Two NH constitutional amendments to vote on

By JEFF EPSTEIN
[email protected]
CONCORD — On Nov. 6 New Hampshire voters will vote one way or the other on two questions that would amend the state constitution. One would affirm the right of access to public meetings and documents, and would also allow individuals to sue state or local government over alleged misuse of public funds. The other declares that individuals have a right to live free from governmental intrusion in private and personal information. 

Both measures were approved as ballot initiatives by the New Hampshire legislature, and must be approved by two-thirds of the total vote to be enacted.

 The actual language

Question 1, if approved, would insert into the state constitution the following: [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. The public also has a right to an orderly, lawful, and accountable government. Therefore, any individual taxpayer eligible to vote in the State, shall have standing to petition the Superior Court to declare whether the State or political subdivision in which the taxpayer resides has spent, or has approved spending, public funds in violation of a law, ordinance, or constitutional provision. In such a case, the taxpayer shall not have to demonstrate that his or her personal rights were impaired or prejudiced beyond his or her status as a taxpayer. However, this right shall not apply when the challenged governmental action is the subject of a judicial or administrative decision from which there is a right of appeal by statute or otherwise by the parties to that proceeding.”

 Why do this?

An earlier state law in 2012 gave citizens standing to sue over spending, even if they were not personally hurt over the issue. But in 2014, the state Supreme Court struck down the law, in a case in which Bill Duncan, a former member of the state Board of Education, attempted to challenge new education tax credits. The court said the 2012 law was invalid because plaintiffs had to be personally impaired to have standing.

Duncan and other proponents say that view goes against history, with state court decisions as far back as 1863 allowing such suits, on the grounds that all taxpayers have an interest in how the state spends tax dollars.

The House passed this measure 309 to 9, and the Senate passed it 22 to 2. Sixty percent of each house is required for a proposed amendment to get onto the ballot. Among those sponsoring it in the legislature were Rep. Claire Rouillard (R-Hillsborough 6) and Rep. Robert Backus (D-Hillsborough 19).

 More language

Question 2, if approved, would insert the following: [Art.] 2-b. [Right to Privacy.] An individual’s right to live free from governmental intrusion in private or personal information is natural, essential, and inherent.”

The measure is an attempt to update privacy rights in the current climate of digital information, and government use of electronic records. However, some say that the language is flawed and too vague.

Rep. Neal Kurk (R-Hillsborough 2) and Rep. Robert Cushing (D-Rockingham 21) sponsored the amendment in the New Hampshire General Court. The House passed this measure 235 to 96, and the Senate passed it 15 to 9.

 Not on the ballot

A third proposed amendment will not be on the ballot, however. That measure would have placed a series of specific rights for crime victims, known as “Marcy’s Law,” into the constitution if approved. However, although Gov. Sununu and several legislators backed it, there was ultimately not enough support to put it on the ballot. Marcy’s law is the subject of a national campaign. Six other states will vote on it this year, and it has already been passed in Ohio, Illinois, North Dakota, South Dakota and California.