Go to: gencourt.state.nh.us/nhgcrollcalls/ to see how your legislator voted.
If you are worried about your property taxes, pay attention to the fact that taxes have been reduced for corporations and the wealthy by hundreds of millions of dollars while, at the same time, funding has been moved from public education to school vouchers (aka, Education Freedom Accounts). These vouchers have no accountability and seemingly no limits on cost. As Charles Siler, a past lobbyist for the school voucher initiative stated: “But make no mistake, they all have the same purpose: To undo public education — not only the institution but also the public funding of schools.”
Know who you are voting for.
(InDepthNH.org protects independent journalism that holds government accountable to the people.)