| HB 1113 - adding a definition of public academy to New Hampshire law | The committee unanimously recommends that this bill be passed as amended. It contains a useful definition of a "public academy" and the amendment ensures that this definition will have no bearing on whether or not public academies and their employees are eligible to participate in the New Hampshire Retirement System. |
| HB 1178 - relative to the definition of an adequate education | Majority Report: The prime sponsor of the bill sought to replace the current
statute that defines the "criteria for an equitable education" in RSA 193-E:2
with the Kentucky definition of an "adequate public education." The Kentucky
criteria is inadequate because it lacks any reference to reading, writing and
speaking English; skill in mathematics; skill in methods of science; knowledge of
biological, physical and earth sciences; economics; geography;
and technological skills. Additionally, the committee learned that in 1998,
after the Claremont II decision, the House and Senate Education Committees
met jointly and used the Kentucky standards as a starting point by which
they arrived at the current statute. The majority takes the position that
moving forward with this bill would be a major step backward.
Minority Report: The minority believes the term "adequacy" must be returned to the language in Chapter 193 E. By substituting the term "equity" for "adequacy", we have shifted the focus from educational content to educational funding. The committee intends to set up an ad hoc committee to discuss the issue of adequacy. |
| HB 1229 - prohibiting the use of false documentation for employment, government services, or permits | At the deadline for reporting this bill to the House, the committee did not see a purpose for the bill. We have learned, however, that more information may be available very soon. If this happens, the committee will provide the information to the House when the bill is before the body for debate. |
| HB 1241
- mandating the inclusion of kindergarten as part of an elementary school. - (new title) extending the kindergarten construction aid program. |
Majority Report: The committee appreciates, understands, and wanted to strongly
support public kindergarten for all New Hampshire children. This bill, as written, would have
created an unfunded mandate. The amendment supports those communities who do not
yet have kindergarten by extending the Kindergarten Construction Aid Program
through June 30, 2008.
Minority Report: This bill was presented as a mere extension of the aid program, but it appears to be actually adding $1.7 million in new spending. |
| HB 1241 - extending the kindergarten construction aid program. | There are twelve school districts in New Hampshire that currently do not offer public kindergarten. This bill extends the current state incentive program for 2 more years. Next year, the Finance Committee may offer a bill to gradually sunset the expanded and enhanced kindergarten construction aid program. |
| HB1244 - relative to eligibility to receive moneys from the driver training fund | This bill would allow any person aged 16 or 17 to receive $150 from the driver training fund. Currently only those who take the course from a school program are eligible to have the reimbursement. The committee believes that this would be fair but could reduce General Fund revenue by about $800,000. We did not believe this would be appropriate at this time. |
| HB 1287 - requiring legislative approval of any rules proposed by the state board of education. | Testimony from the Department of Education reassured the committee that the multiple rules processes (10-12 per year) which take 12-18 months in time are working. The current process is more open thanks to the last successful set of rules. The committee also objected to subjecting rulemaking requirements for the Board of Education to an extent that exists for no other agency. |
| HB 1291 - relative to automobile insurance coverage for drivers in the same household as the policyholder. | This bill requires insurance companies to permit an automobile insurance policy holder to decline coverage for drivers in the same household. This cannot be done as it would be in violation of the provisions of RSA 264:18 which spells out the required provisions of a motor vehicle liability policy issued in New Hampshire. |
| HB 1308 - establishing a committee to study revising the New Hampshire special education statutes | Several bills before the committee this session dealt with concerns and issues relative to special education. An ad hoc committee that could gather information from all the parties identified in HB 1308 as well as other interested parties could begin the discussion earlier with possible legislation to be ready for the 2007 session. |
| HB 1314 - relative to an adult roles and responsibilities curriculum | Majority: This bill requires the Dept. of Education to suggest guidelines for the
teaching of values related to parenting, marriage, and other family issues in
public schools. For many, these are issues of faith that may conflict with values
promoted at home. Secondly, the U.S. is last in basic education areas among the
industrialized nations and highly illiterate yet this bill encourages taking more
teaching time away from basics. Finally, this law is unnecessary: school districts
now teach in these areas without Department of Education involvement.
