Robin Hood took from the rich to give to the poor. Robin Hood was a textbook Socialist. It made for a good story but not a good lesson. What Joe Biden is doing is the opposite of Mr. Hood. With Biden’s plan, 30 million Americans, regardless of income, can take their Student Loan Note and give it to their neighbor. Regardless of income, every man and woman in America will be on the hook for as much as $430 Billion. Biden has been claiming that Bidenomics, his failing economic blueprint, is built around the middle class. This illegal plan that Biden keeps pushing in defiance of the Supreme Court will take money from someone who may make $1.5 million in their lifetime for someone who will earn upwards of $5 million in their lifetime. It appears that the graduates will have a better lifetime thanks to people they do not know.

Polls show that 62% of Americans think that there should be some level of forgiveness for graduates. 62% of Americans are wrong. There is no justification for this forgiveness. The only reason is for votes, plain and simple. Joe Biden used this shell game successfully in the 2022 midterms. He put the promise out, and Democrats garnered the extra votes on this issue before the Supreme Court shut it down. The graduates did not get the cash, but the Democrats did get the votes. Can graduates be foolish or naive enough to fall for the same ploy again? Biden is banking on it. The scheme is actually twofold. He is hoping for votes, but the attention focused on the subject is blowing smoke on the hobbled Biden economy.

The Biden Plan is one symptom of the financial pandemic seizing higher education. The other, fueled by easy tuition financing and the promise of forgiveness, is out-of-control increases in tuition rates. It seems like we were aghast at $60,000 annual tuition just a year ago, but this year, we see numerous schools pushing the bar to $90,000 and more. These are not just the Ivy League schools; Tufts in Boston is proud of their $95,000 rate. The sky is the limit if students are willing to pay or mortgage their future.

Returning to forgiveness, why should we even think about it. Well, Congresswoman Cortez has the answer. These people deserve it. Whether they use the money to buy a house, have a child, or tour the world, it is life-changing. That is Liberal bullcrap. I would like to tour the world in my retirement, but I do not see the President saying here’s $20K for you, Ray, compliments of your neighbors. Credit card rates are over 30%, which used to be the rate the Mob charged. I don’t see the President going after those rates, but is attacking the $10 late fee, like that makes a difference. There is no legitimate reason. There is only Progressive spin and their hope that the votes get harvested before the Supreme Court shuts down this farce.

The post 62% of Americans are Wrong appeared first on Granite Grok.

From the Women’s Defense League: The MOST important gun control hearing of the year will be coming up next week in the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee.

On Tuesday, April 16th at 2:00 PM, the Judiciary Committee will hear arguments on House Bill 1711. The hearing will take place in room 100 at the State House.

What is HB 1711?

The proposed legislation targets gun owners. If a gun owner has a mental health crisis and a court requires them to be committed, their firearms will be confiscated.

If someone is so dangerous to themselves or others that they are committed to a mental health institution, WHY are they being let out before they are well again? WHY are they being let out if they are NEVER well again? These people are IN the hospital, they have already lost all freedoms. What is the necessity in confiscating firearms they don’t have access to?

**People with mental illness are more likely to be victims of crime rather than commit crimes.**

No other potential ‘weapons’ are confiscated from a person who is adjudicated to a mental hospital (VERY similar to Red Flag Laws).

NO laws will have been broken by the gun owners to whom this legislation applies. People intent on harming themselves or others WILL DO SO, regardless of the law.

The sponsors are IGNORING the real issues of mental health and violent behavior and how to address them. It’s much easier to attack gun owners than to fix an incredibly broken system, that was broken by the government.

Who Sponsored HB 1711?

This is one of the most draconian gun control bills that has ever been pushed by a Republican in the history of New Hampshire. Representative Terry Roy is the main sponsor of the bill. His reasoning is emotional because an unarmed former law enforcement officer was killed while working as a security guard at the state mental institution (Roy is also former law enforcement). A huge ‘red flag’ is that this bill is co-sponsored by one of the biggest gun control pushers in the legislature, David Meuse.

Meuse is one of the NH Democrats who went to Biden’s White House to learn more about gun control they could pass in New Hampshire. It’s unfortunate some Republicans decided to help him in that effort.

Another ‘red flag’ against this legislation is that the ATF supports it. The sponsors supposedly worked with the ATF. If there is one federal organization that can NEVER be trusted by gun owners or 2nd Amendment supporters, it’s the ATF.

