Heading into the final weeks of the Legislature ~ Now is the time to take ACTION!
HAPPENING THIS WEEK
April 22, 2018
THE WEEK AHEAD and a few thoughts...
It's time to let our voices rise like the howling wind!
As we head into the last weeks of the legislative session, many critical issues remain undecided. This means there is lots of work to do! But it also means there are still real opportunities for change.
It's time to let our legislators hear the collective roar of our voices: "Act now or be voted out in November! We will not tolerate your efforts to suppress voting, take money from our public schools and impose anti-immigrant measures. We want positive change now, like repeal of the death penalty, transgender non-discrimination and family friendly economic policies."
Join us as we hold signs, attend rallies, sit in on committee meetings, write letters to the editor, email and phone our legislators, call the governor ... as always, be it with big actions or small, it's the combined impact that matters.
Together, let's be the wind that rolls across the water, building the swells, creating the wave!
Friday, April 27
CONVENERS' MEETING
12:30 to 2:30 PM
Concord, NH
NEXT MONTHLY MEETING ~ SAVE THE DATE Thursday, May 10, 2018 7:00 to 9:00 PM * PLEASE NOTE START TIME! (this month only) *
Baker Free Library, 509 South Street, Bow NH
CANDIDATE FORUM ~ Come meet some of the terrific people who have stepped up to run for the State Senate! Here's how we'll turn the NH Senate blue in November!!
Candidate Shannon Chandley (District 11)
Candidate Jon Morgan (District 23)
Candidate Chris Roundy (District 17)
Candidate Jenn Tester (District 8)
Candidate Mason Donovan (District 7)
JOIN A KSC WORKING GROUP
Kent Street Coalition working groups meet on a regular basis between monthly meetings. Our current groups include:
[Art.] 8. [Accountability of Magistrates and Officers; Public’s Right to Know.] All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them. Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted. NH State Constitution Bill of Rights
LEGISLATIVE ACTION PLAN
This week we will be doing visibility actions on: HB 1264 Voter Suppression; HB 628 Family & Medical Leave Insurance; SB 313 Medicaid Expansion; SB 193 School Vouchers; SB 593 Death Penalty:
SUMMARY OF PRIORITY BILLS
ACTION ALERTS FOR SPECIFIC BILLS
HB 1264 STUDENT VOTER SUPPRESSION BILL ~ OPPOSEThe Senate Election Law Committee executive session on HB 1264 is scheduled for this Tuesday, April 24. We need a another big turnout for our visibility action so that Senators Birdsell, Gray, and Sanborn don't get the idea we're ok with what they're trying to do. Our presence also helps to keep the pressure on Gov. Sununu and reminds him he is opposed to suppressing the student vote. Testimony is not allowed at the exec session but our presence alone makes an important statement.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. ATTEND visibility action Tuesday morning, April 24 at 8:30 am outside Room 102, Legislative Office Building. Come hold signs and if possible, stay for the executive session at 9. We are hoping for a big turnout so please sign up here if you are able to attend. https://www.volunteersignup.org/ERXYK
SB 193 SCHOOL VOUCHER BILL ~ OPPOSE
The Governor is pulling out all the stops to pressure Republicans to vote for SB193, the school voucher bill. Even though the Finance Comm. subcommittee voted 7:1 to send the bill for further study (which would kill it for this year), we worry that many Reps on the full Finance Committee will cave in, do the Governor’s bidding and support the bill. The Finance Committee will vote on Wednesday to decide what to recommend to the full House.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. CALL and leave a voice mail for these key reps (you’re not likely to get through to a live person, so it will only take a few minutes). Ask them to refer the bill for interim study & leave a brief message mentioning one of the talking points below. If you're a constituent, let them know! (See special message re: Griffin)
Frank Byron Litchfield (603)889-7424
David Danielson Bedford (603)472-3833
Andrew Renzullo Hudson and Pelham (603)882-8962
Erin Hennessey Bethlehem and Littleton (603)991-7572
Timothy Twombly Nashua, Ward 7 (603)888-4466
J. Tracy Emerick Hampton (603)926-8316
Gerald Griffin Mont Vernon and New Boston (603)673-7467: He’s concerned about those few kids who “just don’t fit” in public schools, but seems sympathetic to the issues that would argue against the bill. Mention in your message (in your own words) that although you understand the concern about the rare child who just doesn’t “fit”, SB193 is too broad and damaging a “remedy” that will hurt all public schools and the kids in them. The legislature should look for better solutions to address the concern about the rare child who doesn’t fit. That’s why the bill should go to interim study.
