Budget talks took shape in the Senate this week as multiple agencies pleaded with senators to restore their funding – and in some cases, their very existence – that was cut by the House of Representatives.

Here’s what you need to know.

This past week

■Department of Corrections Commissioner Helen Hanks warned state senators that an approximate 10% budget cut could make New Hampshire’s prison system more dangerous for the people incarcerated there and the corrections officers who work there. Proposed spending reductions approved by the House of Representatives would lay off nearly 100 civilian staff and eliminate a few dozen guard positions – a move Hanks said would create unsafe conditions and decimate rehabilitative efforts. Gov. Kelly Ayotte opposes those cuts and told reporters this week that she’s asked the state Senate to consider whether they’re realistic.

■A bill that would track abortion statistics in New Hampshire is making its way through the House after the Senate easily approved it on a voice vote. While Democrats had voiced concern over a potential infringement on privacy rights, conservative advocates say they want tougher punishments for medical providers who report inaccurate data. The Senate had added a provision to fine a medical facility $100 if it “willfully fails to comply” with the policy, but lobbyists who testified on Wednesday said they’d rather kill the entire effort than move forward with what they viewed as insufficient enforcement.

■Lawmakers seem keen to move the state primary election three months earlier in a move they say will give voters more time to research candidates between the primary and the general election. Senate Bill 222 would reschedule the primary to the second Tuesday in June, a big jump from its current timing in September. Legislators have been considering a shift like this for years, but some worry that moving it to June would create a long election season from town meetings in March all through the summer and the general election in November.

The week ahead

■On Monday and Tuesday this week, the Senate Finance Committee will hold the last of its budget presentations with state agencies at 1 p.m. both days. The state’s Department of Health and Human Services takes center stage, as each division will dive into its spending requests.

■On Thursday, May 1, at 10 a.m., both the House of Representatives and the Senate will meet for a voting session. The Senate is poised to kill legislation that would create an open enrollment system in the state’s public schools and will consider several bills regarding vaccines and gaming.

For more information on the budget process and other inner workings of the State House, check out our 2025 Legislative Guide.

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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, subscribe to her Capital Beat newsletter and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.