How the legislature works — New Hampshire style

By Ruth Ward
We are a few days from it being officially Fall but the kids are back in school and your state legislators are starting to write bills for the next session, which begins in January 2024.

The legislative process began this past week, with House members submitting Legislative Service Requests (LSRs) to get their bills in to the Office of Legislative Services (OLS). The filing period for House members ran from September 11 through September 15. The OLS is staffed by lawyers who will put the bills in the proper language. This year, senators will start filing LSRs on September 28. We have until October 12 to get bills to the OLS to be put in proper form and language.

One thing that I particularly like about New Hampshire is that citizens can approach their legislators and make a request for a bill. It could be a particular issue that needs to be heard or something very simple, for example, creating a state Bird of the Month. Sometimes a school class, as part of their civics curriculum, will put through a request for a bill. In recent years, a few bills that originated with citizens included suicide prevention legislation and legislation banning the hunting of coyote mothers until the pups are a certain age.

Some legislators may or may not agree that some bills should be given a hearing. Some have even opined that there should be a weeding out of some bills. This is not an unreasonable request since there are more than a thousand bills filed most years. However, in New Hampshire, every bill is heard, and I strongly believe that we should keep it that way. Not all bills will pass, but at least they are heard.

After the proposed bills have gone through the OLS, they are given a number based on where they originated, House or Senate. Depending on the content, the bills are then assigned to different committees.

Now the work begins for the committees. House committees have 18-20 members. Senate committees have 5. Bills are scheduled, announcements are posted as to what bills are being heard and in what order. The posted time is followed so that people interested in a particular bill will know when it is being heard. That said, we don’t start a new bill ahead of schedule, but the hearing may be delayed because the previous hearing is taking longer.

At some point in the session, there is an Executive Session for the committee, where the members consider the merits and vote on the bills. If all agree to pass the bill, it goes on the Consent Calendar and does not receive further consideration. The rest of the bills will be presented to the full House or Senate for debate. All bills passed in the Senate or House will be heard again by the other chamber. That happens at a time known as Crossover, a date that is usually in March.

After the House and Senate have finished all the bills approved by both, they are now ready for the governor to sign into law or veto.

It is a very rigorous procedure and every step is available for the public to see. The legislature wants transparency. In fact, all hearings are broadcast live on YouTube. I encourage you all to spend a few moments watching a streamed hearing, if you are able to. It is important that the citizens of New Hampshire should know what their legislature is doing. It is a very interesting process.

— Senator Ruth Ward (R-Stoddard) represents District 8 in the New Hampshire Senate