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CONCORD — New Hampshire Democrats face a difficult dilemma in the wake of the death of House Minority Leader Renny Cushing: Fight or flight?

Do Democrats hold a vote to pick a new leader, which would almost certainly lead to a divisive leadership fight; or do they stick with acting Minority Leader Rep. David Cote (D-Nashua) and ride out the rest of the session?

What most voters probably don’t realize is that by state law, Democrats do not get to pick their leader. Under New Hampshire’s Constitution, the authority to name the leaders for both parties rests not with the party caucuses, but with Speaker of the House Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry).

“Technically, it’s up to the Speaker,” said Secretary of State David Scanlan. “But how we get there is up to the Democrats.”

Democrats can vote for a leader, but the choice has to go through the Speaker of the House. 

“The minority caucus has to determine what they are going to do,” said Clerk of the House Paul Smith. “But there’s nothing in the rules that [says] the Speaker has to name anyone to anything.”

When Republicans lost their leader, Rep. Dick Hinch, to a COVID-related illness just over a year ago, they didn’t face this situation because he was Speaker. The position is elected by the entire House and there are clear rules in the Constitution and state law about picking a replacement.

“Within 30 days after a vacancy occurs in the office of president of the Senate or speaker of the House of Representatives, the Senate or House of Representatives, as the case may be, shall select a successor from among its members.”

Smith said when there has been a death of a party’s leader in the past, the party has chosen to keep the acting leader in place for the remainder of the session. Given there are just a couple of months left in the current legislative session, Smith said Democrats could keep Cote in place for the time being.

Packard was not available for comment on Tuesday, and Cote did not respond to a request for comment. 

Former House Speaker Shawn Jasper said he could not recall any past Speaker ignoring the wishes of either party when it comes to picking leadership.

“(The Speakers)  just can’t do that on their own,” he said.

While Democrats could keep Cote in place, Jasper said, much legislative work remains to be done in Concord and the party might want to hold a leadership vote.

“What complicates the matter here is that (Cote) has not been coming to the State House. It will be very difficult for him to be effective for the next couple of months. He needs to be on-site,” Jasper said.

According to multiple sources inside the Democratic caucus, Cote is “terrified of COVID,” and as a result has refused to attend any in-person gatherings.

“You can’t run the caucus from your basement,” one concerned Democrat told NHJournal.

Greg Moore, who served as the chief of staff for the New Hampshire House of Representatives, said it has been a difficult couple of years, with both parties losing their leaders.

“It’s been a tough legislative session for the House,” Moore said.

Moore thinks Democrats are likely to hold a leadership vote in the coming weeks. Cushing was well-liked on both sides of the aisle, and he had the ability to lead. That is something Democrats will miss.

“When you lose your leader, you want to have somebody who has the force of the vote,” Moore said. “That gives the caucus a lot of confidence.”

If there is a caucus in the coming weeks, Moore said the candidates who ran against Cushing last time are likely to be top contenders. Rep. Matt Wilhelm (D-Manchester) and Rep. Marjorie Smith (D-Durham), who both challenged Cushing for the Minority Leader post, did not respond to requests for comment.

Moore said the ultimate decision will be made by the members.

“It’s up to the caucus what they want to do,” Moore said.

It felt like the last day of school at the New Hampshire State House on June 22. Lawmakers were signing each other’s session books (the political version of yearbooks), shaking hands, and taking pictures together. It had been another eventful legislative session that saw many highs and lows for Gov. Chris Sununu, the first Republican in the corner office in 12 years.

The Republicans didn’t always get along during this legislative session. Remember the defeat of right-to-work legislation and the House failing to pass their own version of a budget earlier this year? Despite the varied ideological depth of the New Hampshire Republican Party, they were able to show they can work together and give Sununu some final wins at the end of the first year of the 165th General Court, including full-day kindergarten and a budget getting passed.

Now, the lawmakers head home for the summer months and it’s time to decide the winners and losers of the session:

WINNERS:

With his wife Valerie at his side Republican candidate for governor Chris Sununu speaks to supporters early in the morning Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Concord, N.H. Sununu said his race with Democratic challenger Colin VanOstern was too close to call. (AP Photo/Jim Cole)

Gov. Chris Sununu: As much as Democrats wanted Sununu to not do well his first term in office, several of his campaign promises and policy priorities made their way through the legislature and became law. One of his first wins in office came from the repeal of a license requirement for concealed carry firearms. It was something he said he would do on the campaign trail, and it got done within the first two months of his term.

That’s not to say that Sununu didn’t have some setbacks during the legislative session. The governor, who didn’t have prior legislative experience before taking office, saw the defeat of right-to-work under his watch and the House failed to pass a budget for the first time in recent memory. Some critics claim Sununu could have done more to get right-to-work passed, but the Republican infighting revealed a divided party that would prove difficult for GOP leadership to navigate.

With the budget, Democrats attempted to paint Sununu as not in control of his own party, but Sununu actually stood as the most to gain from the House’s failure. The House cut several of Sununu’s budget priorities in its version, but when the Senate drafted its own budget, it used Sununu’s proposal as a guide. What was ultimately passed at the end of June was a compromise of House, Senate, and Sununu’s priorities.

On the final day of the session, Sununu also saw the passage of full-day kindergarten and a key school choice bill. It might not have been a perfect process, but the governor saw several items from his policy wish-list reach his desk.

Marijuana: For several years, New Hampshire has been the only state in New England that still criminalized possession of small amounts of marijuana. For many lawmakers, they saw a connection between the rampant opioid crisis and marijuana being used as a potential gateway drug. Historically, the Senate has voted down various bills relating to looser pot laws, but advocates fought long and hard to see marijuana decriminalization passed. After compromising with the House on an amount, the Senate finally found a bill that it could handle.

