Legislators okay changes to NH court system

Last week the New Hampshire Senate approved the so-call “circuit court bill” sponsored by Rep. Gary Richardson (D-Hopkinton) that will revamp the state’s court system. “The reorganization would bring lots of staffing and management changes and reductions, with an overall projected savings of almost $1.5 million in staffing costs in the next four years,” wrote [...]

Senate Budget Hearings Today | Front Door Politics

Today’s Daily Dispatch from Front Door Politics reports on today’s budget hearing in Concord. Click on the link below for the entire article. Today’s Dispatch also mentions that the House budget would abolish the Department of Cultural Resources and defund the New Hampshire State Council of the Arts. “If passed, that would make New Hampshire [...]

Bill Tracker Upgrade and Updates | Front Door Politics

From Front Door Politics… “Bill Tracker: tracking the laws that matter to you. Search, sort, understand.Want to know who voted for what in the N.H. House and Senate? Our 2011 Bill Tracker now includes links to all roll call votes, as well as links to the text of every bill we’ve covered so far this [...]

They Said It! | Front Door Politics

They Said It! Tensions are running high in Concord this session, as the following references to demons, jalapeno peppers, and a hostile press in this week’s “They Said It!” reflect. via They Said It! | Front Door Politics.

NHPTV and Rooms & Meals Go to Vote | Front Door Politics

In what is shaping up to be the busiest period yet for lawmakers this session, the House will meet twice next week to vote on dozens of bills — on Tuesday after Gov. John Lynch’s budget address to the Legislature and on Wednesday for its regularly scheduled session.Two bills that we have reported on this [...]

Back to Basics: Repealing Public Kindergarten | Front Door Politics

More than three years after the Legislature mandated public kindergarten in New Hampshire, the debate has returned with a House proposal that would repeal the law. via Back to Basics: Repealing Public Kindergarten | Front Door Politics.

Testing Tax Cuts | Front Door Politics

Republican leadership at the State House has made tax cutting and budget balancing top priorities and today, the House Ways and Means Committee will hold public hearings and may have executive session votes on nine tax-related bills. They include three measures we are watching that could lead to tens of millions in tax cuts on [...]

Who Pays for Planned Parenthood | Front Door Politics

For the third time since 2007, legislation has been filed to cut off all state funding for Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, which runs six health centers in New Hampshire. The House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee will hold the first public hearing on House Bill 228 Tuesday. While no state or [...]

Constitutional debate over federal health care action | Front Door Politics

A Constitutional showdown could be on the docket if New Hampshire lawmakers pass a bill set for a full House vote. The session has been cancelled tomorrow [February 2, 2011] due to snow, so the House will likely take up the bill next Wednesday. (Photo: N.H. Attorney General Michael Delaney refutes the Legislature’s authority to [...]

Postponing Changes to Education Funding | Front Door Politics

A year after a similar measure failed, a House committee will likely vote Tuesday on a proposal to postpone scheduled changes to education funding for New Hampshire cities and towns. The funding formula was settled on by the Legislature in 2008. It is due to change beginning July 1. Sponsored by Rep. Kenneth Gould R-Derry, [...]

Cold Case Unit Could Become Permanent | Front Door Politics

More than 120 unsolved murders in New Hampshire stretch back over four decades. Now, a bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to make the state’s temporary investigative Cold Case Unit a permanent entity. via Cold Case Unit Could Become Permanent | Front Door Politics.

Pondering Pensions | Front Door Politics

Public employees and unions are keeping a close eye on big changes to the New Hampshire Retirement System that could be coming down the pike — and on a newly created House committee on pension reform. When the recession hit, the state’s public employee pension system was already battered from a decade of chronic underfunding. [...]

Redefining “Adequacy” in Education | Front Door Politics

Less than four years after a bipartisan measure in the Legislature met the New Hampshire Supreme Court’s order to define an “adequate education,” a Litchfield lawmaker has filed a bill to change that definition. Republican Rep. Ralph Boehm, vice chair of the House Education Committee, will present House Bill 39 for a public hearing in [...]

Pharmaceutical Take-Back | Front Door Politics

Unused pharmaceuticals increasingly fuel addiction and environmental concerns, but two new bills could help keep New Hampshire’s excess medications off the streets and out of the water supply — while getting some of them to patients for whom costly pills are largely out of reach. Read more via the Daily Dispatch…

Snow Day: Public Hearings Rescheduled | Front Door Politics

Withdrawing state funding for public television and repealing the moratorium on school building aid are among the public hearings that were cancelled today due to the snow. via Snow Day: Public Hearings Rescheduled | Front Door Politics. PS: Front Door Politics posted an update on the Republican’s investigation of state Democratic Party leader Rep. Mike [...]

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