2. EMAIL all Reps on the Finance Comm. with one click: HouseFinanceCommittee@leg.state.nh.us
Ask them to refer SB193 for interim study (talking points below - just choose one; make it short.) Be sure to say in the subject line that you’re a NH voter and refer to SB193.
3. ATTEND Visibility Action: Wed., April 25 at 9:30 outside LOB 210 (they meet at 10:00)
Hold signs and encourage Reps to do what’s right for NH’s public schools. Signs should include: “Interim study for SB193”
Talking points - choose one, and USE YOUR OWN WORDS. Don't forget to tell them what you want them to do - i.e. vote to refer the bill for interim study. They vote on Wed. 4/25, so must receive this by 4/24 at the latest. This weekend would be best.
1. Property taxes will go up because virtually all the costs have been shifted to the school districts
2. The cities and towns that can least afford it will be hit hardest, while wealthy districts bear almost no financial burden
3. No one can accurately predict the financial impact, but even the most conservative projection is that districts around the state, taken together, will lose $100 million to serve only 2,000 students.
4. The bill allows parents to spend public funds on programs and services that aren’t accredited or vetted for quality and that operate with no accountability to taxpayers
5. 7 out of 8 members of the subcommittee (Rs and Ds), who studied the bill in depth for 3 months, considered 5 different amendments, and know it better than anyone, believe this bill is not ready to be voted on.
HB 628 FAMILY & MEDICAL LEAVE INSURANCE ~ SUPPORT
From AFSC NH's State House Watch:
"HB 628, relative to family and medical leave insurance, is coming out of the Senate Finance Committee with an “interim study” recommendation following a partisan 4-2 vote. The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy, which has advanced the legislation as a bi-partisan project, has assigned blame to Governor Sununu, who it says, “has pulled the rug out from beneath New Hampshire families” by penning a letter opposing the bill. "
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. HOLD SIGNS at the press conference on Wednesday, April 25, 10 am at lobby of the Legislative Office Building. The Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy will be holding a press conference "to remind Governor Sununu and the full Senate that there are working families across the state who need access to paid leave. We need to show our lawmakers that we will be holding them accountable for the commitments they make to New Hampshire voters." Sign up here if you are able to attend: http://www.familyfriendlyeconomy.org/628press
2. CONTACT Governor Sununu and State Senators and tell them that NH families need access to paid leave. Please contact Senators before the Senate by Wednesday (ahead of the Thursday vote). Use this link from our friends at the Campaign for a Family Friendly Economy for contact information and sample call scripts. http://www.familyfriendlyeconomy.org/call628
3. ATTEND visibility action Thursday morning, April 26 at 8:15 am outside of the Senate Chambers.
SB 593 DEATH PENALTY REPEAL ~ SUPPORT
From our friends at the ACLU NH:
The Governor has threatened to veto this bill in order to keep the death penalty on the books in New Hampshire. We need to maximize the House floor vote in-support-of SB 593 and send a clear message that Granite Staters support repealing this regressive, ineffective, and discriminatory practice.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
1. ATTEND ACLU webinar on repealing the NH Death Penalty, Monday, April 23, 6 to 7:00 PM. Join the Insider Briefing on the NH Death Penalty to learn more about why repeal of the death penalty is best for NH and what you can do. Sign up here: https://myaccount.maestroconference.com/conference/register/05D73B8M4JLP5406
2. CALL your Representative and urge them to support SB 593.
Messaging:
Over 165 people have been exonerated from death row across the country. These individuals were wrongly convicted because of a combination of prosecutorial misconduct, faulty evidence, inaccurate eyewitness ID, poor legal defense, and racial bias. Our criminal justice system is not immune to these same flaws. It is naïve to believe our system is infallible. The only way to guarantee that we do not sentence to death and execute an innocent person is to repeal the death penalty.
The death penalty does not act as a deterrent, for people outside or inside of prison. At its core, murder is a crime of passion. One does not consider the consequence of the death penalty while in the midst of a violent crime. Most murders also occur under the influence of drugs or alcohol, further underscoring that the death penalty can have no deterrent effect.
The National Research Council reviewed more than three decades of research and found no credible evidence that the death penalty deters crime. In fact, states without the death penalty actually have lower murder rates than those with the death penalty. The murder rate in states with the death penalty is 4.7, while the murder rate drops to 3.1 in states without it.
There is no evidence that the threat of the death penalty prevents inmates from harming corrections officers. Between 2005 and 2014, there were 24 corrections officers in the United States murdered by inmates. Every one of these murders occurred in a jurisdiction with the death penalty.
