Before the 2017 Legislative Session began, New Hampshire Libertas President Darryl W Perry began identifying bills of interest. This was initially done based solely on the titles of the Legislative Service Requests (LSRs), which are made public shortly after being filed. The text of the LSRs are then made available once the wording is finalized and has a signature from the sponsor. Not every LSR gets a bill number; a Representative or Senator can ask to withdraw the LSR. This often happens if there are multiple LSRs on the same topic with the same objective, or if the sponsor learns there is little chance of passage.
Of the LSRs marked as “of interest” by New Hampshire Libertas, 39 were withdrawn before the text became available. Another 3 were withdrawn after the bill text became available, but before being assigned to a committee. Once committee hearing began in January, bills could not be withdrawn. However, the sponsor of SB82 (relative to labeling for maple syrup) requested the bill be deemed “Inexpedient to Legislate,” and the public hearing lasted less than one minute.
| Here are some of our successes: | ||
| Bill # | Title | Result |
| HB436 | Exempting persons using virtual currency from registering as money transmitters. | PASSED |
| HB240 | Relative to state party conventions; repealing the authorization for a political party to provide for an alternative to the statutory method of determining the date, call, and purpose of the state convention and selecting delegates. | KILLED (This bill would have put undue burden on the Libertarian Party, and would have required the Party to potentially seat non-members as delegates to the state convention.) |
| HB82 | Relative to hair braiding, exempting hair braiding from Barbering, Cosmetology, and Esthetics licensing. | PASSED |
| SB23 | Legalizing firecrackers. | PASSED |
| HB140 | Relative to sales and samples provided by wine manufacturers; authorizing wine manufacturers to conduct sampling and retail sales at locations other than their manufacturing facilities. | PASSED |
| HB152 | Relative to direct shipment of beer. | PASSED |
| HCR2 | Supporting efforts to ensure that students from New Hampshire have access to debt-free higher education at public colleges and universities. | KILLED |
| HB164 | Relative to poker in private residences; allowing the playing of home poker games. | PASSED (New Hampshire Libertas would like to see the phrase “in a private residence” expanded to allow the games to take place anywhere on the property, and not be confined to the inside portion of a residential dwelling – this is a good first step towards allowing regular people to play poker at home without fear of arrest.) |
| HB110 | Requiring members of the press corps covering the proceedings of the general court to wear a name tag. | KILLED |
| HB242 | Relative to the definition of e-cigarette and the sale of tobacco products; changing the definition of e-cigarette to provide that the device may or may not contain nicotine. Including e-cigarettes in the definition of tobacco products for purposes of sale and licensure requirements. |
KILLED |
| HB165 | Relative to disqualification of election officers; prohibits certain disqualified election officers from handling any ballots. | KILLED |
| HB642 | Relative to eligibility to vote and relative to student identification cards. I. Requires certain institutions of higher learning to issue identification cards indicating whether a student is a New Hampshire resident. II. Modifies the definition of domicile for voting purposes. III. Eliminates election day voter registration, requires voter registration by 30 days before the election, and enacts provisions of the National Voter Registration Act. IV. Requires that a voter be registered as a member of a party prior to the date of the primary in order to be eligible to vote in that party’s primary. |
KILLED |
| HB497 | Relative to delegates to national party conventions; prohibiting a party from seating delegates at the national party convention from this state that have not been apportioned in accordance with state law. | KILLED (This bill would have caused the Libertarian Party to either violate state law, or violate national party bylaws) |
| HB588 | Relative to voter identification requirements; requiring a voter who does not present a valid photo identification to vote by provisional ballot. | KILLED |
| HB447 | Relative to allocating electoral college electors based on the national popular vote. | KILLED |
| HB464 | Relative to voter identification requirements when obtaining a ballot; repealing the authority of election officials to vouch for the identity of voters or to accept any photo identification they determine to be legitimate. | KILLED |
