PFAS in New Hampshire and other significant legislation for 2024
Bad Santa’s Dreadful Bills
Let’s start with a constitutional amendment of which Rep. Jason Gerhard is the sole proud sponsor. It is a bill declaring independence from the United States of America. Who can’t get behind that?”. Ye, formerly Kanye West, could write New Hampshire’s first-ever national anthem.
Gerhard is a co-sponsor with a buddy to establish a commission to investigate the USS Liberty incident of 1967 and its aftermath.
Now, if in case you're not familiar with this piece of history, in 1967, Israel attacked a US Naval research ship called the USS Liberty during the Six-Day War. Israel said that they mistakenly believed that the craft was an Egyptian warship. Now, I don't know about you, but I can't think of a better way to use the legislature's time and money to review a bill such as this, particularly since the New Hampshire House has no authority to deal with foreign affairs.
A group of merrymakers sponsored a bill relative to prohibiting the state of New Hampshire from enforcing the regulations of the Environmental Protection Agency (HB 1294). Who amongst us could not agree that we don't need to preserve our environment, waterways, streams, and woodlands, which is the heart and soul of our state and tourist industry? Why should we protect that? Maybe Rep. Gerhard could explain this one to us.
Finally, there is a bill (HB 1482) whereby New Hampshire should not prohibit, restrict, or regulate the state's private sale, purchase, use, possession, or donation of human blood or organs. Now, what I want to say is to make sure grandma and grandpa are safe. And if I were you and I'm going to do the same thing, my pets would not be unsupervised if Gerhard succeeds with this bill.
Now, for Good Santa Bills
An effort has been made to launch a constitutional amendment that would protect abortion rights up to 24 weeks. After that, the judgment would be caused by a licensed physician
as to whether to terminate the pregnancy before term.
Make no mistake about it: this will be tough to pass, given that 60% of the House and the Senate would need to concur, along with 66% of the voters.
PFAS in New Hampshire: Protection from PFAS, the “Forever Chemical”
PFAS is called the forever chemical because it can take thousands of years to break down and impact our air, water, and soil. They are a group of over 14,000 chemicals used in products consumers use daily to repel oil and water and for temperature resistance.
This session has multiple bills to deal with the wake of pollution caused by St. Gobain Performance Plastics Merrimack with PFAS products. There is significant evidence that PFAS has caused life-threatening illness in people living near St. Gobain in Merrimack.
Some of the bills being introduced this year would restrict the use of PFAS in such materials as carpeting, dental floss, and food packaging.
But PFAS is not just a problem in southern NH; it is alive and well here in Carroll County PFAS was found to be in a landfill when the new high school in Conway was being built. There are also traces of PFAS in groundwater in parts of the county.
Protection from PFAS in New Hampshireis a Democratic priority for the upcoming legislative session 2024, and we hope the issue will garner bi-partisan support.
It’s Ground Hog Day for Cannabis Legislation
Once again, cannabis will be on the docket this session after yet another commission failed to reach a consensus on recommending any bill for 2024. A bipartisan bill has been put forth, of which Rep. Erica Layton (R) and myself have sponsored, although I frankly am not optimistic about its passage.
A bipartisan group believes that it's time New Hampshire joins other New England states in legalizing marijuana. Many residents purchase products from neighboring states or the black market. Legalization would bring revenue into the state and serve to ensure that cannabis products are safe for consumers.
A Near Even Number of Dems and Republicans will make for an interesting ride
It's hard to keep track of the number of Republicans and Dems currently in the House, given recent retirements and Rep. Troy Merner being forced to resign after it was found he was not living in his district. A few minutes ago, the count was 198 Republicans, 196 Democrats, 3 Independents (with two leaning left), and 3 vacancies.
This means that the majority in the house will change on any given day based on who shows up to vote. Both parties are cracking the whip to ensure everyone who can attend Concord can do so on legislative days.
I look forward to returning to the state house on January 3rd for our first session in 2024. I'm hopeful that PFAS in New Hampshire will be a legislative priority for members of both sides of the aisle.
