If you want high drama, forget the movies! Come to the State House; it is free, and all are welcome.

March 9 and 10 saw a marathon two-day session with representatives voting on approximately 500 bills from 9 AM to 9 PM. Speaker Jasper was so fast with his gavel that at one point, we had barely enough time to keep up.

I counted 331 bills on the consent calendar, which are voted on as one bill. Twenty of them were removed from the consent calendar before the vote and voted on separately. Add to this another 184 in the regular calendar, and this made for an exhausting two-day session.

Of course, the bill to watch was HB 1696, renewing Medicaid expansion. There were a number of competing amendments, some of which were seen as poison pills which would doom the bill if passed. These amendments were defeated.

Representative Umberger of Finance presented an amendment (the severability amendment) which allowed the program to continue even if the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services in Washington did not approve of certain provisions in the bill. This was seen as a make-or-break amendment, and when the vote tally flashed on the monitor, a collective gasp could be heard: 181 to 181. You could hear a pin drop.

A tie vote is a No vote, but Speaker Jasper immediately added his vote for passage of the amendment. The entire bill, as amended, passed the House 216 to 145. The Senate is expected to follow the House lead.

As a state representative, I also belong to the Merrimack County delegation. HB 1349, per my amendment, would have the Merrimack County Courthouse being built in downtown Concord rather than on Hazen Drive, just outside of Concord. This was a difficult time for me and Representative Karen Ebel of New London, since we are both members of the County delegation and members of the Public Works and Highway committee, which was initially opposed to the downtown location.

The committee prides itself on discussing issues thoroughly and usually votes unanimously on recommendations to the House. However, the bipartisan county delegation supported the downtown location, and we agreed that we could do so in a fiscally responsible manner and avoid another blighted area in our capital city.

The vote in the committee was 10 to 6 against the downtown location, but the House rejected the committee’s recommendation by a stunning 212 to 126, and HB 1349 passed the House on a voice vote. The County delegation then decided that we will set up an oversight committee to be sure that our county taxpayers are protected.

HB 2016, the 10-year plan that is under the purview of my committee, was also on the block. It contained $4 million (federal money) for a rail engineering study.

While the committee broke on a 10-to-10 vote to keep the money in and decided to present a unified front to the House on the entire bill (18 to 2) as Ought To Pass (OTP), a floor amendment was introduced to remove the rail study from the plan and unfortunately succeeded, 174 to 162. Opponents of rail argued that the money would be better spent on roads and highways, even though they knew that the federal money could not be transferred and used for any other purpose than a rail study.

Six constitutional amendments were proposed. Many consider them a waste of time, as they require a two-thirds vote (267) of the House and are therefore nearly impossible to pass. In fact, five of them were tabled, and one was deemed Inexpedient To Legislate (ITL).

The proposed amendments: CACR 17 would have established a residency requirement for voting. CACR 23 would allow selectmen not to be present to receive the votes at election time. CACR 21 would require the Attorney General to be elected every four years. CACR 13 tried to resolve a conflict between the courts and the legislature.

CACR 22 provides that the right of privacy from government interference shall not be restricted, and it failed 220 to 110. (Remember, 267 votes are required to pass a constitutional amendment.) CACR 16, relating to parents’ rights, which opponents said would jeopardize the rights of children in child abuse cases, failed 174 to 136 and was tabled. Many of these constitutional amendments had been proposed in the past and consistently defeated.

Other Bills

HB 1532, allowing state or county prisoners to vote, failed on a voice vote.

HB 1440, an attempt to remove requirement for solid waste operators to be certified, failed 219 to 130.

HB 1282, adopting the 2015 International Building Code to keep up with new energy savings, failed 307 to 49.

HB 1428, allocating funding to eligible and completed wastewater programs in five municipalities, passed on a voice vote.

HB 1475, establishing a death benefit of $100,000 for a school employee killed in the line of duty, failed 195 to 160.

HB 1591, increasing premiums for state retirees, passed 194 to 162. (I voted against it.)

HB 1686, eliminating LCHIP, failed on a voice vote.

HB 1453, allowing medical marijuana to be used for ulcerative colitis, came out of committee with an ITL recommendation but was overturned 257 to 89 and passed on a voice vote.

HB 1346, increasing the base pay for tipped employees (now $3.27 an hour) failed 190 to 137. I was a co-signer of this bill.

HB 1480, increasing the minimum wage, failed 185 to 143.

HB 1180, allowing municipalities to bond for broadband expansion, a bill I co-sponsored, failed 188 to 142.

HB 1116, raising the cap on net metering, passed on a voice vote.

HB 1479, establishing a broadband study committee, a bill I co-sponsored, went down 184 to 128.

HB 1445, allowing tinted windows on cars, passed on a voice vote.

HB 1198, relative to the valuation of poles owned by utilities, passed on a voice vote. This bill may put an end to utilities’ lawsuits against municipalities regarding valuations of poles for tax purposes.

HB 1572, establishing a broadband development tax credit for utilities to finish “the last mile” in our rural counties, a bill I co-sponsored, was referred to Interim Study.

HB 1547, prohibiting bestiality, passed on a voice vote.

HB 1600, prohibiting the possession of a flame thrower, failed 294 to 10. I was one of the 10 who thought having a flame thrower was a crazy thing.

HB 1614, relative to the decriminalization of prostitution, was tabled.

HB 1631, relative to the decriminalization for the possession of half an ounce of marijuana, came out of committee with an ITL recommendation. The House overwhelming rejected the ITL recommendation by a vote of 193 to 104 and passed the decriminalization bill. The Senate is unlikely to agree, but one never knows.

HB 1645, making it lawful to carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle, failed 149 to 146.

HB 1225, allowing high school students who are members of the armed forces to wear their uniforms at graduation, passed 292 to 12.

HB 1570, repealing the minimum distance that protesters must keep from abortion clinics, did pass 160 to 152.

There were also seven bills that would have restricted abortion. All of them failed.

As you can see, our $200 salary was well earned in the last two weeks. Because of the large number of bills, I was not able to report on every bill, and I would direct anyone interested in learning more to go to Gencourt.state.nh.us and click on Calendars and Journals, where each bill’s result can be found.

The House will now take up Senate bills, and the Senate will take up House bills.

I am always available at 735-5440 or MarioRatzki@nullgmail.com.