In June, the legislature decriminalized three-quarters of an ounce of pot and Sununu signed it into law. Marijuana advocates applauded lawmakers for taking the first step, although they are continuing to work toward full legalization.

Libertarians: The Libertarian Party of New Hampshire had a banner election year in 2016. It obtained 4 percent of the vote in the gubernatorial election to qualify for the ballot in 2018. It also had three sitting lawmakers switch their party affiliations from Democrat or Republican to Libertarian. The last time the Libertarian Party had an official caucus in the State House was in the 1990s when it had four members.

While Libertarians haven’t been the deciding votes on any controversial bills during the session, it is clear that some members of the major parties are unhappy within their own caucuses. The Libertarian Party needs to garner 4 percent of the vote again in 2018 to remain on the ballot, but with political partisanship at an all time high, voters could see Libertarians as a more moderate choice. That’s how many Granite Staters felt when they voted for Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson over Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton.

Gov. Chris Sununu signs HB 262, declaring the common blackberry to be the berry of the biennium. (Image Credit: Gov. Chris Sununu’s office)

Blackberry and painted turtle: Every year, the state’s fourth graders learn how the state government works, and every year, legislation gets filed on their behalf. This year, lawmakers saw a bill from students at Simonds School in Warner naming the blackberry the official state berry of the biennium. It made its way through the House and Senate, and Sununu signed the bill in June.

Another group of students from Main Dunstable School in Nashua wanted the painted turtle to be the official state reptile for the biennium. That bill was also signed by Sununu.

It’s an annual tradition at the State House and while some lawmakers believe it’s a waste of time, some say it’s a good opportunity to get students involved and interested in the political process.

Of course, no one will forget the time in 2015 when students in Hampton Falls proposed making the red-tailed hawk the state raptor and a lawmaker suggested the creature would be a better mascot for Planned Parenthood. That became a national news story.

Luckily, no incidents like that happened this year. And Sununu enjoyed snacking on some blackberries with the fourth-grade students when he signed the bill into law.

LOSERS:

Democrats: The New Hampshire Democratic Party struggled to find its footing this year. For the first time since 2010, Democrats were fully the minority party in the State House — Republicans had majorities in the House, Senate, Executive Council, and the corner office. The party couldn’t decide if it wanted to work with Republicans or be the party of resistance to their agenda.

Their lack of a mission or agenda was evident in the legislature. While Democrats banded together to help defeat right-to-work and the House’s budget, there were times when some members disagreed with party leadership and voted their conscience. When it became clear that it was very likely that a budget wouldn’t be passed in the House, some Democrats advocated for at least passing something on to the Senate.

While Democrats have long pushed full-day kindergarten, they didn’t like that the final bill tied its funding to the lottery game Keno. Most Democrats voted against it, and that could be a major policy issue when they face reelection next year.

But the question still remains: will Democrats work with Republicans in the next legislative session in January or will they resist? National politics will definitely influence their decisions, and it will also be an election year. More partisanship is likely.

Right-to-work: The bill called for prohibiting unions from charging fees to nonmembers for the costs of representation, but even in a GOP-controlled legislature, Republicans couldn’t get the votes. A lot of different factors went into its defeat in the House, including disagreements between Sununu and House Speaker Shawn Jasper, as well as some Republicans who are part of unions or know people in unions. This was a major bill that some lobbyists and advocacy groups pushed for, including the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity-New Hampshire. Simply, the votes were not there and lawmakers voted to not bring up the issue again until at least 2019, but expect to see another bill if the GOP retains its majority in the legislature.

Transgender advocates: A controversial gender identity nondiscrimination bill was tabled in the House, much to the dismay of transgender advocates. The bill would have prohibited discrimination based on gender identity, extending gender identity the same protections under state law that exist for age, sex, sexual orientation, race, or creed. The protections would have applied to discrimination in housing, employment practices, and public accommodations.

House Speaker Shawn Jasper and other members of the GOP leadership sought to kill the bill, or at least get it off the agenda for the session. Their issue with the legislation mirrors the Republican opinion at a national level — the bill would have allowed transgender people to use the restrooms of their choice.

Advocates are hoping the bill could be resurrected next year.

Opioid crisis: The drug epidemic still has its grips on the Granite State, which is ranked as the second hardest hit state by per capita overdose deaths in the nation. Lawmakers passed some bills to help curb the crisis, but as with any legislative process, it can take a while for treatment and recovery centers to receive the necessary funds to make a difference.

The state is also now dealing with the rise of carfentanil, a synthetic opioid that is is so potent that it’s not intended for human consumption. It’s 100 times more potent than fentanyl and is commonly used to tranquilize elephants. There’s still a backlog at the state’s crime lab to investigate due to the increase in the number of drug overdose deaths.

While lawmakers seek political solutions for ending the crisis, advocacy groups say more creative solutions are needed, but it appears that the end of the epidemic is still not in sight.

UNDECIDED:

House Speaker Shawn Jasper (Photo Credit: Speaker Shawn Jasper Facebook page)

House Speaker Shawn Jasper and House Freedom Caucus: The conservative caucus threatened to kill the state budget unless their priorities were included. None of its members were on the conference committee to have a say in final negotiations, but House Speaker Shawn Jasper reached out to members to market the budget as a conservative one. Ultimately, some House Freedom Caucus representatives voted for the budget due to its inclusion of anti-abortion language and business tax cuts. But, Jasper’s control over the speakership is still in question. With defeats of right-to-work and a House budget, some representatives are questioning his ability to lead. If the GOP retains control in the House, expect several people to challenge him in 2018 to be speaker.