Who Supports HB 1711?

The majority of support for this bill has come from gun control proponents. No true 2nd Amendment supporters, upholding their Oath of Office to protect Granite Staters’ 2nd Amendment rights, voted for this legislation in the house:

 

What can you do?

SHOW UP at the hearing. You don’t have to testify. You can sign in and show your opposition by being there. The gun control crowd REALLY WANTS this bill to pass. They’ve spent over $1 MILLION to push gun control this session. YOUR presence helps negate their out-of-state money.

CALL and EMAIL the Senate Judiciary Committee members. CALLING to let them know your opposition is EXTREMELY important. The person who takes the call will write down how many people are opposed. That number is kept track of, whereas emails are not. Emails MAY get to the senators, so they are still important. You can reach the senators below:

Name	Email Address	Phone
Daryl Abbas (R)	Daryl.Abbas@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-4151
Sharon Carson (R)	Sharon.Carson@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3266
Shannon Chandley (D)	Shannon.Chandley@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3092
Bill Gannon (R)	William.Gannon@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3077
Rebecca Whitley (D)	Becky.Whitley@leg.state.nh.us	(603) 271-3092

SIGN IN online opposing the bill – https://gencourt.state.nh.us/remotecommittee/senate.aspx:

If you have ANY questions at all, please email info@wdlnh.org. We will help you write testimony if you’re interested; help you walk through signing in online if you need it, and be available on the day of the hearing at the State House.

The post URGENT – EXTREMELY IMPORTANT GUN CONTROL HEARING appeared first on Granite Grok.

To all those who are sending in memes, thank you!  Many, many good ones!  Please do share this post, and if you share an individual meme, consider mentioning you saw it on the Grok!

Speaking of, from this week, Monday Edition and Wednesday Edition.  Also check out my latest Israel-focused meme & commentary post if this is a subject of interest to you.

 

*** Warning, a few possibly off-color ones, in case tender eyes are about.  No, not possibly… definitely in this case.  Be aware! ***

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

 

They’re international.

 

 

 

Too many parents are more interested in being their kids’ “pals” than in being a parent.

 

 

I’m not forgiving or letting him off, but… think about it.  In the run up to 2020 he saw judges assaulted, homes protested at, attempts at cancellation, what happened with Kavanaugh.  Now, imagine if SCOTUS had ruled the other way, the election was given to Trump.  Multiply the above by a million.

Or he might have been bought / have kompromat on him.

 

 

As above, NO JUDGE wants to be the one who did this.

Imagine going through your life known as “THAT JUDGE”… the one who flipped an election.

 

 

 

 

Personally, I bet NO.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I suspect truer than I want to admit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was a waiter early on; I appreciate that tips are their main income and tend to be generous.  But this is a pet peeve of mine – ASKING to keep the change.  I almost got fired for that once.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And swapped mostly physical jobs to mostly desk ones.

 

 

 

 

 

WTAF?

 

 

RIP.

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA – PSA

 

That this can happen is beyond vile.  Understand that there really are people this evil – and even worse, like the depopulation people – in this world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My solution?

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

 

 

 

Cue this Prager video:

How Dark Were the Dark Ages? | 5 Minute Video (youtube.com)

 

 

 

 

 

Wouldn’t surprise me, but… I’d like to see the hard data on this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’ve been in debates where – IMHO of course – any objective viewer would understand that I clearly know orders of magnitude more than the other person.  But they will refuse to even think that I might have points…

 

 

Yeah, being thought insane is absolutely spot-on.

 

 

Exactly.  As this guy foresaw:

 

 

 

 

 

 

See above about deliberately creating chaos and uncertainty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m still dubious on this, but I’m willing to at least entertain things now.

 

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Link Section (some mine, some from my Jarhead friend):

 

The Carbon Emperor has no Clothes – American Thinker

Big Green is Big Business and Big Money.  Never mind, on top of that, Big Political Power.  Related, at least to me:

Sherpa tiny house takes a modern approach to space-saving design (newatlas.com)

Notice the beautiful woodlands location for the photoshoot.  Now, imagine this in a giant building in a 15 minute urban warren.  Yes, that’s the goal.

