New Hampshire hosting conference of regional state lawmakers

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For the first time in 20 years, New Hampshire will be hosting the Council of State Governments Eastern Regional Conference.

While most people are likely unfamiliar with the Council of State Governments (CSG), the organization’s been convening conferences for more than 85 years, to help state lawmakers from across the country prepare for the future.

“If the states are laboratories of democracy, then CSG is the incubator for many of the ideas that move our states and nation forward,” the group highlights.

Longtime state Sen. Lou D’Allesandro tells the Monitor that the mission of this year’s eastern regional conference, which will be held Sunday through Wednesday (Aug. 14-17) at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Manchester, is to “get legislators together so we can all interact, interface, and create some relationships for the future.”

D’Allesandro was national CSG chair in 2019 and the longtime Democratic state senator from Manchester and veteran Republican state Sen. Sharon Carson of Londonderry are this year’s co-chairs of the CSG Eastern Region.

Lawmakers from the New England states, New York, New Jersey, a handful of the mid-Atlantic states and some of the northeastern Canadian provinces will be taking part in the conference.

Huyett: NH Senate Democrats Just Voted To Allow ‘Suspending’ The Constitution

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New Hampshire liberty advocates won a major victory on Wednesday when our State Senate voted to pass HB 440, Rep. Jim Kofalt’s Civil Liberties Defense Act. This bill will prohibit constitutional rights from being suspended during a state of emergency.

Kofalt proposed the bill because New Hampshire’s emergency powers laws have been interpreted by our state courts to allow a governor to suspend constitutional rights during an emergency. This is no exaggeration: According to the legal test used by our state courts, even “fundamental rights such as the right of travel and free speech” may be “suspended” by a governor in a declared emergency.

That means that, as Rep. Michael Sylvia pointed out during a House floor debate, “We are all enjoying our fundamental rights, including free speech and trial by jury, at the mercy of the current governor.” As long as a governor’s actions are related to a declared emergency, any constitutional challenges to those actions can simply be dismissed out-of-hand.

Although HB 440 faced some initial setbacks, on Wednesday every Republican State Senator joined in sponsoring an excellent floor amendment that restored the key substance of the bill. Senate Republicans then voted unanimously to pass the bill and protect our constitutional rights. It’s important to contact your Republican state senator now and thank them for their vote.

During Wednesday’s Senate floor debate, Republican Sen. Sharon Carson made a powerful argument in favor of HB 440. During World War II, the legal theory of “suspending constitutional rights” was used to uphold the internment of Japanese Americans in detention camps. Carson pointed out those Americans had their property confiscated and their lives destroyed by a government wielding unchecked emergency powers. As Sen. Jeb Bradley noted, abuses of that kind should be unthinkable in the “Live Free or Die” state.

Republican Senators wisely made clear this bill is not a repudiation of Gov. Chris Sununu. As Rep. Matt Simon said during the initial House floor debate, the bill is necessary to “shore up our constitutional defenses during a state of emergency so the responsibility for any potential future abuses will not rest upon our shoulders.” Accordingly, Sununu is likely to sign the bill. When he does so, he will deserve our thanks for helping to protect the fundamental rights of Granite Staters from his successors and their subordinates.

While Wednesday’s vote is a great victory, it should also serve as a dire warning about the intentions of New Hampshire Democrats. In the House, HB 440 did enjoy a modicum of bipartisan support, including from Democratic former House Speaker Steve Shurtleff. In the Senate, however, Democrats unanimously voted against the bill.

Democratic Sen. Rebecca Whitley rose to speak against the proposal. In her remarks, she claimed it would prevent judges from balancing the public interest against individual rights in times of emergency. But that is false.

Courts balance the public interest and individual rights in perfectly ordinary constitutional challenges every single day. As a trained lawyer, Senator Whitley must know this. Our problem in New Hampshire is that a “suspension” theory is not a balancing test: It is a rubber stamp on government action. So long as an executive’s actions are factually connected to a state of emergency, New Hampshire courts have said they will simply set constitutional rights aside. That is not “balancing.”