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After weeks of uncertainty and negotiations, it appears the Republican-controlled legislature could have enough votes to get the state budget passed Thursday, after key conservative groups indicated they intend to vote in favor of the spending plan.

Both the House and Senate are voting on an $11.7 billion, two-year spending plan negotiated by a committee of conference earlier this month. The Senate is expected to approve the compromise, but its fate is less certain in the House.

Gov. Chris Sununu, NHGOP Chair Jeanie Forrester, and House Speaker Shawn Jasper have been quietly making the rounds to appeal to the conservative caucuses in the New Hampshire House. The House Republican Alliance and House Freedom Caucus had concerns about increasing spending over the previous biennium. GOP leadership appears to have quelled those worries after business tax cuts were approved in the final version of the state budget during the conference committee between the House and the Senate.

No members from the two conservative blocs sat on the budget conference committee, which also harbored some bitter sentiments from representatives.

“While the caucus as a whole, finds the level of spending objectionable, we were able, with the cooperation of the Senate, to craft a bill that will have some positive outcomes for New Hampshire taxpayers, and businesses,” said Rep. Anne Copp, R-Danbury. “Many of these points were clear objectives for the [Freedom Caucus] when we went to House leadership in the early stages of the budget process. It is unfortunate that some of House leadership chose to exclude us from the process.”

At first, it was unclear if House GOP leadership would choose to work with the Democrats or conservatives to get a budget passed in the chamber. After anti-abortion language was added to the bill in the conference committee, Democrats said they would oppose the budget.

“What businesses need, with one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, is a well-qualified workforce, to maintain our quality of life in the Granite State and a sound infrastructure. It isn’t a tax cut,” said House Minority Leader Steve Shurtleff at a Wednesday press conference with more than 30 other Democratic lawmakers.

With their entire caucus planning to vote against the budget, House Republicans cannot afford to lose more than 25 to 30 votes within their own party, depending on how many of the 400 representatives show up to vote.

The conservatives led the defeat of the House’s original budget proposal in April, after 32 Republicans joined Democrats to vote against the plan. It was the first time since at least 1969, when records were first kept, that the House failed to produce a budget to pass on to the Senate.

Despite several conservative endorsements on the final version of the budget, they are not giving the credit to Jasper. The speaker and conservatives have not exactly seen eye-to-eye on many issues this legislative session. Some even blamed him for not getting a budget passed in April because Jasper didn’t give in to their demands. For the budget that came out of the conference committee, some conservatives attributed their change in position due to the governor and Senate leadership.

“The Freedom Caucus cannot thank the Governor and Senate Leadership enough for the work they have done to deliver a budget that is more fiscally responsible, often having to fight House leadership to lower spending and reduce taxes,” said Rep. John Burt, R-Goffstown. “There can be no doubt that it is a bizarre situation when the Senate President and Senate Finance Chair have to work to bring the House Republican caucus together, but that is precisely what happened, and this budget undoubtedly would have collapsed without their efforts.”

Senate Finance Chair Gary Daniels, R-Milford, said he was pleased to hear that members of the House Republican Alliance and House Freedom Caucus would vote for the budget.

“It was important to the process to have input from these legislators regarding elements they felt needed to be included in the proposed budget, and their interaction helped shape the final product,” he said. “What we achieved is a budget that is good for New Hampshire and provides resources for a strong economic future by balancing key priorities, providing personal and business tax relief and growing the state’s rainy day fund, while keeping overall state spending within responsible levels.”

There are still some conservatives that plan to vote against the budget, but whip counts total defections at no more than 25 members. Still, it’s expected to be a close vote and Sununu was optimistic, yet cautious.

“You never get anything by raising your voice and threatening,” he told New Hampshire Public Radio. “No, open positive listening. And when you bringing people in and talking to them and you are opening, and listening, it’s amazing what you can get done.”

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After four days of back-to-back negotiations between the New Hampshire House and Senate, lawmakers on the state budget conference committee finally decided Wednesday on an $11.7 billion two-year spending plan. Although its widely expected to pass the Senate, there is still a chance that it could fail in the volatile House.

“This is a budget the legislature and the people of New Hampshire can be proud of,” said House Speaker Shawn Jasper after the committee approved the final version of the budget. “This budget provides resources to address the opioid crisis, mental illness, and domestic violence, includes several reforms to state government, and keeps spending in check. We’ve achieved a balance that ensures our citizens will have access to services they need while reducing the tax burden.”

Whether it will garner enough Democratic or conservative votes remains to be seen. Democrats claim Republicans are not spending all of the revenue available to the state and criticize that a workforce training proposal, known as Granite Workforce, was cut from the budget. It would have provided training and wage subsidies for certain types of workers since the state is dealing with a worker shortage.

“Democrats have made it very clear: we will not support a budget that asks working people to dig further into their wallets while the elite get more handouts,” said Senate Minority Leader Jeff Woodburn. “Unfortunately, our efforts to stand up for everyday people have been rejected at every turn. The reality is that this Trump-like, Republican budget agreement caves to the wealthy elite and ignores those who are most in need.”

Also, Democrats still don’t like that language was added to the budget that prohibits the state from giving money to health care facilities to provide abortions, which indicates that House Democrats are most likely not going to vote in favor of the budget in the full session next week.

State Reps. Al Baldasaro, R-Nashua, and Debra Altschiller, D-Stratham, brought up that issue on Twitter.