Minority: The minority of the committee supported as unanimous subcommittee report of ought to pass with amendment. The ultimate aim of this legislation is to help the students to achieve their full potential to have strong families, strong communities and strong workplaces. Existing research indicates that when fundamental life skills and effective communication skills are present in a student's life, the more positive the outcomes. These students are more likely to succeed in school, have good relationships with their peers and families, be less likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs and be less likely to be school drop-outs. This bill respects and retains local control by requiring the State Board of Education to establish a practice guideline for dissemination and review by local school districts. Policy decisions regarding adoption remain with the local school boards. |
| HB 1323 - relative to the statement of purpose in the statewide education improvement and assessment program. | Majority Report: This bill removes the word "democracy" from RSA 193-C:1.
The vast majority of the committee disagrees.
Minority Report: It is important to have the statement of purpose of RSA 193-C:1 to accurately reflect the fact that our nation is a republic and not a democracy. The minority believes that this distinction needs to be clarified in current law. |
| HB 1351 - making certain changes to the administrative procedures act | This amended bill does the following: 1) requires proposed legislation which contains rulemaking to include a clear statement of intent; 2) establishes a process for dealing with a preliminary objection by the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules which includes the option of sending a copy of the objection to the standing policy committee and requiring notice to the agency effected; and 3) establishes a study committee on the rule process to discuss a number of concerns including but not limited to: (a) the development of a process to record a clear statement of legislative intent on every bill sent out of a house or senate committee with a favorable report; such process may involve requiring a purpose clause to be included in every bill in the form of either chapter law or statute, requiring a statement of intent to be included in every bill filed, requiring a statement of intent to be included in each house committee report, or requiring all house hearing and executive session to be recorded; (b) the development of a formal process for ensuring that the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules receives input from the appropriate policy committees on proposed rules; such process may involve the establishment of a rules review subcommittee within each policy committee of the house and senate and/or participation by a policy committee member prior to the agency public comment period; (c) adopting methods to provide for an expedited rulemaking process to adopt rule changes with minimal impact, including the adoption or revision of forms used by agencies; (d) developing an RSA 541-A training program for members newly appointed to the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules and an educational program on rules for all House members. |
| HB 1368 - requiring elementary school instruction in proverbs. | This bill proposes curriculum already covered by state frameworks and currently taught throughout the state. |
| HB 1378 - establishing a committee to study the financial implications on local school districts when special education students attend charter schools. | The committee, by recommendation of both the sponsor and co-sponsor, understands that these concepts will be folded into an ad hoc committee to look at all aspects of the special education laws. |
| HB 1397 - prohibiting an agency from adopting rules over the objection of the joint legislative committee on administrative rules | This bill was not necessary as HB 1351 would address the concerns of the rule making process. |
| HB 1414 - relative to the protection of personal information by mandatory notice of security breach | This is one of a number of bills that came before the committee dealing with the subject of security breach notification. The committee decided to use HB 1660-FN as a foundation for the formulation of a workplace bill that will accomplish the notification objective without the unintended consequences which are likely any time we are moving into unexplored legal territory. The best parts of this bill have been incorporated into HB 1660-FN. |
| HB 1424 - relative to persons permitted to attend child abuse and neglect hearings | In child abuse and neglect hearings that are not open to the public, parties are allowed to invite other persons to the hearing with prior approval of the court. It also allows the court to provide docket information to invited persons. |
| HB 1432 - establishing a commission on special education funding | The committee strongly believes that the entire subject of special education should be comprehensively studied and reviewed. However, this bill is not the appropriate vehicle for that study, particularly because of its unwieldy size and composition. |
| HB 1459 - relative to the department of regional community-technical colleges and making an appropriation therefor. | report not available online |