If people serving life sentences have “nothing left to lose” and therefore feel free to kill in prison, the same would be true for death row – you can’t be executed twice. Yet thousands of death row inmates live in prison for years, even decades, without committing another murder in prison. The death penalty is no more of a deterrent for murder in prison than outside prison. If it were, one would expect more prison murders in non-death penalty states. Yet states without the death penalty have a lower homicide rate among prisoners than states with the death penalty.
The death penalty is exorbitantly expensive, but more pressing is the human toll it takes on those charged with securing death row and carrying out executions. Many of those involved in executions have reported suffering PTSD-like symptoms, such as flashbacks, nightmares, and other forms of distress.
The death penalty is too often not based on the crime committed, but on the quality of defense, geography, and on the race of the defendant and victim. The death penalty is applied inconsistently and in a discriminatory manner. Justice applied unjustly is injustice.
The national trend is in support of death penalty repeal. New Hampshire is the only remaining state in New England that has not repealed this discriminatory and archaic practice.
New Hampshire has not executed someone since 1939. It is time to say in law what our state has made clear in practice.
This bill would only apply to individuals convicted after January 2019.
3. ATTEND Visibility Action on Thursday, April 26 at 9:15 am outside of Representative's Hall, State House ahead of the full house vote.
SB 313 MEDICAID EXPANSION ~ SUPPORT
Supporters of Medicaid Expansion are still trying to thread a needle in the wind (while blind-folded with one hand tied behind their back!). Although this bill has significant short-comings, it is the best we can hope for this session. Freedom Caucus and other extreme fiscal hawks are trying hard to kill the bill so we need to show our support.
HOW YOU CAN HELP: 1. ATTEND Visibility Action on Tuesday, April 24 ahead of the Finance Committee's executive session at 10:30 am room 210-11 Legislative Office Building.
Thursday, April 26
VIGIL FOR WORKERS' RIGHTS
12 to 1:00 PM
State House
NH COSH will host a vigil for workers and friends at noon in front of the State House in Concord. We are calling for policies that recognize that all workers are valuable and important to commerce, the economy and civic life. We believe that the right to a safe workplace is fundamental and that organizations that respect the worth and dignity of their employees are the cornerstone of a good economy.
For more info, click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/147712129235570/
THIS WEEK'S QUICK ACTION ITEMS
For those who are short on time, energy or inspiration... we've all been there at one time or another!
And remember, never underestimate the value of a simple act. It is what moves us forward as individuals and as a movement.
From our friend Susan Covert:
# 1 ACTION ALERT - Give Peace a Chance
Defeat Pompeo Nomination for Secretary of State
If confirmed as Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo would join National Security Advisor John Bolton as another warmongering “yes man” in the administration. Pompeo is absolutely unfit to represent America to the world. He is Islamophobic, a climate change denier, anti-choice, anti-LGTBQ rights, and in favor of torture.
Senator Hassan is a critical vote. Hassan, along with several other Democrats voted for Pompeo’s confirmation as CIA director. Senators Kaine, Feinstein, Klobuchar, and Schatz who supported his CIA nomination have declared that they will oppose Pompeo for Secretary of State. If all Democrats and independents stand strong—along with Senator Paul, who opposes Pompeo, and Senator McCain, who isn't voting—Pompeo's nomination will be defeated. Hassan is key to that defeat. The vote is expected next week.
Call Hassan’s office and demand she vote NO on Pompeo’s nomination for Secretary of State.
Senator Maggie Hassan: DC Office / 202-224-3324 NH Office / 603-433-4445
My call to the DC Office went to voice mail - I called the NH Office and spoke with William who said he would pass along my concerns. I asked William if he knew how the Senator would vote on this nomination. William told me Senator Hassan had not yet issued a public statement on this vote.
This action took less than 2 minutes
# 2 ACTION ALERT - Oppose Restrictions on Adult Education
Support Immigrant Access to ESOL Programs ~ Urge State Reps to Oppose SB 525
From our friends at AFSC NH: Members of the House Education Committee seemingly had no appetite to approve SB 525, the bill aimed at denying access to adult education programs for those who cannot prove that they are "legal residents." In the end, 12 members voted for the bill to be studied, and 8 members voted for it to be defeated. The bill hasn’t been scheduled for a vote yet, so there is still time to contact your Representatives and tell them why it’s good to support immigrants' access to ESOL classes.
Send an email to your State Representative http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/members/wml.aspx
and encourage them to oppose SB 525. This bill is unnecessary, disruptive to the mission of adult education programs and potentially harmful to (and discriminatory against) immigrants and refugees. Access to ESOL programs helps individuals, helps employers and helps the economy.
This action took less than 2 minutes
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