Know your reps.

Learn about the candidates running for State Office. Project Vote Smart is a great resource. 

For instance, did you know that Adam Schroadter and  Josh Davenport voted for the moratorium on state building aid, voted in favor of eliminating compulsory school attendance, voted against funding for Head Start and voted to repeal universal kindergarten?

Marcia Moody, Michael Cahill and Patty Lovejoy have shown great support for education in NH.

Dear Governor...

It was a long week here in Newmarket and yesterday I was angry at a situation that was feeling hopeless. 

So I wrote a letter. Please consider writing one too. (Edited to add: Follow this link for mail and email addresses for our elected officials.)

Dear Governor Hassan, Rep. Michael Cahill, Rep. Patricia Lovejoy, Rep. Marcia Moody and Rep. Adam Schroadter:

I’m writing to you at the end of an emotional week here in Newmarket.

As I hope you are aware, our town has been faced with a school facilities crisis for the last decade.  Our Jr. Sr. High School has many State DoE  deficiencies, including Fire and Life Safety concerns which, if not fixed by September 2015, will cause our school to be shut down. (A full list of problems and deficiencies can be found on the school's website.)

We have explored many options, including most recently a tuition agreement with Oyster River Cooperative School District that fell through when that district decided to partner with Barrington this week.

Thursday evening our Superintendent presented a revised plan for a Jr. Sr. High School project. It is a modest proposal that we believe will meet the needs of our students in this 21^st century learning environment. The cost of this project is $45 million-a cost we will need to shoulder ourselves due to no state aid. It’s a hard pill to swallow.

Add to this an astronomical (and unprecedented) increase in our SPED population that has resulted in a proposed budget increase of 7%. Again, we shoulder a bigger portion of this cost than ever before because of decreased state aid.

And to add insult to injury, last night it was brought to our attention that we will need to update our almost 30 year old heating system at a cost of approximately $122,000 and put aside plans to install a security system in the elementary school.

So here we are, faced with choosing between heating systems or security systems. It breaks my heart as both a mother and as a taxpayer. Can’t we do better for the kids of New Hampshire?

We need attention to be paid to NH schools. We need to stop cuts to Catastrophic Aid and we need to fund a school building aid program. Towns like Newmarket need your support.

Sincerely,

Toni Weinstein

Newmarket, NH

Meanwhile, at the State House....

It's been busy in Concord lately. Here are a few recent bills:

• The tax on tobacco (HB 659) was passed by the House in March, but killed by the Senate. Reps. Michael Cahill, Patricia Lovejoy and Marcia Moody voted for the tax and Rep. Adam Schroadter voted against.

• The Senate voted NOT to reinstate a minimum wage. (HB 501) Reps. Michael Cahill, Patricia Lovejoy and Marcia Moody supported a State minimum wage. Rep. Adam Schroadter did not. 

• SB 100, a bill that would allow employers to stop issuing paper paychecks, was killed by the House. 

• The legislature did not pass gambling. SB 152 was voted down by the House 199-164.

• HB 573, a bill that would allow the use of medical marijuana, passed the House in March and was amended by the Senate. Now it goes back to the House. All Newmarket Representatives voted in favor of this bill.

Supporting education?

Did you see Michael Cahill's letter to the editor in Friday's Exeter Newsletter?

May 03, 2013 To the Editor: 

We are nearing the end of this legislative session with bills having crossed from one body to the other. Governor Hassan put forth a good budget restoring funding for important programs, and the House version, while making adjustments, maintains the effort to provide needed services within the constraint of state revenue. Among the items of interest, the state will be funding water and sewer projects undertaken by municipalities but left out in the last biennium. Newmarket will receive $34,801 for a wastewater project in FY2015. During this session, we passed SB40 with strong, bi-partisan votes in both bodies. The bill restored education funding to local communities for whom it was cut in 2011. This bill passed 23-0 in the Senate and 303-34 in the House with three of Newmarket's four representatives voting in favor. As a result, Newmarket will receive an additional $27,217 in FY13 for its schools. The House passed HB 617, which through a modest increase in the gas tax of 4 cents annually over three years, will address our long neglected roads and bridges. Funding to cities and towns will enable them to maintain their infrastructure without turning to the property taxpayers. I hope that senators from both parties will approve this common sense approach. 