| HB 1484 - relative to including motorcycle safety in driver education courses | This bill as amended requires that a minimum of 45 minutes of a nationally recognized motorcycle awareness course be included in the current 30 hours of driver education. Also, required would be a minimum of 45 minutes of a nationally recognized course on heavy truck and tractor trailer awareness. Both courses would be approved by the Director. With more motorcycles and trucks on the road the committee felt teaching awareness of these different vehicles was important to help reduce the increasing number of accidents between cars and these different vehicles. This would not increase the number of classroom hours currently at 30 hours. Only some instructors are currently teaching these subjects and this would put uniformity into the driver training program. |
| HB 1503 - relative to financial programs administered by the postsecondary education commission | This bill allows for all funds to be distributed to students and not revert to the general fund. The amount of money, between six and ten thousand dollars, is hugely significant to worthy applicants (such as the orphans of veterans programs) and makes miniscule difference to the general fund. |
| HB 1532 - revising the special education statutes | This bill, while well intended, was originally brought forward as a housekeeping bill. It was soon realized that there were additional concerns with the bill and an amendment was then offered. The amendment, while clarifying some concerns of the committee, brought up even more concerns. The bill was then referred to interim study so that the appropriate time and energy could be given to the issue of revising the special education statutes that this deserves. |
| HB 1557 - establishing babysitter age guidelines and children home alone guidelines | The committee was sympathetic to the problem presented but felt that the enforcement was difficult if not impossible. |
| HB 1581 - relative to drivers' licenses for persons under the age of 21 | This bill as prepared will allow the Department of Safety to, upon the passage of a new contract, make a minor's driving license vertical as opposed to a horizontal license. The amendment did change the effective date to January 1, 2008. |
| HB 1660 - regulating identity theft. | House Commerce Committee: This is the identity theft bill which resulted from the four bills submitted in this area. There were many competing interests and the committee struggled to resolve those differences. The committee concluded that identity theft notification was extremely important. This bill makes a good first step by requiring notification to the consumer no more than 15 business days from the time of security breach discovery. The committee agreed that we are on the right track in a very complex area. House Criminal and Public Safety Committee: This bill requires any persons who own or license computerized data that includes personal information to notify affected individuals of any security breach of such system as soon as they become aware of the breach. It sets forth the manner in which notification will be given. The penalty listed is consistent with similar corporate violations. |
| HB 1685 - establishing a special needs scholarship program | This bill was introduced as part of model legislation developed nationally. The committee will be working in an ad hoc committee to address all issues presented to the committee this session related to special needs students. |
| HB 1695 - defining an adequate education and relative to calculating the cost of an adequate education and adequate education grants. | The committee supported the ITL motion given the probability of an ad hoc committee being established to comprehensively look at all special education issues. |
| HB 1695 - defining an adequate education and relative to calculating the cost of an adequate education and adequate education grants. | The committee supported the ITL motion given the probability of an ad hoc committee being established to comprehensively look at all special education issues. |
| HB 1707 - establishing a school choice certificate program | Majority report: This bill is not an indictment or a criticism of public
schools. The majority believes that public schools do a good job for most
students, but some students can excel in a different educational
environment. HB 1707 is a constitutional and responsible step that
gradually introduces school choice certificates over the next eight years
in a manner that makes the certificates proportionately available across
the state. HB 1707 is constitutional because the money is spent by the
parent. The certificate is made out to the parent and sent to the school
of the parent's choice. The parent must then go to the school and endorse
the check over to them. There is a philosophical difference with regard
to school choice. The majority sees that the greater purpose of public
education dollars is to provide the best education possible to students,
even if it means leaving a government school. To further that end,
parents of limited financial means must be empowered to choose another
school for the benefit of the child. This bill is designed to help the
needy by giving first priority on the certificates to families whose
income is at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines. Then, if
certificates are left over, families up to 300% of the federal poverty
guidelines can utilize this opportunity. During the committee process,
the opinion was offered that bills such as this take money away from
public schools. HB 1707 does not do that. The first year a student is
in the program, the school is held harmless financially. In subsequent
years, the sending public school continues to count the student in their
ADM-R. Furthermore, they are able to plan ahead to be able to keep 20%
of the per pupil aid amount. Thus the public school will benefit as well
by getting money for a child they won't have to educate. For the sake of
families of limited means, school choice is an idea that needs to be given
a chance in New Hampshire.
