Here are some talking points. If you need help, contact Sarah Guggenheimer, whose contact info is listed at the end of this list.  Democratic Action on Opioids  Senator Shaheen and Senator Hassan secured $6b in additional funding to combat the opioid crisis  They’ve been fighting so hard to give New Hampshire additional resources because they understand how dire this issue is  NH has the third-highest overdose death rate in the country  Trump has failed to deliver on his campaign promises to combat the crisis: he proposed cutting the ONDCP budget by 95%, let a 24 yr old get promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff at the ONDCP, only delivered $57,000 in add’l funds with his Public Health Emergency Declaration, and failed to alter the Opioid State Targeted Response Grants which disperse funds by a state’s population, not need  Despite his inaction, Sununu said Trump was “working very hard” on the issue  Sununu himself failed to fully fund the alcohol fund and has wavered on reauthorizing the Medicaid Expansion  Sen. Shaheen hit back last night, saying the gov “should stop making excuses for the Trump administration ignoring the opioid crisis and hold it accountable”  Shaheen and Hassan have both pushed for $25b in add’l funding for the opioid crisis  They join Senate Dems who have introduced two bills regarding the crisis: the RESCUE Act which would use 10% of the $100m Rainy Day Fund for the crisis, and another which would constitutionally require the governor to fully fund the alcohol fund at 5%  While Trump and Sununu are launching partisan attacks, our state and federal dems are doing the real work to combat this epidemic  #JobLossSununu  In 2017, for the first time since the Recession NH lost jobs   We were one of only two states in the entire country to lose jobs last year, as the rest of the country reaped the benefits of Obama’s economic policies  This job loss can most likely be traced to Sununu’s budget that gave $100m in tax cuts for the wealthiest 3% of corporations instead of investing in job training or workforce development  Governors Hassan and Lynch helped catapult New Hampshire to the top of economic rankings, making us the best state of the union  In just one year Sununu has undone that work with his foolhardy commitment towards appeasing his wealthy corporate donors at all costs  Sarah Guggenheimer Communications Associate New Hampshire Democrats sguggenheimer@nhdp.org (203) 940-1979

AFSC’s New Hampshire State House Watch newsletter is published weekly during legislative sessions to bring you information about matters being discussed in Concord including housing, the death penalty, immigration, and labor rights.  We also follow the state budget and tax system, voting rights, corrections policy, and more.

Coming up in House Committees

Monday, February 5

12:00 PM Fish and Game and Marine Resources: Tour of the Sig Sauer Academy in Epping. The tour will include a Sig Sauer air rifle demo. Company experts will be on hand to answer questions. Sorry, this is for Fish & Game Committee members only.

Tuesday, February 6

Finance, Division II, Room 209 LOB

1:00 PM Division II work session on SB 193, the school voucher bill. This piece in the Concord Monitor gives some insight into the work of the committee, and its findings thus far about the fiscal impact of the bill.

Municipal and County Government, Room 301, LOB

2:00 PM CACR 19, relating to the right to govern. Providing that the people of the state may enact local laws that protect health, safety, and welfare, even when this impinges on the interests of “corporate persons.” This will be followed by a 2:30 PM subcommittee work session on the bill. Additional subcommittee work sessions will be held February 13 at 9:00 AM and February 14 at 9:00 AM, with an executive session set for February 14 at 11:00 AM.

Science, Technology, and Energy, Room 304, LOB

11:00 AM Full committee work session on HB 1515, relative to an exemption from the combustion ban on construction and demolition debris.

Coming up in Senate Committees (No Senate sessions are currently scheduled.)

Tuesday, February 6

Commerce, Room 100, SH

1:30 PM SB 422, relative to advance notice of work schedules. This would require employers to give workers 14 days advance notice of their work schedule.

Health and Human Services, Room 101, LOB

1:15 PM SB 476, establishing a committee to study reinstituting the unemployed parent program, a program administered by DHHS that provided assistance to unemployed parents. We support bringing the program back.

Judiciary, Room 100, SH

9:00 AM CACR 22, providing that crime victims shall be afforded constitutional rights. This is the proposal described as “Marsy’s Law,” which has the effect of putting what are now statutory provisions into the Constitution. The NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence is campaigning for it. The ACLU of NH has serious concerns about its impact on due process.

Wednesday, February 7

Ways and Means, Room 100, SH

9:20 AM SB 586, relative to casino gambling. It’s back! The annual bill to create two casinos.

9:40 AM SB 404, phasing out the tax on interest and dividends. The phasing would be annual, beginning in 2020 and completed by 2025, by which time the state would be losing over $100 million a year in revenue. What would you say are the odds that this proposal’s backers will argue that elimination of this tax will spur investment, create jobs, and generate so much prosperity that we won’t even miss the $100 million?

Thursday, February 8

Health and Human Services, Room 101, LOB

1:15 PM SB 490, establishing a commission to study end-of-life choices.