—

Hamas Treats Captive Israeli Women as Animals – American Thinker

Many people don’t realize that Islam explicitly condones this.  And while there’s the prohibition against having sex with a married woman, there’s also a passage/doctrine that states a kaffir woman is automatically divorced from her husband when captured.  Convenient, no?  And take a look at what happened to the wife of a tribe Mohammed conquered:

Genocidal ‘Khaybar’ Chant Sounds Again in London | Frontpage Mag (bolding added):

Some of the treasure was found. To find the rest, Muhammad gave orders concerning [the tribal chieftain] Kinana: “Torture him until you extract what [information about the tribe’s wealth] he has.” One of the Muslims built a fire on Kinana’s chest, but Kinana would not give up his secret. When he was at the point of death, one of the Muslims beheaded him. Kinana’s wife Safiyya bint Huyayy was taken as a war prize; Muhammad claimed her for himself and hastily arranged a “wedding” ceremony that night. He halted the Muslims’ caravan out of Khaybar later that night in order to consummate the marriage, or more precisely, to rape Safiyya.

Imagine the horror of not JUST having your husband murdered after being tortured, but being forcibly married to the man in charge of that, and raped by him that very night.

—

Obama’s Continuing War on Suburbia, Courtesy of Joe Biden – American Thinker

Into your 15 minute city, serf.

—

PRESIDENT TRUMP DROPS BOMBSHELL Letter From Stormy Daniels…”I am denying this affair because it never happened” | The Gateway Pundit | by Patty McMurray

I remember this from back then.

—

Seattle dance squad says they were told American flag shirts made audience members feel ‘triggered and unsafe’ | Fox News

Words fail me.  “Triggered” by your own country’s flag?  Leave.

—

UK Gov’t Data Reveals 16X More Deaths In Vaccinated Cohort As ‘Tsunami of Death’ Sweeps Nation – The People’s Voice (thepeoplesvoice.tv)

Word is slowly, slowly getting out.

—

Ground-up chicken waste fed to cattle may be behind bird flu outbreak in US cows (telegraph.co.uk)

Yuck!

—

Biden: I’ll Consider Further Unilateral Action on Guns, Can’t Believe Trump Said ‘No One’s Going to Touch Your Guns’ (breitbart.com)

Hey Biden!

 

 

And available as a bumper sticker!  (May need to adjust your settings as it’s rated PG-13.)

 

 

—

Bayou Renaissance Man: So much for sinking islands…

Remember the kerfuffle raised by climate change activists over the past three or four decades, alleging that many island chains would soon be submerged beneath the waves due to rising sea levels?

—

Judicial Watch: FBI Records Reveal Posthumous Criminal Investigation of Ashli Babbitt | Judicial Watch

Why does this seem, to me, to be a post facto rationalization effort.

—

Biden Regime Seeks to Change ‘Insurrection Act’ Ahead of Expected Domestic Unrest Over 2024 Election – The Politics Brief

Of course.  And the penalties will be very high, doubtless.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Pick of the Post:

 

 

Using their own rules against them.  Love it.

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

Palate Cleansers:

—

—

 

I’ll show myself out.  TGIF!

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

And don’t forget… come back Monday for another edition.  Same Meme Time.  Same Meme channel.

Please do consider buying me a coffee.

Buy Me a Coffee

 

>>>>>=====<<<<<

 

The post Friday Meme Overflow-Overflow appeared first on Granite Grok.

I never thought I would have an opportunity to name an article after my favorite Simon and Garfunkel song, but here we are. I am talking about Attorney Celia Leonard, locally known as Deputy Corporation Counsel, and a direct report to Attorney Bolton.

Wednesday was Day 4 of Laurie Ortolano vs. City of Nashua, a case that Judge Temple adjourned after three days of court in December.  The whole day was spent with Attorney Leonard, who I will refer to as ‘Cecelia’ just because it’s fun, on the witness stand.  And what a hostile witness she was! I won’t get into regurgitating every detail, but anyone interested can request a copy of the transcript if they have the case number handy.

I think she said “I don’t know” more often than any graduate of the Lionel Hutz law school. But ‘Cecelia’ had her boss and his Dream Team there to coach her.  Because of where I was sitting in the bleachers, I could not see the antics of Alex Cora possibly being carried out by First Chair Attorney Hilliard et al.

I feel like I am doing the readers a disservice by making this article so short, but ATTORNEY Ed Mosca does that often, and I do see him as a Grok role model, after all.