| HB194 | Permitting employers to pay wages to employees weekly or biweekly. | PASSED |
| HB473 | relative to the sale of gift certificates. | PASSED |
| HB98 | Relative to brew pub licenses, authorizing brew pubs to manufacture alcoholic cider. | PASSED |
| HB301 | Relative to the regulation of electric grills. | PASSED (This bill would not have passed in its final form without our testimony) |
| Now, lets look at some of our losses. | ||
| Bill # | Title | Result |
| CACR1 | Relating to the general court. Providing that the general court shall hold sessions biennially. | KILLED |
| HB171 | Prohibiting the state or its political subdivisions from assisting a federal agency in the collection of electronic data without a warrant. | KILLED |
| HB223 | Prohibiting recipients of county or municipal funds from using such funds for lobbying. | KILLED |
| HB209 | Relative to the adoption of Atlantic standard time. | KILLED |
| HB394 | Relative to public employees testifying before legislative committees; requiring public employees to have the permission of their superiors prior to testifying before a legislative committee. | KILLED |
| HB495 | Relative to amendments to warrant articles; prohibiting the amendment of petitioned warrant articles; deleting the requirement that a petitioned warrant article include a notation of whether or not the article is recommended by the governing body or the budget committee. | KILLED |
| SB114/ HB217 |
Prohibiting a candidate from receiving the nomination of more than one party. | KILLED |
Other legislative victories in the 2017 session that New Hampshire Libertas were not directly involved with include:
Adoption of constitutional carry; Expansion of qualifying conditions under therapeutic use of cannabis (to include PTSD, chronic pain, and a removal of the requirement that an injury “significantly interferes with daily activities” in order to qualify for therapeutic cannabis); Repealing the commuters income tax; Making oral contraceptives available without a prescription; Prohibiting the inclusion of statewide assessment results in a student’s transcript without consent; and Limiting the use of cell site simulator devices by law enforcement agencies.
In total, we provided testimony on over 80 bills with several being retained until the 2018 Legislative Session. Of the Bills to come out of committee, we were successful in helping PASS 20 bills and were successful in helping KILL another 19 bills, for a total of 39 direct legislative successes in the 2017 session. These successes would not have been possible without your financial help, which allowed me to take time off from my regular job to read bills, prepare testimony, and travel to Concord to testify on bills, and meet with members of the General Court.
When New Hampshire Libertas began 13 short months ago, we had one financial goal: acquire a mere $5,000 per year in contributions from people like you to help pay for travel and administrative expenses. In the first calendar year, we were only $214 from our goal, with most (56%) of our funding coming in the form of recurring contributions. That means each legislative success cost less than $125! If current funding patterns do not change, recurring contributions will help us reach 70.32% of our goal for the coming year. With your help, the 2018 Legislative Session will be just as successful, if not more so, both legislatively & financially.
While this is the off-season for the General Court, we are preparing for the 2018 Legislative Session’s filing periods in September (for the House) & October (for the Senate), with committee hearings picking up again in January.
New Hampshire Libertas is not for hire to the highest bidder, and will advocate for 100% freedom on every issue, every time.
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The mission of New Hampshire Libertas is to advocate for minimal government and maximum human freedom by weighing all legislation against the litmus of our principles and responding accordingly by testifying in legislative hearings, holding court with individual legislators, and crafting liberty-minded legislation.
Our goal is to acquire a mere $5,000 per year in contributions from people like you to help pay for travel and administrative expenses. If you are interested in helping fund New Hampshire Libertas, you can start with a recurring contribution of as little as $5 a month. Every contribution helps bring us that much closer to achieving our goals and ensuring liberty in our lifetime.
New Hampshire Libertas is not for hire to the highest bidder, and will advocate for 100% freedom on every issue, every time. New Hampshire Libertas specializes in Election Law (specifically ballot access reform and voter rights), Freedom of Information / Government Transparency, and Municipal & County Government.