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Back at the SH for more voting. We got thru about 2/3rds of our bills yesterday, but a lot of that was by tabling stuff, so there's a good chance that lots of stuff will be coming back off the table from yesterday. #NHPolitics
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First bill of the day is HB49, the Sununu Center closure bill, which was special-ordered from yesterday to today. There's an amendment to it.
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Rep. Edwards is making a motion to reconsider an amendment we just adopted on voice vote, so that we can debate it.
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Current amendment to HB49: 0892h, which is about the replacement facility for the Sununu Center, and which children will be placed in it.
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not quite sure if Rep. Edwards' speech is for or against this amendment
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ah, sounds like he's against the current amendment and in favor of a different amendment
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procedure is: second amendment adopted overrides any conflicting portions in previous amendments, so, if the second one is better, why not just adopt both?
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Rep. Marjorie Smith is now speaking in favor of the Committee Amendment (0892h)
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I kinda missed Rep. Edwards' PI going off the rails there due to some confusion about group chats on people's phones
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Anyways I am voting for both amendments here.
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Amendment 0892h (to HB49) passes 200-179; time for the floor amendment (1104h)
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Someone with a yellow libertarian scarf is now speaking against amendment 1104h (to HB49), on budgetary grounds
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This speaker wants the replacement to be put in Concord instead, where there's currently housing development planned. I think we need that housing development to go forward, and would prefer the new center to go somewhere where housing isn't already planned.
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Now Rep. Edwards is speaking in favor of his amendment (1104h to HB49); giving the legislative history behind it
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Listing a bunch of people in favor of this amendment
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Floor amendment is adopted 276-104, so that means both amendments passed; bill passes as a whole on voice vote
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Back to bills from the HHS Committee with HB557, relative to DHS's rulemaking authority regarding immunization requirements
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GOP are spreading antivax conspiracy theories
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I have had 4 COVID vax shots, and none of my side effects from them were outside the range of possible side effects that were predicted as ones to expect
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this bill affects more vaccines besides just COVID btw; anyone ready for polio to come back?
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OTP on HB557 fails 184-193; time for the ITL on it. Looks like we managed to stop the anti-vaxxers!
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ITL passes by a similar margin; next bill is HB575, another vaccine-related one
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uh wtf is @jonahowheeler doing siding with the Republicans on this? I thought we were supposed to be the pro-science party over here on this side of the aisle.
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State distribution of vaccines is a *good thing*. You're not sticking it to the big pharma companies with this bill, you're just harming vulnerable people who rely upon the state for creating a safe environment for them by vaccinating the populace.
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what's wrong with being guinea pigs? Guinea pigs are cute and pampered, and get to just sit around and eat all day. I would *love* to be a guinea pig (except for maybe the short lifespan part)
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ok phew we killed HB575; glad that we can maintain some sanity about vaccinations here. Next is HB582, requiring the division of vital records to collect induced termination of pregnancy statistics.
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Not sure what the urgency for warning teens about the dangers of unprotected sex is, considering that they're already having less of it anyways. It was already drilled into my head as a teen not to have unprotected sex; additional statsgathering isn't necessary to make that point
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Now @LWMcV is speaking against HB582, on privacy grounds
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HB582 is ITL-ed 205-177, so we picked up a few Republicans on that
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Next is HB615; Rep. Layon moves to table it. This is a bill requiring independent audits of reproductive health care facilities. As someone who lives next to a repro-health center, there isn't much to audit going on there; it's mostly a stage for sidewalk-based performance art.
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Next up: bills from Judiciary, starting with CACR2, which would put reproductive freedom in the state constitution.
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Rep. Bob Lynn is now speaking against CACR2; don't really feel like summarizing him.
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Now Eric Durer is speaking in favor of CACR2
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Rep. Durer is doing a good job addressing a lot of the objections to this CACR
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Vote on CACR2 is 193-191, which fails to reach the 3/5ths threshold for going on the ballot
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next bill is HB88, relative to reproductive rights. I think this is basically the statutory equivalent of what CACR2 tried to do?
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Now @AlexisSimpsonNH is speaking in favor of HB88, on the grounds that it clarifies legislative intent of other abortion-related law.
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HB88 passes OTP 199-185; next is HB224, repealing the criminal and civil penalties from the fetal life protection act.
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There's something from the prison abolition movement that I thought was called a "sentenceless trial" that I kinda want to reference here, but searching for that term doesn't turn up anything
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Heh someone actually made the "HB224 is actually pro-life" argument that I was considering making, but afraid to on the grounds that it might be misinterpreted
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Anyways, green on OTP on HB224! Let's pass it!
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OTP on HB224 passes 205-178; next is HB261, which I think I was at the hearing for...
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HB261 hearing: @cooljeanius/1618292141889040385
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.@NHCADSV supports this legislation: @cooljeanius/1618294774825619456
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Always listen to @brandonjlemay on housing: @cooljeanius/1618300217887162369
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OTP on HB261 passes 193-191; we finally found a way to overcome the opposition of the landlords!
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reconsideration fails 190-194, so we've locked it in!
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Next: HB271, repealing the fetal life protection act; just PIs on it
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this would just put things back to the way they were before last term
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vote on OTP on HB271 is 192-192, with Speaker Packard voting to create the tie. Tabling motion passes on voice vote.
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k lunch break; time to return by is 1:10
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all right, back to voting on stuff. One last bill from Judiciary: HB591, another abortion-related bill. Rep. David Testerman is speaking to it.