Aside from Whitley’s ambiguous remarks, Democrats offered no explanation for their votes to allow “suspending” the Constitution. The only thing we know for sure is Senate Democrats have just voted to uphold the same legal doctrine that Franklin Roosevelt once used to put an entire race of people into camps.

As recently as the first candidacy of Barack Obama, many Democrats claimed to be champions of civil liberties. Rep. Steve Shurtleff seems to represent this form of Democratic politics—one that is increasingly rare in his party today.

Instead, in today’s Democratic Party, authoritarian cultural progressivism is the order of the day. Many Democrats appear eager to wield unchecked power over their political adversaries, and Wednesday’s vote was a startling reminder of that fact. Granite Staters should be wary of what Democrats could do with that power if they regain control of the state government.

To learn more about HB 440, see Cornerstone’s page of resources on the bill. Don’t forget to thank your Republican senator for voting to safeguard our constitutional rights and to thank Kofalt for his tireless efforts on behalf of liberty.

Ian Huyett is the General Counsel and Director of Policy at Cornerstone, a Christian advocacy group in New Hampshire.

Senate republicans support secure elections

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Concord, NH – Today the New Hampshire Senate passed SB 631-FN, authorizing online voter registration. Senator Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead), Senator James Gray (R-Rochester) and Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statements:

“This legislation puts the cart before the horse and needs to be carefully studied before it becomes law,” said Senator Regina Birdsell (R-Hampstead). “There is currently legislation in the House to create a study commission, bringing together the necessary groups, to determine the needs for a New Hampshire online voter registration system. That study commission should be allowed to complete their work before rushing to implement a program that may not meet the needs of New Hampshire.”

“New Hampshire does not have a voter registration problem,” said Senator James Gray (R-Rochester). “According to the Secretary of State’s office, there are around 30,000 eligible unregistered voters in New Hampshire, most of whom would continue to be unregistered even if we had online registration. We are trying to solve a problem that currently does not exist and HAVA funds would be better spent on other programs.”

“There are too many unanswered questions to pass this kind of legislation,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry). “There are no details on how the system would be set up or the safeguards that would be put in place. Our same day registration process has worked well for many years, giving every Granite Stater the opportunity to vote. This bill is not ready for prime-time and is not ready to become law.”

Carson Shocked by Senate Judiciary Committee Dysfunction

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Concord, NH – Today during an executive session in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senate Democrats attached an amendment dealing with how the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court appoints retired judges to the Supreme Court to fill vacancies on the bench. The amendment was attached to a bill establishing a special marriage officiant license. Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) issued the following statement:

“It is shocking that Senate Democrats would use a bill related to temporary marriage officiant licenses to attach a non-germane amendment with such far reaching consequences,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry). “This amendment should have had a public hearing, so the committee could learn what it does and uncover any unintended consequences. Instead the people have been cut out of the process, half the committee members were left in the dark, and the State Supreme Court itself completely unaware of the proposed change. This complete abandonment of the process is unacceptable and should never have been allowed to happen.”

Carson, French oppose changing current common-sense firearm laws

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Concord, NH – Today the New Hampshire Senate Judiciary Committee held public hearings for HB 109-FN, requiring background checks for commercial firearms sales, HB 514-FN, imposing a waiting period between the purchase and delivery of a firearm and HB 564, relative to possession of firearms on school property. Following the committee hearings Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry) and Senator Harold French (R-Franklin) issued the following statements:

“The three pieces of legislation that we heard today will be ineffective in stopping gun violence and will have adverse effects in our communities,” said Senator Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry). “While there are technical problems that would require a background check to be performed every time a firearm changes hands even among family and friends, there are many other issues that make these pieces of legislation harmful to law abiding citizens. Fighting the mental health crisis in the state would be a much more effective way to prevent violent crime and the tragic act of suicide in New Hampshire.”

“The New Hampshire legislature should do everything we can to prevent gun violence in the state,” said Senator Harold French (R-Franklin). “Unfortunately, the proposals we heard today in committee are the wrong answer to a tragic problem. Every year New Hampshire is consistently listed as one of the safest states in the nation and changing our gun laws, even though good intentioned, will not make us any safer. This is a solution in search of a problem and will only make it more difficult for law abiding Granite Staters to protect their families.”