There, I fixed it:"Repubs would rather legislate NH women's reproductive systems than create a budget that serves the people" #nhpolitics

— Debra Altschiller (@DebrasATeam) June 14, 2017

Little has changed from the Senate version of the budget passed last month, with a few notable exceptions. The new budget includes an amendment mandating new work requirements for people enrolled in the state’s expanded Medicaid program. Low-income adults would have to work, attend job training, or go to school for at least 20 hours per week to qualify for the New Hampshire Health Protection Program. If the federal government rejects the work requirement, as it did last year, expanded Medicaid would end by 2018.

Some advocacy groups, like New Futures — which focuses on mental health, substance abuse, and children issues — were critical that an amendment in the budget would allow the governor to divert money away from the state’s Alcohol Fund, which is used for substance abuse treatment, prevention, and education programs. The governor would be allowed to reach into the fund to help pay for operations at the state’s juvenile detention center in case of emergencies after approval from the fiscal committee.

“Weakening the addiction treatment system in the midst of New Hampshire’s devastating opioid crisis will place the lives of people struggling with addiction at risk,” said Linda Saunders Paquette, CEO and president of New Futures. “This irresponsible decision by the committee cannot be overstated, and will be felt for years to come, as our public health crisis will only intensify without long-term sustainable investments.”

The budget includes cuts to the state’s businesses profits tax and business enterprise tax, but lawmakers also eliminated the electricity consumption tax, which generates about $5.5 million for the state each year.

“This budget also eliminates the Electric Consumption Tax, helping our state move in the right direction to reduce the burdensome electric rates paid for by homeowners and businesses,” said Senate Finance Chair Gary Daniels, R-Milford. “By making changes that will result in lower monthly bills, we put money back in our employer’s pockets and create an improved, lower cost state to run a business.”

With these tax cuts, House GOP leadership is hopeful that enough members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus join in supporting the budget. The caucus still has concerns that the state spending levels are too high, indicating that some of its members will probably vote against it.

@jdistaso @WMUR9 @DaveSolomon72 for those thinking $11.7B is a big budget number, try counting to 196 (votes) #nhpolitics https://t.co/mOycLchaiP

— NH Freedom Caucus (@NHFreedomCaucus) June 15, 2017

The House needs a majority to pass the budget and they need conservative support in order to do that. Jasper said he is optimistic the budget will get passed in the House next week. Behind the scenes, top GOP officials are starting to whip votes in order to make sure that it happens.

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New Hampshire lawmakers only have until Thursday to finalize what the final state budget will look like for the next biennium, but there are two issues that could hurt its chances of getting passed in the full House.

One of the policies is not even related to monetary funds, it’s about a family planning contracts provision that was hotly contested in the Senate version of the state budget last month.

The Senate added language to its budget prohibiting the state from giving money to health care facilities to provide abortions. Republicans argued the language simply codifies current practice under the federal Hyde Amendment, but Democrats called it an attack on women’s health.

“The decision by House conferees to accept the Hyde amendment as part of the state budget proposal is a completely unnecessary attack on women’s health,” said Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, D-Concord, ranking Democrat on the House Finance Committee and a budget conferee.

“Because federal law already prohibits the use of tax dollars on abortion services, this amendment is a political statement, not a budget statement,” she added.

A conference committee is working to compromise on differences between the $11.8 billion budget passed in the Senate and an $11.9 billion spending plan proposed by the House Finance Committee that was eventually rejected by the full House after conservatives voted against the budget with Democrats.

Wallner blasted Republicans for sneaking the provision into the budget without public input.

“These provisions never received a public hearing in either the House or Senate, in direct violation of the legislative process,” she said. “If Republican lawmakers are going to turn the budget process into a partisan debate over social issues, the least they can do is follow their own rules and be transparent about it.”

Budget writers began hammering out the details in the conference committee on Friday, with less than a week to submit a budget report by Thursday, so both legislative chambers can vote on the final version of the state budget by June 22. The current fiscal year will end on June 30.

The move to include the abortion provision signals that House GOP leadership is looking to work with conservative members, instead of Democrats, to get a budget passed. Several Democrats in the House have reportedly called the provision a “deal breaker” and if it’s included in the final version, they will vote against it.

The Senate, since it’s a smaller body of 24 members, is not as politically divided as the 400 legislators in the House. The House has several different caucuses, all wanting something different out of the state budget.

In April, the House failed to pass its version of a budget for the first time since records were kept in 1969. Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus sided with Democrats to defeat the plan crafted by House GOP leadership citing that spending was too high and there weren’t enough tax cuts.

The Senate version included cuts to the state’s business profits tax and business enterprise tax. House Speaker Shawn Jasper took to Twitter to indicate his support for these cuts.

I support biz tax relief for NH job creators. I urge House colleagues to support our budget that will contain responsible cuts. #NHPolitics

— Speaker Shawn Jasper (@NHSpeaker) June 12, 2017

But the House Freedom Caucus and one of its members, Rep. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, asked if those were the only tax cuts planning to be included in the final version.

Looking forward to more information. Are biz tax cuts the only cuts?

— Victoria Sullivan (@VSullivan4NH) June 12, 2017

With more, or other, tax cuts in the state budget, conservatives could be more inclined to support the GOP-led spending plan. Yet, if the abortion provision and no tax cuts are included in the final version before the House next week, there might not be a budget passed before the end of the fiscal year, which means lawmakers would need to pass a continuing resolution to fund the state government at its current levels and then come back to negotiate a budget again in the fall.

A lot could still happen in the final negotiation days.