Minority report: This bill directly opposes the New Hampshire constitutional provision that "no money raised by taxation shall ever be granted or applied for the use of the schools or institutions of any religious sect or denomination." (Part 2, Art. 83; also Part 1, Art. 6). Private religious schools are not subject to federal disability laws and are allowed to discriminate on the basis of religion. In January, Florida's Supreme Court struck down the nation's only statewide voucher program because it undermined a uniform system of free public schools. This proposal provides a middle class subsidy at the expense of local school budgets. It requires districts to pay private schools 80% of their "state aid" per pupil or the state average aid per pupil for each certificate awarded. In districts whose only "state aid" is the locally collected statewide property tax, all of this money will come directly from local tax dollars. Under this bill, up to 42% of a district's population could attend private schools at taxpayer expense and without taxpayer approval. A free democratic society depends on an educated citizenry; we are responsible to educate all of our children, not a few at the expense of many. |
| HB 1709 - establishing an autism registry in the department of health and human services | This bill establishes an autism registry in the Dept. of Health and Human Services. Best estimates indicate that one in 500 children born in the state will be diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. There is a clear need for greater accuracy in the reporting of epidemiological data on the incidence and prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in the state. This bill would require that licensed health care providers, upon making the diagnosis of ASD, report such diagnosis to the state. This registry shall not be operational until grant money is secured. This registry will not require any appropriations from the Department of Health and Human Services and is not utilizing state funds. Once grant, donations, or other moneys are received, the State may opt to enter into an agreement with an appropriate entity for the management of the registry; such as a university or college. This registry is an important first step in understanding the increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in New Hampshire and how to best facilitate future planning. |
| SB131 - establishing a school choice certificate program | House Education Committee Majority Report:
This bill establishes a non-profit corporation to facilitate
private donations for the purpose of providing low-income children with the
opportunity to go to school outside of an assigned school district. The bill
provides $500,000 dollars in available tax credits to businesses and individuals
that donate to the corporation. The corporation is established similarly to the
Healthy Kids Corporation. The House was concerned with the $2 million dollar
Senate appropriation; therefore, the committee lowered that appropriation
to $1.00 of state money, keeping the bill viable by avoiding conflicts with
education dollars being spent outside the public education model.
House Education Committee Minority Report: This bill, as amended by the House Education Committee, is a voucher bill with another name. The minority thinks that there will be a fiscal impact on state funds. Additionally, the minority thinks that this version is unconstitutional. This bill has a negative impact on our efforts to offer equal opportunities to all children. House Ways and Means Committee Majority Report: Calling it "a recipe for chaos," the commissioner of the Department of Revenue Administration testified that this bill, with tax credits granted within different fiscal periods on a first-come, first-served basis, would be impossible to administer. In questioning, the committee learned that the bill would cost the state even more than the proposed $1 million/biennium in business tax credits and that the bill guaranteed that once students get vouchers, they can continue to receive them annually until they graduate or reach age 21. A further inconsistency is that while the bill would make the state financially responsible for the staff required to administer the program, it does not fund that expense. Given these shortcomings, an amendment was offered which attempted to strip the bill of its fiscal responsibilities. This was defeated by a bipartisan majority for any one of a number of reasons: 1) that the amendment, in fact, failed to relieve the state of responsibility for funding the administrative staff, 2) that it continued the state’s responsibility to reimburse expenses for the legislative members of the board, 3) that the state could be liable for legal challenges to Article 28A and other constitutional issues, 4) that the Senate could reinstate the funding in a committee of conference, 5) that it expanded government by broadening its reach into an area which even the prime sponsor agreed could be achieved through private endowment or contributions, and 6) that by stripping the tax credits from this bill, the remaining shell is a state-sponsored structure open to state funding for school voucher programs, including non-public programs, a practice which the House has consistently rejected, most recently on March 9. House Ways and Means Committee Minority Report: The policy contained in the bill was passed by the House. The bill was sent to Ways and Means to deal with the issue of the tax credits. The bill also contained a two dollar appropriation for the biennium, which at the request of the Finance Committee, the amendment would remove. The tax credit contained within the original bill would have been impossible to administer by the Department of Revenue and is also removed in the amendment. The minority believes that the majority overstepped its authority by recommending the killing of the policy contained within the bill. With the amendment, the bill contains no state financial support, but does provide a vehicle to accept funding for school choice. While it is true that any group of people could come together to form a non-profit corporation such as the one we propose, this amendment assures that it will become a reality and we believe by having its members appointed by the Speaker of the House, the Senate President and the Governor, it will have far more credibility than a corporation formed by a self-appointed group of individuals. |
| SB268 - raising the age of required attendance of children in school and establishing a 2-year pilot program for increasing vocational education opportunities in the Manchester and Nashua school districts and making an appropriation therefor | Majority Report: This bill raises the age of required school attendance to 18
and creates alternative pathways to graduation, including independent study,
internship, community service, work-study, or GED prep. In addition to ongoing
programs, which are already lowering the dropout rate, the bill appropriates
$600,000 for pilot programs in Nashua and Manchester, expanding them to multiple
other communities. The bill exempts home-schoolers. This bill is in the best
interest of our students; it raises expectations and sends an important message
that education is crucial to future success. Higher completion rates lower social
costs, because students who drop out earn less money and are more likely
to end up on Medicaid or in prison. The bill was supported by the BIA,
NH Retail Merchants, the Auto Dealers Association, law enforcement, NEA/AFT,
and various school administrators and school boards.