Michael Cahill
Newmarket
State Rep. Rockingham 17 for Newfields, Newmarket

With the concerns that we have here in Newmarket, I was surprised that Adam Schroadter was one of only 34 Representatives to vote against SB 40. I sent Adam an email asking why--I'll keep you posted.

Thanks to Michael Cahill, Patricia Lovejoy and Marcia Moody for supporting education in Newmarket.

Guns in the Statehouse.

I first heard about Sandy Hook on Facebook. 

Initially, there were reports about another school shooting (sad, but not shocking, which is sad in itself) but within a few minutes the information grew and became even more horrific.

I sat in front of my computer, with the TV on, crying.

I remember what it was like to pick my kids up from school that day. And how I wrestled with the decision about whether or not to tell them before they went back to school on Monday, struggling with how to tell my own first grader not to worry--you'll be safe at school. 

I remember the Facebook posts promising that this time was different and we were going to write letters and keep talking about it and make sure that things changed, but to be honest, I haven't written a letter since that first week. Have you?

Gun control is still a big issue in the country and if you've turned the national news on recently you've probably heard that the filibuster was defeated and the Senate will begin debate on gun control, thanks in large part to the efforts of Sandy Hook parents. It's a good first step.

Those same parents were instrumental in getting the most comprehensive gun control legislation in the country passed in Connecticut. Impressive.

And what about closer to home? What's been happening here in NH? 

We're nowhere close to having comprehensive gun control legislation passed in the Granite State. 

The previous legislature worked to make it easier to have and carry guns in NH. Some of the measures passed by the House included allowing guns on college campuses and in dorms, allowing loaded rifles and shotguns in cars, allowing guns in the State House chambers and the "Stand your ground" legislation, to name a few. You can read a more comprehensive list at Granite State Progress and I wrote about how our state representatives voted on some of those bills here and here. 

Here are some current issues around guns in NH:

One of the first items taken up by this legislature was repeal of the controversial bill that allowed guns on the house floor. That passed 196-153 with Reps. Michael Cahill, Patricia Lovejoy and Marcia Moody voting for repeal and Adam Schroadter voting against. You can read more about that bill here.

The House recently took up the repeal of the "Stand Your Ground" bill that was passed by the last legislature. This passed 189-184 with Reps. Michael Cahill and Patricia Lovejoy voting for repeal and Adam Schroadter voting against. Marcia Moody did not vote. 

Another gun related issue is HB 451 "repealing the license requirement for carrying a concealed pistol or revolver." Reps. Michael Cahill and Patricia Lovejoy voted to kill the bill. Adam Schroadter supported the bill. Marcia Moody did not vote.

We clearly have a long way to go. 

But it's not too late to send a message to our elected officials and ask for their support. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Kelly Ayote need to hear from Granite Staters about universal background checks and other proposed federal gun control and safety measures. 

Contact your State Representatives and State Senators (find them here) and ask them what they are doing here in NH and why they vote like they do.

It's been 4 months since Sandy Hook. I've watched some of the mothers of those children on the news recently and am amazed at their strength.

The least I can do is write a letter. 

15 Days

I've written twice now about gun bills and you can read those posts here and here. HB 536 is another example of the House's irresponsible policy on guns that eliminates the licensing requirement to carry a firearm.

Here's what that legislation would do:

• make a license to carry a firearm optional
• allow firearms to be carried or transported without a license --openly or concealed, loaded or unloaded
• reduces the fee for non-resident licenses from $100 to $20. 

It seems like common sense to me that a person should have a license to carry a gun, but Adam Schroadter didn't think so. He voted in favor of this bill. 

Marcia Moody and Patty Lovejoy both opposed this bill.

**Josh Davenport did not vote on this piece of legislation