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After the New Hampshire Senate passed its version of a state budget last week, it was expected the House would request a Committee of Conference, so it could ultimately have a say in the final budget negotiations. House conservatives, who led the charge to defeat the budget in April, were hopeful that Republican leadership would finally cooperate with their list of demands. Yet, representatives of a conservative caucus were disappointed Tuesday after House Speaker Shawn Jasper appointed none of its members to the conference committee, putting the fate of the state budget in jeopardy.

Acting under a recess rule, the House non-concurred Tuesday with the Senate version of the biennium budget and Jasper, R-Hudson, appointed members to a conference committee.

He named to the committee himself, House Majority Leader Richard Hinch, House Finance Committee Chairman Neal Kurk, Rep. Lynne Ober (R-Hudson), Rep. Karen Umberger (R-Kearsarge), and Rep. Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord).

The conservative House Freedom Caucus criticized the conference committee because its members are “the same House leadership that led the House budget to fail in April.”

“With less than two weeks to go to the final House session, it is critical that the House leadership find a way to work with all of their members. However, the message that the House is sending in these negotiations when they put forth leaders who were so utterly clueless about the budget in April is they are only interested in more of the same. This is short sighted at best,” said Rep. JR Hoell, R-Dunbarton.

For the first time since at least 1969, the House failed to pass a budget on to the Senate. The Senate Finance Committee used Gov. Chris Sununu’s budget proposal as a starting point, but it also took into consideration some of the House Finance Committee’s spending plan. In last week’s Senate marathon budget debate, a trailer bill accompanied the budget to specifically incorporate the failed House budget “for purposes of committees of conference.”

During a conference committee, a selection of House and Senate members work to compromise on the specifics of a bill. A conference committee report would be sent to the House and Senate for final approvals. That’s where it can get dicey, especially in the House.

The House Freedom Caucus was instrumental in the demise of the budget in April. The group didn’t like that spending increased over former Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan’s budget and that the House GOP leadership’s budget lacked tax cuts. If the Freedom Caucus can convince other conservatives or on-the-fence Republicans to jump ship, the budget could die in the House.

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” said Rep. Anne Copp, R-Danbury, and a member of the House Freedom Caucus.

“By putting the same leadership on the committee of conference that led to a budget that failed by over 85 votes, the state is being set up for having no budget that can pass the House later this month,” she added. “We need a fresh start to begin the processing of a truly fiscally responsible budget, not the same group that offered a reckless spending increase.”

Jasper has not publicly responded yet to the criticisms from the House Freedom Caucus. Last week, Jasper sent an email to caucus members asking to sit down and discuss the budget with them on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.

“It is important at this point in the process that we hear your concerns and find areas where we share common ground,” he wrote. “Ultimately, we hope to be able to reach agreement on the major issues, which would be extremely helpful prior to the state of the budget committee of conference.”

Jasper told WMUR in an earlier story that a conference committee was needed to make passing a budget easier.

“The reason was simply that if the Senate hadn’t agreed to do that [a conference committee], we would have been amending our positions on the budget and…onto Senate bills everywhere possible in order to be able to preserve those positions,” he said. “The Senate realized that to have done it in that way would have made the committee of conference process very, very difficult.”

Yet, conservatives say its unfair to have the failed House budget included in conference committee discussions.

“How can the Senate or Governor even begin to approach a committee of conference knowing that there isn’t much chance that the House conferees can pull together a majority of the body?,” said Rep. James McConnell, R-North Swanzey. “This is a recipe for disaster and is something that we can all see coming.”

If either chamber fails to approve the budget, a continuing resolution to maintain spending at its current levels would likely occur, at least until a full budget is passed. Republicans only hold a slim majority in the House and even a small number of “nay” votes could spell doom for the budget if Democrats also oppose it.

Only one Democrat has been appointed by the House to sit on the conference committee. Democrats in the House and Senate have been critical of the GOP budget, but when it comes time to vote, some could change positions and vote in favor of a budget out of fear that the chamber would come up short again. They could also band together against the budget and watch the Republicans’ infighting, hoping that helps them in next year’s elections.

Senate President Chuck Morse is expected to announce his budget conference committee members on Wednesday.

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There’s a new political organization in New Hampshire, and it’s hoping to show that the Republican Party is inclusive of all people. It’s often a talking point for the left that the GOP is not welcoming, but the newly-founded NH Log Cabin Republicans wants to change that.

“We want to show that the Republican Party is inclusive and not this monster that we’ve been painted as across the country,” said Adam Lord, chairman of the NH Log Cabin Republicans. “We wanted to show the country this is how we do things in New Hampshire.”

The group held their official launch party on Friday in Portsmouth, which saw more than 100 people attend, including top Republican leaders in the state, including Gov. Chris Sununu, House Speaker Shawn Jasper, and Senate President Chuck Morse.

The New Hampshire and Indiana chapters launched around the same time, bringing the national organization’s total to 51 chapters in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

“With new strongholds in the ‘First in the Nation’ state and the home of our country’s sitting Vice President, Log Cabin Republicans continues to expand our presence throughout the United States,” said Log Cabin Republicans national president Gregory Angelo in a statement.

“The leadership teams of our newly minted New Hampshire and Indiana Chapters are organizing dynamos with keen political instincts,” he added. “I expect big things are in store for Hoosiers and Granite Staters alike as, together, we continue to make the case for common-sense conservative principles and LGBT inclusion in the GOP.”

Sununu was the keynote speaker for the New Hampshire launch and his message focused on how the mission of the Log Cabin Republicans aligns with the goals of the state Republican Party.