Plus, I don’t want to be late for the start of Day 5 at 10 am and need to leave in a few minutes.  However, one item on my to-do list is to look for a security camera pointed at the faces of the Dream Team and possibly see about getting a copy of Wednesday’s footage.  Stay tuned, my friends.

The post “Celia” is Breaking My Heart, and that of Lady Justice. appeared first on Granite Grok.

Nature endows all of us with (basically) one of two sets of “plumbing.” There are rare or odd exceptions involving mutations that produce both or none, but these are uncommon and not nature’s design. Anyone enamored of Darwin’s thoughts on evolution knows this. The survival of any species depends on its ability to procreate.

Evolution theory is about survival (of the fittest). Successive generations in a given environment carry on traits that the theory presumes were better, like refusing to let the public school convince their kids to cut off their genitals. Birds don’t do it, Bees Don’t Do it, and even dedicated fleas won’t do it. They don’t do it because they don’t send their “kids” to public schools.

Ending one’s own genetic succession is not nature’s way; that would be a fabrication of human imagination followed by choices and deliberate action. It is certainly your right not to procreate – not to pass down genetic copies of yourself. There’s an entire political movement obsessed with the idea. Master-race-like thinking from progressive minds without the pomp of swastikas and genocide. Unless you think a cultural movement to neuter other people’s children isn’t at least similar.

The premise is that what nature chooses is not natural but that what people can pretend or imagine is. But for all the shouting, posturing, and presumption, the gender warriors, with their socially constructed 57 flavors, are still trapped in a two-plumbing paradigm. The one nature gave them. Regardless of which body parts are removed, the “therapy” insists that the pinnacle of modern transition is to try to mimic those of the other set (sometimes) with recreated flesh (in that image) that doesn’t do any of the things of which the original was capable. That a permanent life-altering bait-and-switch is natural.

You trade a natural body for useless flesh—an affectation of transition after which physical pleasure is difficult to impossible. And this is supposed to make you feel better, and when it doesn’t, it is someone else’s fault.

Such a Drag

Regardless of where you are on the socially constructed gender spectrum, the other “two sets of plumbing paradigm” paradox is clothing. The television people have been working as hard as librarians to normalize drag queens. Men who think they are entertainers dressed up as a caricature of a slutty woman. Dresses, high heels, and lots of sexual innuendo. If that’s what floats your boat, but what’s so brave about abandoning one social construct for another?

It is not edgy or even empowering, certainly not to women who have for centuries worked to expand their choices, only to have men take their womanhood (trophies, ribbons, awards, scholarships) and characterize it as entertainment. Again, I’m not dragging drag queens. I’m observing a lack of ability to escape the paradigms the movement insists on having skewered in the name of progress. Progress?

Men dressed up like women in Elizabethan England because women were not allowed to perform on a stage. Is that next? Are transwomen or drag queens going to replace women on screens, small and large, because they are underrepresented? Has it happened already? And if so, how is it empowering to replace real women with men dressed up like women? Is the problem that women have been able to dress like men and look a lot better doing it? Or that none of it matters. At the end of the day, this movement has loosened laws allowing predators to gain access to children and ladies in once-safe spaces—places where the two sets of plumbing problems result in the authentic act of rape.

A price the gender cult is willing to make someone else pay for empowerment in service to a kink.

 

The post Arguing for A Spectrum With Only “Two Sets of Plumbing” appeared first on Granite Grok.

The NH House was back for a session this week to vote for and against things that matter much more than they should, and we’ve got the receipts.

Republicans showed up in better numbers than we’ve seen since we started this project, but as we noted in the beginning, that doesn’t always translate into legislative wins. Attendance is a double-edged sword. It tells part of a story. Reps need to be there to represent their constituents but, in some cases, can’t for a day or a vote. And sometimes, they show up to vote the wrong way.

While I heard we had some legislative wins yesterday, some of them (Republicans) voted with Democrats to ensure legislative losses we otherwise could have avoided. You’ll have to dig into the roll call votes yourself to work those out, but our own Judy Aron covered the session day here if you want bill numbers, so we’ll get on with this piece of the puzzle; here are the missed roll call votes by Republican Rep for 4/11/2024.

What they mean is up to you.

