This was Veto Day, when we vote on whether to override the governor’s vetos. A 2/3 majority of the members present and voting is required in both the House and Senate to override a veto. For House bills, the House votes first, and if the House votes to override, then the bill goes to the Senate. For Senate bills, it’s the opposite: the Senate votes first and if they vote to override, it goes to the House. In the results below, only the votes that achieved a 2/3 majority are marked “Override” in the “Result of vote” column.
Because a 2/3 majority is required for an override, the minority party (us) has the votes to sustain vetoes of bad bills. Indeed, we did. In fact, I was on the losing side of only two votes all day, and one of those votes proved to be inconsequential.
It is worth noting that Governor Ayotte vetoed a record number of bills coming from a legislature controlled by the governor’s own party.
The marquis vote was on HB 2026, the ten-year transportation plan. This bill funds necessary highway and bridge projects throughout the state. The Senate added in a measure that doubles tolls on all vehicles that do not have a New Hampshire-issued EZPass transponder, but also makes it so that anyone can get one for free through the end of January. In other words, it would raise additional revenue from out-of-staters. Ayotte vetoed it, claiming that it’s a tax. After the legislature overwhelminly overrode the veto, she reiterated her claim. Aside from the absurdity of calling a road toll a tax, does the governor really think that someone from out of state is going to decide not to come here because it’s going to cost them a couple of dollars more? Even Republican Senator Mark McConkey pointed out that this is a great way to raise revenue from out-of-staters.
After we voted on the vetoes, we voted on whether to censure Rep. James Spillane (R-Deerfield) over material he posted on X, deriding two Democratic members of the House. I won’t go into the details of what he posted and about whom. I’ll just say that the vote in favor of censuring was warranted.
| Bill | Motion | Type of vote | My vote | Result of vote | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HB 2026 | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 292-25 | Senate voted to override 24-0 |
| HB 221-FN | Override | Roll call | Nay | 152-167 | |
| HB 232 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 166-154 | |
| HB 396 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 204-116 | See notes below |
| HB 1072 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 160-159 | |
| HB 1097 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 193-125 | |
| HB 1102-FN | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 231-88 | Senate voted to override 24-0 |
| HB 1184-FN | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 290-29 | Senate voted to override 24-0 |
| HB 1267 | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 311-6 | Senate voted to override 24-0 |
| HB 1336 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 159-155 | |
| HB 1337 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 148-172 | |
| HB 1358 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 150-166 | |
| HB 1369 | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 305-12 | Senate voted to override 24-0 |
| HB 1422 | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 314-7 | Senate voted to override 18-6 |
| HB 1442-FN | Override | Roll call | Nay | 165-149 | |
| HB 1491 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 160-148 | Motion to reconsider failed on voice vote; I voted Nay against Democratic recommendation |
| HB 1565-FN | Override | Roll call | Nay | 168-140 | |
| HB 1610 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 162-148 | |
| HB 1643 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 157-152 | |
| HB 1726-FN | Override | Roll call | Nay | 101-206 | |
| HB 1766-FN | Override | Roll call | Nay | Override 249-56 | Senate vote to override failed 11-13 |
| SB 434 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 165-140 | Senate had already voted to override 16-8 |
| SB 468 | Override | Roll call | Yea | Override 257-44 | Senate had already voted to override 16-8 |
| SB 552 | Override | Roll call | Nay | 161-142 | Senate had already voted to override 16-8 |
| SB 661-FN | Override | Roll call | Nay | 84-216 | Senate had already voted to override 23-1 |
| Censure Rep. Spillane | Affirm the Report | Roll call | Yea | Affirm 185-93 |
This bill came out of my committee (Science, Technology and Energy), but was heavily amended in the Senate. Most of what ended up in it passed in other bills. The only part that remained in the bill that Democrats wanted was raising the cap on full net metering from 100 kW to 250 kW. We felt that there was enough in the bill that we didn’t want that we were fine with sustaining the veto and trying to raise the net metering cap some other time.
This was the bill would allow anyone working in a medical office to deny care to a patient. For example, a receptionist who was against abortion could turn away a patient. Rep. Zoe Manos (D-Stratham) spoke to sustain the veto and the veto was sustained.
This was the bill that would have allowed slaughtering of cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats at facilities not certified by the USDA. Representatives reported mixed opinions by farmers, with some saying that they needed more outlets for slaughtering, and others against the bill. I consistently voted against the bill, opting to vote for food safety.
The initial vote to Override the veto was 204-116, so that if 10 Nay votes were to flip, the override would succeed. During our lunch break, proponents of the bill convinced some members to changed their minds. A vote to Reconsider passed, 187-120 (I voted Nay, one of only two votes in which I was on the losing side all day). But the second vote to Override came out at 202-107, which still fell short of the 2/3 majority necessary (and again, I voted Nay).
This bill increases the research and development tax cap and also sets state park fees for New Hampshire residents at no more than half the fees charged to nonresidents. I’m all for R&D, because those jobs pay well. And the more revenue we can raise from out-of-staters, the better. Again, I cannot imagine somone from out of state deciding not to come here because the state park fee is a couple of dollars higher.
Would have allowed landlords to require two months rent as a security deposit. People are having enough trouble affording housing as is.
The Free Staters’ fever dream of abolishing all public schools and turning them into charter schools.
This bill removes the three-year time limit for petitioning for a new trial when new evidence is discovered. Examples include new forensic testing, new scientific understanding, or even a confession from someone else. Rep. Bob Lynn (R-Windham), former Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court, but also very conservative, argued in favor of overriding the veto.
More anti-trans bills.
I voted against the Democratic recommendation on this bill, voting to sustain the veto. Animal protection groups were against the bill. It’s not at all within my expertise, and so I deferred to them. The veto was overwhelmingly overridden anyway.
A book-banning bill.
This bill expands the supply of medical cannabis, which will lower costs.