“When you talk about things like the LGBT community, or talk about diversity…let’s remember: when we stay together, we have that momentum,” he said. “When we’re talking about what we’re doing here tonight, what the Log Cabin Republicans represent for the state of New Hampshire — frankly, represent for the entire country — is a team effort, staying together.”

That message is crucial for Republicans in the State House. Throughout the legislative session, there has been a very public display of the division in the GOP. The state budget debate in the House largely failed due to conservatives siding with Democrats to go against the House leadership’s wishes. The New Hampshire Democratic Party (NHDP) hopes to capitalize on the divided caucus in the 2018 elections in order to take back the Corner Office and get majorities in the legislature.

“We want to help Republicans win elections and create an outlet for LGBT candidates to go to the party and say these are the values we stand on,” Lord said. “A lot of the higher Republican officials said ‘we are ready to talk about this.'”

A major criticism from the NHDP is that the Log Cabin Republicans identify with a platform that is anti-same sex marriage.

@NHLogCabin So you concede that Sununu, Morse & Jasper are LGBT opponents who need educating.. Our party already fully supports what you push GOP toward

— NH Democratic Party (@NHDems) May 12, 2017

The NHGOP platform states that the party recognizes “marriage as the legal and sacred union between one man and one woman as ordained by God, encouraged by the State, and traditional to humankind.”

In her parting speech in January, former NHGOP Chair Jennifer Horn called for the NHGOP to drop its opposition to gay marriage.

“The next time we gather to review our platform, we must preserve our voice as the party of equal rights for all and remove the language that opposes the right to marriage for all people,” Horn said before the state committee voted for Jeanie Forrester to succeed her as chairman.

“But we cannot be the party of individual rights, limited government interference, and personal responsibility while at the same time advocating to deny rights to any individual just because they are gay,” she added. “Here in New Hampshire, our party has hired gay staff, nominated gay candidates, and elected gay party leaders. Let us make this right, not because it is politically correct, but because it is the conservative thing to do, and it is the right thing to do.”

Lord agreed that there are aspects of the platform they would like to change, including its definition of marriage, but the NH Log Cabin Republicans recognize that it could take some time before substantial change is made. His goals for the group include being officially recognized by the NHGOP’s state committee and to get the word out across the state, by going to various town GOP committee meetings, that the organization is open for business.

“You don’t have to be gay to be part of our organization. We are still conservative,” he said. “Just because we don’t identify with one aspect of it [the platform], we can still be a socially liberal, fiscally conservative part of the Republican Party.”

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For the third time this legislative session, a House Democrat switched party affiliation in New Hampshire, highlighting that Democrats are also struggling to remain unified in Concord. It’s been well-documented that House Republicans still have deep wounds from the 2016 election, with two conservative caucuses that have caused trouble for GOP leadership. However, with three lawmakers jumping ship from the party, there are some internal conflicts happening within the Democratic caucus.

Rep. Joseph Stallcop, L-Keene (Credit: N.H. House website)

In total, four lawmakers have changed their party affiliation since the November election. Two Democrats left the party to join the Republican Party and a third left for the Libertarian Party of New Hampshire (LPNH). The fourth representative left the Republican Party for the LPNH.

Rep. Joseph Stallcop of Keene was the latest House members on Wednesday to switch his party affiliation. He switched from the Democratic Party to the LPNH.

“Personally witnessing the situation at Standing Rock showed me the danger of relinquishing power and authority into an institution, while my time in Concord reinforced the ineptitude that can exist by those in charge,” he said. “I originally joined the Democratic Party in hopes of making a difference through critical thinking and my classical liberal viewpoint, yet with the lack of unbiased data in caucuses as well as backlash on votes I’ve independently made, it seems there is no longer a place for me here.”

Rep. Caleb Dyer, L-Pelham (Credit: N.H House website)

LPNH is having a banner year since the November elections. Another lawmaker, Rep. Caleb Dwyer of Pelham switched from the Republican Party to the LPNH in February. The party also garnered enough of the votes in the gubernatorial race to give them official ballot access in 2018.

Max Abramson ran as the Libertarian candidate in 2016, against now-Gov. Chris Sununu and Democratic nominee Colin Van Ostern. He received 4 percent of the vote, the required amount to gain ballot access.

It’s the first time in 20 years that the LPNH had ballot access. When they last had it in the 1990s, the party had four members in the Legislature. Then in 1997, ballot access laws changed to increase the vote threshold needed for a party to retain ballot access from 3 percent to 4 percent.

LPNH Chairman Darryl W. Perry called Stallcop’s switch a “historic day” since it’s the first time in two decades that they have a Libertarian caucus.

Rep. Mariellen MacKay of Nashua changed her Democratic affiliation to Republican in April and Rep. Robert Theberge of Berlin also changed from Democrat to Republican right after the November election.

(L-R) Reps. Mariellen MacKay, R-Nashua, and Robert Theberge, R-Berlin (Credit: N.H. House website)

So now, the House membership is 221 Republicans, 170 Democrats, and two Libertarians. There are six vacancies due to death, resignation, or appointment to a position in Sununu’s administration. One representative has not been officially sworn in yet.

In a House with 400 members, one would think that party changes are pretty common. That’s actually not the case in New Hampshire, or even nationally. According to Ballotpedia, there have only been 79 current legislators in State Houses across the United States who have switched parties since 2007. One of the last people to switch parties in New Hampshire was Sen. Lou D’Allesandro of Manchester. After serving two years as a Republican in the House, in 1998 he ran as a Democrat for the Senate where he still holds a seat and is still a Democrat.

Jumping on the chance to criticize the Democratic Party for losing members, NHGOP Chair Jeanie Forrester blasted out a statement once the news came out on Wednesday that Stallcop was leaving the party.