4/11		YTD
20	Sanborn, Laurie (R, Bedford)	216
20	O’Hara, Travis (R, Belmont)	140
20	Harley, Tina (R, Seabrook)	66
20	Nagel, David (R, Gilmanton)	32
8	Infantine, William (R, Manchester)	45
6	Trottier, Douglas (R, Belmont)	97
4	Guthrie, Joseph (R, Hampstead)	41
3	Berry, Ross (R, Manchester)	13
1	Doucette, Fred (R, Salem)	14
1	Smith, Steven (R, Charlestown)	9
1	Potenza, Kelley (R, Rochester)	3
1	Seidel, Sheila (R, Goffstown)	2

..

The post NH House Republican Attendance for the Week of 4-11-2024 (It Was Quite Good, Actually!) appeared first on Granite Grok.

We learned that one of the most outstanding renditions of the national anthem was sung by the Seacoast Men of Harmony and that the Scottish Arts Center entertained us for Tartan Day with bagpipes and fiddle music. It was superb.

Many House members, and the House Clerk and staff wore kilts and tartans today. It was a grand celebration of NH’s Scottish Heritage and their winning their independence from Britain. Tartan Day has been a House tradition since 1997. Rep John Hunt (R-Rindge) led the ceremonies.

We learned that the House warmly greeted the Consul General of the Republic of Korea, Kim Jae-hui. He addressed the House and spoke of the large and vibrant Korean community in NH and how NH and Korea are working together in areas of commerce and sharing of culture. He spoke of the gratitude that Korea has for the 10,000 Americans who fought in the Korean War between 1950 and 1953 and how those who sacrificed their lives are remembered and commemorated, both here and in Korea.

We learned that Rep. Mel Myler (D-Contocook) delivered a heartfelt memorial to the Hon. Arthur Ellison who passed away on March 23rd. Members of the House Democrat caucus also wore decals with the words “Feed the damn children”, which was a quote (and some say a last wish) from Rep. Ellison in regards to HB1212 – a bill relative to the eligibility for free school meals (see more below).

We learned that today was Crossover Day (the last day to act on all House bills) and House Finance Day. All the Early bills that went to Finance came back to us, and we began working to pass or kill them at 11 AM after all of the morning festivities and speeches were concluded. We had around 36 bills to get through, plus a motion to concur on HB261, Relative to tenants’ rights, which passed on a voice vote.

We learned that House Democrats still want no part of removing obscene and harmful sexual materials from NH school libraries. After they succeeded in Indefinitely Postponing HB1419 weeks ago, this meant that no similar bill could be considered without a 2/3 vote of the House. So today, House Democrats blocked the bill introduction of SB523 (regulation of public school materials) with a vote of 182Y-192N, which clearly did not have enough to clear the 2/3 vote hurdle. House Democrats want to keep age inappropriate and pornographic materials in our schools, Please remember this in November.

We learned that HB318 (relative to bail commissioners and making appropriations to the Judicial branch) passed on a voice vote. This bill incorporates SB249, SB252, and HB1005. The Finance Committee adopted earlier approved House actions on bail reform. This bill supports a new bail information system (a one-time $1.7 million expense), increases the bail commissioner fee, and establishes a new training coordinator who will oversee judicial and bail commissioner training and continuing educational requirements. This bill also appropriates $750,000 to the Department of Safety to develop and implement a system to electronically share an individual’s bail condition status with law enforcement and $986,000 to the Judicial Branch to develop and implement a Judicial Branch bail data platform to enable electronic sharing of an individual’s bail condition status with law enforcement. That being said the next bill on our agenda, HB1005, was tabled (348-33) and did not get a “Get of jail free card”.

We learned that HB1199 ended up being Indefinitely Postponed (192-190) after a motion to OTP failed (190-191), and then a motion to OTP failed (191-192) and a motion to Table failed (189-193. It appeared we had run out of motions at that point. In any case, this bill deserved to die. The bill’s aim was to use one-time ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funds to establish a new position in the Office of the Child Advocate to deal with child homelessness. And although well-intentioned, House Democrats still do not understand the financially sound concept of not funding ongoing positions with one-time money. By the way, a child is now apparently defined as someone up to the age of 25. This bill would have placed under the supervision of the Office of Child Advocate any persons under the age of 25 whose parents are unable to provide shelter, who live in a trailer park, or who share housing and this bill was also written to include adults who are employed and renting a mobile home with friends. Hah! and I bet you thought that those who are over the age of 18 are considered adults, should be treated as such, and who should be able to live life in society on their own. The sponsor of this bill, Rep. Patrick Long (D-Manchester), doesn’t think so.

