The New Hampshire legislature has reached crossover, the crucial midpoint in the legislative session when all House bills must pass to the Senate and vice versa. The Women’s Foundation advocated on bills related to voting rights, maternal health, child care affordability, abortion access, girls’ health and mental health, and trans rights. We’ve had several wins so far, particularly in fighting off bills that would have rolled back rights or access. Here is where our priority legislation stands at crossover:
Bills we support that are moving forward (win!):
- SB 608, which supports grandparents raising grandkids with child care costs, passed the Senate and moves on to the House.
- SB 437, which would track the number of people, particularly women, turned away from the polls because of a last name change, did not move forward. However, the Sponsor, Senator Perkins Kwoka, worked with the Secretary of State to find a solution without needing legislation. This is a collaborative win that was positively impacted by bringing women’s voices to the table.
Bills we opposed that are not moving forward (win!):
- HB 125, which would have rolled back a section of Momnibus 2.0 that provided moms and parents unpaid time off for postpartum and pediatric visits for a year after birth, was killed after effective advocacy.
- Many anti-abortion bills were defeated and are not moving forward including HB 1590, which would have moved the abortion ban from 24 to 20 weeks, HB 1338, which would have excluded abortion providers from receiving charitable gaming funds like all other nonprofits, HB 1333, which would have given rights to embryos, and HB 1493, which would have required students to watch inaccurate videos in health class.
Bill we supported that are not moving forward:
- HB 1798, which would have provided Medicaid coverage for diapers during a baby’s first year, was effectively killed after the House tabled the bill.
- HB 1538, which would have prohibited vape products from targeting minors, will not move forward because the Committee elected to “Interim Study” the bill.
Bills we oppose that are moving forward:
- SB 459, would harm all girls by rolling back the rights of trans trans girls and negatively impact cis girls by requiring proof of sex to play sports, passed the Senate and has moved on to the House.
We will continue to advocate on behalf of women and girls in this legislative session and always. To learn more about each of our priority bills, visit the Legislative page. If you are interested in getting involved in any of these bills, please contact Devan Quinn at devan@nhwomensfoundation.org