“Would the last one in the New Hampshire Democrat Party please turn out the lights? Yet another former Democrat has concluded that the party of big government and obstruction is no longer worth being a member of,” she said. “Meanwhile, a significant majority of Granite Staters approve of the job Republican Gov. Chris Sununu is doing in the Corner Office. That’s because working families know that from improving education to investing in infrastructure to strengthening the economy, Republicans are working hard to improve the quality of life for Granite Staters every day.”

House Minority Leader Steve Shurtleff said people shouldn’t read much into three people leaving his caucus.

“It’s just kind of a shakeout,” he told the New Hampshire Union Leader.

However, other Democratic representatives are saying there is a lot of “dissatisfaction” in the caucus.

“Most Democrats would think with the controversy around Trump, we might gain some Republicans, more moderates, and yet we are losing Democrats,” said Rep. Peter Leishman, D-Peterborough.

The current dynamics of the New Hampshire Democratic Party often mirror the national party on what its role should be in GOP-led politics. For the first time in nearly a decade, Democrats are fully the minority party. The U.S. Congress is Republican-run and the White House has a Republican president. The same is true in New Hampshire where Democrats are in the minority of a GOP-legislature and the first Republican governor in 12 years.

The problem is that there are differences of opinion between Democratic lawmakers on what their role is in the New Hampshire House. They’re trying to figure out how to navigate their position and get their legislative priorities passed.

At the national level, many Democrats have been adopting the “resistance” mindset by voting against any GOP bill or watching Republicans fight amongst themselves, as exhibited during the health care debate.

So far, New Hampshire House Democrats have been largely sitting back and watching Republican Party infighting derail the GOP’s own political agenda. Yet, some Democrats want the party to push back more against the Republicans.

This conflict was on full display during the chaotic budget debate in April. After the House failed to pass a budget on the first day due to conservatives voting against it, some Democrats were willing to work with Republican leadership to get something passed. Two Democrats took to the House floor to encourage its caucus to vote for the state budget rider, which was in direct opposition to what Shurtleff told them to do. In the end, 14 Democrats voted in favor of the bill to get a budget passed, but it failed 169-177.

While their party disagreements aren’t as noticeable as the Republicans, its crucial that there is unity within the caucus if they want to block future GOP bills, like they did with right-to-work earlier this year. It’s also important when it comes time to craft a message for elections next year.

One of their next big tests will be in June when the final state spending plan comes back to the House. If conservatives still vote against the budget, House Speaker Shawn Jasper might need to ask them for support. What they do in that moment could set the tone for 2018.

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In a win for Gov. Chris Sununu’s agenda, the New Hampshire House gave a preliminary vote of approval for full-day kindergarten. While some are calling it a bipartisan victory, the state Democratic Party is taking credit for the proposal getting passed.

Senate Bill 191 calls for providing $14.5 million during the next two fiscal years to help communities that want to implement full-day kindergarten.

In Sununu’s budget proposal, he provided $9 million a year to establish programs in the neediest communities of the Granite State. That original funding amount passed the Senate at the end of March on a 21-2 vote.

The House Education Committee changed the funding to the full $14.5 million to allow all communities, regardless of need, the opportunity to implement the program. About three-quarters of New Hampshire’s communities currently have full-day kindergarten, but the state only pays half the per-student amount for children in kindergarten. The House approved that funding on Thursday on a 247-116 vote.

“I applaud the House for taking this important step today to provide financial support to communities that choose to support and create full-day kindergarten programs,” Sununu said in a statement. “I believe strongly that this is the right thing to do and I look forward to continuing to work with the legislature as the measure moves forward.”

The roll call vote saw 87 Republicans join 160 Democrats in supporting the bill. Many education advocates cheered the bipartisan work of the House and Senate for getting the bill passed.

“With today’s vote, strong bipartisan majorities in the House and the Senate are on record supporting increased state funding for full-day kindergarten,” said Mark Shriver, president of Save the Children Action Network. “We are encouraged that lawmakers from both parties have made investing kids in the Granite State a priority.”

The New Hampshire Democratic Party framed it another way. In their own press release, chairman Ray Buckley called Sununu’s original proposal of funding full-day kindergarten at $9 million a year a “half-baked plan.” He also highlighted that no Democrats opposed the bill and a majority of Republicans (115 of 202) voted against the legislation.

“Today, Democrats held him accountable for his broken promise by finally providing every child in the state full-day kindergarten instead of ceding to his half-baked budget proposal,” he said. “Democrats carried the bill across the finish line in the House, with every single Democratic House member voting for the legislation while a majority of Republican members voted against it. Sununu’s inability to lead almost cost us full-day kindergarten. Today was another example of why we need Democrats in the State House.”

Sounds like you're calling this a bipartisan victory for @GovChrisSununu | #nhpolitics @NHGOP @ChrisSununu https://t.co/aBDmfHonoP

— Drew Biemer (@DrewBiemer) May 5, 2017

House Republicans are pretty divided over whether the state should pay for full-day kindergarten.

On the House floor, Rep. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, said she opposed the bill because it removes local control from the communities and removes parental choice.

“It was never intended that 5-year-olds would be sitting at a desk for six hours per day,” she said. “We must allow districts to keep decisions regarding early childhood education as a local control issue so that we can fix Kindergarten and restore it to its intended purpose, which is to foster the individual talents and abilities of each child through exploration, creativity and movement.”

Other Republicans say the bill doesn’t mandate that schools offer full-day kindergarten, but simply allows communities access to funds to help pay for it.