We learned that HB1212 was tabled 192-191, and the Speaker broke the tie vote. The bill would have expanded free meal eligibility in schools. In his speech, Rep. Daniel Popovici-Muller (R-Windham) mentioned that HB1212 proposes a budget-breaking expansion of the federal lunch program, asking the New Hampshire taxpayers to pay $50 – $75 million or more a year to address a hunger problem that nobody even showed exists in New Hampshire public schools. Later in the day there were two failed attempts made by Rep. David Luneau (D-Hopkinton) to remove it from the table. His attempt at 4:10 PM failed 188Y-189N, and his subsequent attempt at 4:44 PM failed 185Y-188N. In a related story, Walmart treated everyone to lunch in the cafeteria today… so no wonder that House Democrats think there really is such a thing as a free lunch. Psst … Walmart paid for it.

We learned that HB1288 passed 196-184 after a move by House Democrats to Table it failed. This bill establishes certain due process rights for students, student organizations, and faculty members facing disciplinary actions by state institutions of higher learning. The framework presented in the bill is a guideline, and if a state institution already has these rights respected (as the institutions claimed in hearings) then they don’t need to change their procedures. Testimony from a state higher education executive was that of the 2,000+ cases in 2023, only 80 had a formal hearing, which would be the same under these guidelines. Rep. Mary Hakken-Phillips (D-Hanover) argued that the state could be sued by the federal government, and federal funding could be put into jeopardy with these guidelines in place. Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Windham) said there was no conflict between this bill and federal law, or that we’d get sued because the federal government would say that they should defund NH because we have a system in place to resolve disciplinary problems that’s “too fair”. He ended by saying,”I would pay to sit in the back of the courtroom and listen to that argument before a judge…. defund NH because they have a process that is too fair… that argument would go nowhere”.

We learned that HB1363 was Tabled 195-186. This bill would have added members of the General Court and their families to the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) operated through Health and Human Services with the cost paid for by the legislative branch. We know the EAP is a great state employee benefit however, your elected officials have no business partaking of these benefits courtesy of NH taxpayers. We elected legislators are neither employees nor entitled to a fully funded benefit (which would be applicable to every legislator and his/her family in this bill) without making any financial contribution towards the new expense of this government expansion. It’s a shame this was not roll-called because then you would see who believes in featherbedding.

We also learned that unfortunately, HB1394 passed 195-187. This allows music therapists to be licensed and regulated, of course, so they can bill insurance companies for their “therapy” services. Testimony in the committee revealed that approximately 30 music therapists practice in New Hampshire, either for private pay or in clinics that provide their services. Will this turn good music into a real “racket”?

We learned that HB1466 passed the House with a unanimous Voice Vote. This was my bill, which provides disaster relief funding to municipalities. Currently, there is no statutory mechanism for towns to get financial help from the state after a disaster (like flooding) occurs. Please ask your Senator to support this. Thanks in advance!

We further learned that HB1577 – relative to digital images of ballots – was Tabled 193-188 (roll called). New voting machines scan ballots and then store the images and related information on internal memory cards. This bill and the amendment would have allowed citizens to view ballots and purchase copies of memory cards from the Secretary of State. Municipalities store ballots and other election information, and the Secretary of State only obtains them in the case of a recount. This bill would enable an inexpensive means for the public to informally audit election results. People could see for themselves if there were possible irregularities (ex: determining if the vote totals agree with the machine report totals).

We learned that HB1583 passed 205-177 after a motion to Table failed 180-201. This bill, as previously approved by the House, establishes an adequate education payment by the state of $4,004, and it sets forth guidelines for fiscal disparity aid for districts where property valuations are lacking to support educational needs. The changes affect the calculation of final adequacy grants to public school districts, aid to public charter schools, and education freedom accounts (EFAs). The Legislative Budget Assistant (LBA) estimates the average cost for this program at $68 million/year for each of the next three years. Seeing as the New Hampshire Supreme Court is hearing a case relative to base education adequacy grants and the general education funding formula, it would seem that this kind of bill is jumping the gun and perhaps holding off on changing the funding formula until the Supreme Court decides something might be more prudent. But hey – it’s off to the Senate now, and we’ll see what they do with this $68 million off-budget year can of worms.

