What to look for in the State House this week

The State House dome is seen on Nov. 18, 2016, as the restoration project nears completion. (ELIZABETH FRANTZ / Monitor staff)

The State House dome is seen on Nov. 18, 2016, as the restoration project nears completion. (ELIZABETH FRANTZ / Monitor staff) ELIZABETH FRANTZ

By CHARLOTTE MATHERLY

Monitor staff

Published: 02-07-2025 8:00 PM

It’s budget week in the State House. As Gov. Kelly Ayotte presents her draft of the next state budget, legislative priorities will begin to unfold.

Here’s a look at what’s happening this week and how it might impact your life.

■Ayotte is set to deliver her budget address to legislators this Thursday. As the state faces a revenue shortfall and looming education funding lawsuits, she’s promised strict adherence to a balanced budget. However, she says that won’t come at the expense of providing services for New Hampshire’s “most vulnerable” populations. She has instituted a state-wide hiring freeze but is also looking to invest in recruitment and retention efforts for state employees, especially law enforcement.

■President Donald Trump’s impending tariffs on Canada could have an outsized impact on New Hampshire, which has an established trade relationship with the U.S.’s neighbor to the north. Ayotte said the 30-day pause on those tariffs is welcome, and she hopes they don’t come to pass. Meanwhile, industries like construction and transportation and scrambling to figure out how the tariffs on Canadian imports like buses, lumber and energy will impact them.

■A bipartisan group of lawmakers wants to hand out $900,000 to New Hampshire State Police to help recruit and retain its workforce. This comes mostly in the form of sign-on bonuses and rewards for state employees who refer candidates for jobs. One local police chief, however, said it feels unfair to make these investments for State Police but not local law enforcement or other state agencies. In recent years, New Hampshire – much like the rest of the country – has seen increased vacancy rates in law enforcement and corrections.

Now, here’s what to keep an eye on this week. (It’s all open to the public and can be streamed on YouTube.)

■On Monday, Feb. 10, House Bill 765 seeks to consolidate school administrative units and make superintendents an elected position. That hearing is at 10:45 a.m.

■On Tuesday, Feb. 11, a House committee will hold a public hearing on House Bill 172, which would prohibit voters who haven’t declared a party affiliation from switching their party on the same day to vote in primary elections. That’s at 1:40 p.m.

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■On Wednesday, Feb. 12 at 3:20 p.m., the Senate will hold a hearing on Senate Bill 295. It seeks to remove the income eligibility cap on Education Freedom Accounts. It’s vastly similar to a House bill of the same nature, which elicited abundant feedback from the public.

■On Thursday, Feb. 13 at 10 a.m., Ayotte will deliver her budget address to the Legislature. After that, the House will vote on bills regarding cannabis, a right-to-work law and cat declawing.

■On Thursday in the Senate, two bills regarding transgender rights will be open for public hearing (Senate Bill 268 and Senate Bill 38). Those start at 1 :30 p.m.

For a more detailed unpacking of weekly news from the State House, subscribe to my newsletter, Capital Beat. If you have questions or ideas about anything going on in the Legislature, please contact me.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.