“If Kindergarten is important, why don’t we fund it for everyone?” said Rep. Terry Wolf, R-Bedford. “This bill helps offset the downshifting of costs from state to local communities. Funding education makes a statement that we value education and support our communities.”

SB 191 was one to watch on Thursday because House GOP leadership did not take an official position on the bill or whip any votes. House Speaker Shawn Jasper was presiding over the session, so he didn’t cast a vote, but House Majority Leader Dick Hinch voted in favor of the legislation.

Leaders of the two conservative House caucuses voted against the bill, showing there isn’t widespread support among those factions for full-day kindergarten. Rep. Laurie Sanborn, R-Bedford, who is a leader of the House Republican Alliance, and Rep. J.R. Hoell, R-Dunbarton, who is a leader of the House Freedom Caucus, opposed the bill.

SB 191 now heads to the House Finance Committee for representatives to look at the cost since the measure uses state revenues. In an earlier session, members of the committee refused to put any money for kindergarten in its version of the state budget.

After the committee makes a recommendation, the bill returns to the full House for another vote. If the House approves funding again at the $14.5 million-a-year level, then it will go to the Senate.

The Senate could then approve the bill at that funding level or the chamber could reject it in favor of their previous $9 million-a-year plan for targeted communities. If that happens, it’s likely a committee of conferences between the two chambers would be established to negotiate a compromise.

Regardless, the House’s approval of full-day kindergarten on Thursday is a good indication that a bill at some funding level will end up on Sununu’s desk, fulfilling one of his campaign promises.

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In an unusual move, the New Hampshire House of Representatives voted to review controversial comments made online by two lawmakers. Yet, Republican leaders aren’t expecting the committee to find that they violated any House ethics codes.

It started as an inquiry into Rep. Robert Fisher, R-Laconia, and comments he made in an online forum that were construed as misogynistic, but Republicans successfully added Rep. Sherry Frost, D-Dover, in the inquiry for tweets she wrote earlier this year that some found “offensive.”

Before the House met in their regularly scheduled session on Thursday, it was anticipated that House Democratic Leader Steve Shurtleff would bring up a motion for a House committee to investigate Fisher’s comments.

“At any time any member says anything or does anything that holds this body in disrespect, it affects each and every one of us,” he said on the House floor.

Fisher was identified as the creator of a a Reddit forum called “The Red Pill” in a report from The Daily Beast last week. His posts on the message board garnered criticism for being disrespectful toward women and normalizing rape culture. He admitted to the comments, which were made as far back as 2008, but said they were taken out of context.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and New Hampshire Republican Party Chair Jeanie Forrester have called for his resignation, but Fisher insists he will not step down.

Frost posted tweets earlier this year that said more terrorism is perpetrated by “white men who claim Christianity than by Muslims in the USA.” She also tweeted, “The people (read; men) telling me to ‘calm down’ & ‘not take it so hard’ are making me homicidal.”

The NHGOP criticized her for the tweets, calling her a “radical” and “a threat to her colleagues.”

“All representatives should be held to the same standard,” said Rep. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, who put forward the amendment to include Frost. “This body cannot pick and choose who they support and who they do not.”

The House voted 182-180 to include Frost in the inquiry and then approved of the investigation of both lawmakers by a 307-56 vote, with Fisher and Frost voting in favor of the review.

“I think the truth will be out at the hearing,” Fisher told the Concord Monitor. Frost said she has nothing to hide.

The Legislative Administration Committee’s reviews will be limited to comments made by the two lawmakers during the current legislative session, which means Fisher’s previous posts will not be included, but Frost’s tweets will be reviewed.

After that, the committee will make a recommendation to the full House for each lawmaker. The committee could recommend that no action should take place, or that the representatives should be reprimanded, censured, or expelled. The House will then vote on the recommendations.

“Referring this matter to the Legislative Administration Committee will allow for an investigation into Representative Fisher’s involvement with this forum since his election to the New Hampshire House,” Shurtleff said in a statement. “As elected officials it is our duty to act with honor both inside the State House and out, and I am confident that the Legislative Administration Committee will give this serious matter the consideration it deserves.”

His statement didn’t include any comments about Frost, though.

Some lawmakers criticized Republicans for including Frost in the inquiry, saying the two lawmaker’s comments do not equate to equal treatment. New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley took to Twitter to criticize the decision.

Misogyny rampant in @NHHouseGOP – voted to equate outspoken woman to a man praising rape. NH hangs its head in shame. #NHpolitics

— Ray Buckley (@ChairmanBuckley) May 4, 2017

Yet, House Speaker Shawn Jasper admitted that he doesn’t believe the committee will find that the lawmakers violated any ethics codes.

“I don’t think we’ve ever done anything quite like this,” he told the New Hampshire Union Leader. “Normally there would be something that falls under the ethics guidelines, and there’d be a complaint made by somebody and it would go to the ethics committee.”

Some lawmakers questioned why they spent time debating the issue.

@WMUR9 House votes to spend time investigating those who drop F-bombs on twitter. #nhpolitics don't we have more important things to do?

— Rep. JR Hoell (@NH_Braveheart) May 4, 2017

Rep. Keith Ammon, R-New Boston, motioned to table the matter, but it overwhelmingly failed.

“This is being used as a political football,” he said. “We need to have some more harmony in this body.”

Protesters lined the hallways of the State House and gathered outside on the plaza to protest Fisher’s comments. A protester’s sign said, “Rep. Fisher: This feminist says resign!” Another read, “Rape culture: He isn’t a symptom, he is a disease. Fisher must go.”

Fisher’s review hearing will begin on Tuesday, with Frost’s review to follow on Wednesday.

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