Minority Report: The committee minority believes this bill, as proposed, is a flawed bill. The proponents of the bill stated that by raising the age of compulsory school attendance from 16 to 18 it will increase expectations of students and fewer students will drop out. Currently a student can drop out at age 16 only if the parents agree (and there also has to be a meeting with the school principal). This bill takes away the parental rights and replaces the parents with the school superintendent. The minority believes the parental rights in making this decision about their children should be protected. The committee minority also presented evidence from the 2002 Cornell University Policy Analysis on the Effectiveness of Raising the Compulsory School Attendance (CSA) Age to Eighteen on Increasing High School Graduation Rates in New York State. The study concluded. "The completion rates and dropout rates of CSA-18 States do not conclusively suggest that raising the CSA to 18 would be effective in lowering dropout rates and increasing completion rates. Although some CSA-18 States have impressive completion rates, others do not. However, the benefits of raising the CSA to 18 could outweigh the costs if the State included additional funding for supplemental programs. Without such additional measures, it is risky to assume that a change in legislation will result in the desired effects." An additional evaluation of the New York legislation concluded "This policy (increasing the CSA age to 18) has been shown to be completely unsuccessful in increasing completion rates and only slightly successful in decreasing dropout rates." This bill makes the same flaw as the New York legislation. It increases the CSA age to 18 without providing statewide additional funding for supplemental programs to address dropout prevention and recovery. Proponents say the money will be added in separate legislation, if this bill passes. The committee minority offered to interim study this bill and develop a bi-partisan bill to fund the needed programs statewide. The committee majority refused, preferring to identify costs later after passing this bill. The committee minority believes this is not how State mandates should be passed (without knowing the costs). Experience in other states, which have increased the CSA age to 18 without additional statewide funding, shows us that significant problems will be created. In California, a number of school districts had to build new schools for the students who were not allowed to leave and were disruptive to the students who wanted to learn. In Texas, the truancy rates significantly increased and additional costs were incurred to form Absentee Review Boards and to prosecute parents who were allowing their kids to drop out of school. Who will pay these potential costs in New Hampshire? |
| SB323 - establishing a legislative youth advisory council | This bill establishes a legislative youth council similar to a very successful program in Maine. It would involve youth with legislators in dealing with policies on issues related to youth. This program would conduct an annual summer event for council members regarding leadership, government and the legislature, to which legislators would be invited. The council would meet no fewer than four times each year, and would conduct two hearings a year on issues of importance to youth. |
| SB370 - relative to multidisciplinary child protection teams | The committee comes unanimously to support children who have been victims of neglect, physical, psychological, or sexual abuse and/or any combination of these traumas to alleviate further pain and suffering. The intent of this bill is to keep these children from having to be subjected to the onslaught of multiple agencies that currently step in to help the child. The Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF), the police, physical and mental health practitioners, school and others will be coordinated to prevent the child from having to be interviewed over and over again, requiring the child to relive the trauma. This bill allows DCYF to enter into agreements to create multidisciplinary child protection teams to investigate and interview in unison. It creates human resources and other efficiencies, all the while improving on minimizing the trauma to the child. |