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Now up: @CandaceforNH @candacern59217 sharing her experience as a nurse, and giving us a biochemistry lesson
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sounds like it doesn't actually take much to qualify as a heartbeat! You can have a heartbeat with just a few cells in a petri dish.
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personally my preferred criterion for moral personhood is consciousness, but since that's somewhat difficult to test for (see: the problem of other minds), I think the viability criterion set forth in Roe is perfectly fine for legal purposes.
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also I wish people would stop conflating "life" with "moral personhood"; there are plenty of nonhuman living beings that we don't grant moral personhood to
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this Rep. just read a dictionary definition of "deception"; good grief
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if we granted moral personhood to every living being w/a heartbeat, we'd all have to be vegetarian, hunting & fishing would both be illegal, pest control workers wouldn't be able to set out mousetraps, & many other changes that would fundamentally alter society would be necessary
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HB591 is ITL-ed 271-110; that's it for Judiciary bills.
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Next are bills from Labor, starting with HB150, relative to the certification of a collective bargaining unit. This bill would basically make it easier to form a union, so, it sounds good! Let's pass it! #1u
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Now speaking: Rep. Brian Sullivan speaking in favor of HB150. The lower limit on the number of members of a collective bargaining unit is currently 10; this bill would lower it to 5.
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HB150 passes OTP 204-179; looks like we managed to pick up a few Republicans!
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HB561 tabled on voice vote; that's it for Labor.
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Next is Leg. Admin, with CACR4, to raise legislative pay. Currently we only get $100 per year (plus mileage, for those driving), which is not enough to live on. I am having to rely on social safety net programs to get by currently, and wish I didn't have to.
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For the members who aren't crazy like I am, most of them are either old and retired, independently rich, relying on passive forms of income such as landlording, or have a job with flexibility in scheduling. This leads to a wildly unrepresentative legislature.
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Tabling motion on CACR4 fails, so onto debate on the ITL motion on it. Rep. Stephanie Payeur is now speaking against the ITL motion and in favor of the CACR.
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Studies have shown that professionalizing state legislatures increases legislation quality. Being a volunteer legislature isn't something to be proud of. It shows that we, as a state, don't value or reward good government.
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Dang it, I can't find the study I'm thinking of at the moment... anyways, we're now on the bill from my committee, HB423, the ADU bill. Rep. Preece spoke to it, now Rep. Turcotte is speaking against.
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HB423 hearing: @cooljeanius/1623392996266807297
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Realtors support: @cooljeanius/1623399960866615298
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Ben Frost supports: @cooljeanius/1623402394066337794
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Municipal Association only barely opposed: @cooljeanius/1623403985125142528
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More housing people in support: @cooljeanius/1623404637977018368
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Executive Session on it: @cooljeanius/1625901334305157150
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vote on it: @cooljeanius/1625907877390037003
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anyways the bill was tabled while I was digging those up; more tabling currently
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Ah, here we go! I found the study I was looking for on legislature professionalization. Tagging with #SocSciResearch and #PoliSciResearch so I can find it more easily next time I'm looking for it, in case we try to professionalize again later: @MattGrossmann/1265981221957500928
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anyways the current bill is HB139, from SciTech, relative to the definition of "municipal host" for purposes of limited electrical energy producers. This bill would be helpful for renewables (such as solar) and net metering, so naturally Republicans oppose it.
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Does this guy realize that his mic is working perfectly fine? He doesn't need to yell.
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Good speech from @JackieCinMHT in favor of HB139!
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Rep. Vose is warning against generating too much electricity, which, uh...
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OTP on HB139 passes 188-186; yay!
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Next bill: HB142, relative to the operation of the Burgess Biopower plant.
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from the last time we had a bill about it: @cooljeanius/1522238557737345025
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oops, missed the results on that... apparently we have some Mongolian prosecutors in the gallery today?
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Last bill on the regular calendar is HB607, from Ways & Means, relative to the regulation of games of chance. Discussing amendment 1103h to it currently.
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Those were voice votes, so I missed the results
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Time for bills removed from consent
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current bill: HB648, creating a state public bank. I remember Paul Hodes supporting one. North Dakota has one. Rep. Gerhardt is speaking in favor of it; that's an odd crossover...
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I wonder if Rep. Gerhardt realizes this something that DSA-types support, given his general opposition to socialism? Anyways, @TimothyHorrigan is now speaking in support of the bill, too.
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I'm going to vote to overturn the ITL, but I hold no illusions about its chances of passing.
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HB648 is ITL-ed on voice vote. Last bill I'm seeing removed from consent: HB277, which Rep. Layon moves to table.
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HB277 is tabled 367-8; I wonder if anything will be coming off the table?
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Nope, looks like Rep. Osborne is doing the 3rd reading motion, which passes on voice vote, so everything on the table stays on the table.
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time for announcements and unanimous consent speeches
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so yeah we actually got done earlier than expected, thanks to all that tabling!
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Rep. Hope Damon has a Unanimous Consent speech for Women's History Month; has a number of other female state legislators standing with her
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Shoutout to Dudley Dudley, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, etc.
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Now @KatMcGhee4NH has a Unanimous Consent speech for Jim Belanger, who is someone who has testified before my committee before.
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Now Gerri Cannon has a Unanimous Consent speech for the #TDOV on the 31st, since apparently this is the closest session we'll be having to that date.
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ok time to adjourn now
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darn, looks like it's raining outside; I brought neither a raincoat nor an umbrella... at least I have a brimmed hat...