We learned that HB1564 (relative to the child support guidelines) passed on a Voice Vote. The bill makes welcome adjustments to the child support guidelines. The bill increases the self-support reserve, allows for expenses related to childcare, healthcare and extracurricular activities to be split, and allows for rebuttable presumptions of deviations based on shared parenting time. In contrast, HB1595, which also makes adjustments to child support guidelines, went to Interim Study with a vote of 208-176 after an OTP/A motion failed 190-193.

We also learned that HB1633 – Cannabis legalization and regulation – passed 239-136 on a roll called vote. This bill legalizes and regulates cannabis to ensure that these products are tested and labeled and that consumers are informed and protected. Cannabis will not be sold to minors under the age of 21. The bill would limit initial cannabis retail outlet licenses to 15 while providing a pathway for expanded licenses. The Finance Committee amendment tightened up the bill, corrected penalty vagueness, and moved financial responsibility from the general fund to the New Hampshire Liquor Commission. Opponents of the bill echoed the language that Virginia Governor Youngkin used in his veto message, “States following this path have seen adverse effects on children’s and adolescent’s health and safety, increased gang activity and violent crime, significant deterioration in mental health, decreased road safety, and significant costs associated with marijuana that far exceed tax revenue. It also does not eliminate the illegal black-market sale of cannabis, nor guarantee product safety. Addressing the inconsistencies in enforcement and regulation in our current laws does not justify expanding access to cannabis, following the failed paths of other states and endangering our health and safety.” Rep. Erica Layon (R-Derry) said, “It’s high time we pass this legislation”. Even though it is known that the Senate and the Governor both hate the provisions of this bill, it is off to the Senate now, and maybe it should have been sent along with a box of munchies.

We learned that the biggest debate of the day was for, HB1649 (prohibiting certain products with intentionally added PFAs), with three amendments offered. The first amendment offered by the bill sponsor, extended the effective date out 18 months. That amendment passed 233-147. The next two amendments intended to narrow the scope of PFAs chemicals defined in the bill. Both of those amendments failed 165Y-216N and 156Y-223N respectively. The bill passed OTP/A 233-140 on a roll call vote. We all know PFAs are toxic and don’t belong in our landfills, but the problem with this bill is that not all chemicals or products defined in this bill can really be considered toxic. Also, instead of states banning products, it would seem that the federal government, through the EPA, should be regulating certain products so that a patchwork of regulations isn’t created from state to state. Consider too that even California, which has some pretty stringent PFAs legislation, is having difficulty implementing their own legislation. The other issue is that producers are already making great strides in taking the PFAs chemicals out of their products. We are already starting to see labels saying “PFAs Free” because that is what consumers want. In any case, our friends in the Senate will be digging though yet another landfill reduction bill and deciding whether or not we should ban things like textiles, upholstery, linens, menstrual products, cosmetics, toys and other common consumer products.

We also learned that HB1678 passed 191Y-182N after a motion to Table failed 181Y-192N and a motion to ITL failed 179Y-193N. This bill establishes a Farm to School pilot program costing $241,000. The Finance Committee recommendation was not to pass the bill (ITL 13-12) because most of the money will be used to administer the program and last summer the Fiscal Committee accepted $559,000 from the federal government for essentially the same purpose. This program is duplicative of that effort, and more bureaucratic. But hey (say it with me)… “It’s for the children”.

Finally, we learned that Finance Committee Chair Rep. Ken Weyler (R-Kingston) tried twice to remove HB1560 off of the Table. Both attempts failed 177Y-201N and 167Y-204N. He needed 2/3rds to prevail. The House Democrats would have none of it because HB1560 allows access to unassigned moneys in the Education Trust Fund (ETF). The problem is that a whole load of money is now tied up in that fund and unavailable to use to pay for all the things everyone passed today! Chair Weyler was quite annoyed, I dare say irate, that all of the Finance bills passed today needed funds tied up in ETF to pay for implementation. I suppose the Senate will now have to figure all of this out in a nonbudget year. Good luck with that.

Next week, we get a break, but we’ll be back with more bills and motions on April 25th, when we will begin work on Senate bills and Concurrences for House bills that the Senate, in their infinite wisdom, has changed.

The post So Kids, What Did We Learn From This Week’s House Session (4/11/24)? appeared first on Granite Grok.