Poultry in Motion

There were 1101 legislative service requests filed for the 2018 session of the NH House. An LSR is a fledgling bill, one that is written up by a legislator and sent off to be refined and gone over by legislative services, and will then go on to be assigned a number and be sent to a committee. Eighty-three bills were withdrawn before reaching legislative services.

It’s always an adventure. A fair percentage of bills will be retreads that we see over and over, sometimes for decades. There are bill sponsors who pay no attention to the fact that their favorite hobbyhorse doesn’t delight anyone else, or the time for their dream (can anyone say casino?) has passed.

In other legislative updates, last week the legislature had a non-mandatory training for the 425 members of the NH General Court on sexual harassment and discrimination. Of the 425 members, fewer than 10% were in attendance. The rest, no doubt assuming that they were already fully capable of engaging in harassment and needed no further guidance. The presentation is available on the NH General Court website for anyone who is interested.

There are 8 gun related bills this session. There is one bill related to bridge construction. We have hundreds of bridges in dire need of repair, and some of the least restrictive gun laws in the country. There are 20 bills related to “domicile” which is defined in the NH dictionary as “way to prevent voting.” There are 21 bills that are related to “voter,” as in “we don’t want you to vote.” HB 1772 would allow online voter registration, something the Republicans will never allow. After all, a bus can’t park behind a computer.

HB 1474 would make the NH Red the official state poultry. We have pretty much an official state everything else, so why not let the chickens have their day? Indiana is just getting around to passing a bill to make the firefly their state insect. NH has had a state insect since 1977. Take that, Hoosiers.

HB 1242 comes from two young state representatives seeking to create a committee to redesign the state flag. It’s true that the image of a frigate that appears to have run aground may not be the most interesting state flag, but the sponsors of this bill stipulate that the new design will feature the Old Man of the Mountain and the state motto. The Old Man fell off the side of the mountain in 2003. Why do even young New Hampshire guys want to live in the past?  What we need is a new (less destructive) state motto and a new state song. “Old New Hampshire” is a dirge. Lets try for something with a dance beat.

There are 4 abortion bills this year. HB 1707 would create a waiting period. The woman would have to go see a doctor to be handed information, and 24 hours later would be able to go back and access a procedure that she has a legal right to. HB 1721 would force a woman to go through a screening process to determine that she isn’t being coerced, prior to accessing a procedure she has a legal right to obtain. Other medical procedures don’t require this. In HB 1680, the fantasy gyno team will attempt to ban abortion after “viability.” They did include a stingy little line to cover medical emergencies, though in reading the bill you get the feeling they’d just as soon let the woman die.

HB1787 concerns the “right of conscience” for health care providers, including pharmacists. The bill’s concerns are only around abortion, sterilization, or birth control. To give an example of the breadth of concern these folks have for the born, note that every single one of the sponsors of these abortion bills voted against the Family and Medical Leave Insurance bill, except for the two who didn’t bother to vote. As for pharmacists, they aren’t doctors. It’s their job to fill prescriptions. If they can’t manage that, they should find other employment.


SB 465 (the duplicate House Bill is 1762) is a bill that would change child labor laws – especially for kids working in restaurants, allow employers to make tip pooling involuntary, and take rulemaking authority on wages, hours, and child labor from the Dept. of Labor and give it to the legislature. Senator Andy Sanborn, lead sponsor, owns a sports bar and is running for Congress in CD-1. You’ve gotta marvel at him for being so blatantly self-serving while running for higher office.

There are many more, but I’ll end with HB 1289, a bill that makes trespassing fowl a violation, instead of something to work out with a neighbor. Trespassing fowl could also be called poultry in motion. If you have “She Blinded Me With Science” as an earworm now...you’re welcome.

This was published as an op-ed in the February 9, 2018 edition of the Conway Daily Sun newspaper