“Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.” - Greta Thunberg
April 21, 2024
Happy Earth Day, State House Watchers!
We must all take action for climate justice. The impacts of climate change affect us all, but disproportionately harm low-income people and communities of color around the world. We must reorient our economies and societies away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. If legislation is not passed, current levels of global warming—which are already causing permanent loss and damage—will further harm and displace populations most vulnerable to the climate crisis. Decarbonization and addressing the climate crisis head-on is not only a national priority, but our moral responsibility. Send a message to our Members of Congress today.
We are cheering on the student demonstrators at Columbia University who are engaged in sustained nonviolent protest in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Read more at The Nation. In response to the action by Columbia’s administration to use police force to disperse the students – leading to 108 arrests – the university law school’s Human Rights Institute issued a statement objecting to the arrests and in defense of the students’ right to nonviolent protest.
The US Supreme Court will take up a case on homelessness tomorrow – City of Grants Pass, OR v. Gloria Johnson et. al., on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated. Justices will consider whether governments can criminalize people for sleeping outside even if they have no other place to go. Read more here, and here. AFSC joined other faith groups and social justice organizations on an amicus brief in support of the respondents; you can read it here.
Congratulations to the autoworkers at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, TN who, by a dramatic margin of 2,628 - 985, voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW). Read more here: “Volkswagen workers who voted in favor of UAW representation said they hoped the union would help them win higher wages and more paid time off. The Chattanooga factory currently pays a top wage of about $35 an hour, compared with the top wage of more than $40 an hour that GM, Ford and Stellantis now pay UAW workers. The UAW contracts also provide health care coverage that is almost entirely paid by the companies, substantial profit-sharing bonuses, cost-of-living adjustments to insulate workers from inflation and generous retirement programs.”
Closer to home, we want to congratulate several friends, including Woullard and Brenda Lett, who will be honored by the Haymarket People’s Fund at the fund’s 50th anniversary celebration in May; Will Hopkins, who has accepted a position as the new national executive director for Veterans for Peace; and the magnificent leaders who received the Black Lives Matter NH excellence awards this past weekend, including Coyijocalyeea Grimes and Journee LaFond.
There are no House or Senate session days scheduled for next week, but we have several action items; please do what you can to make your voices heard on these key bills.
ACTION ALERTS
Support Immigrant Communities
SUPPORT SB 501, relative to driver licenses for noncitizens residing in New Hampshire. This bill authorizes the department of motor vehicles to issue driver's licenses to certain groups of noncitizens lawfully present in the United States. This positive bill has a hearing in House Transportation on Tuesday, April 23 at 1 PM in Room 203, LOB. Please contact the committee, sign in to support and share testimony.
OPPOSE SB 358, relative to invalidating out-of-state driver's licenses issued to undocumented immigrants. This bill has a hearing in House Transportation on Tuesday, April 23 at 1:30 PM in LOB 203. Please contact the committee, and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
OPPOSE SB 563, relative to federal immigration enforcement. This year’s ‘anti-sanctuary cities’ bill that would require NH law enforcement to engage in federal immigration enforcement had a public hearing in the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee last week and will be exec’d on Wednesday, April 24 at 11 AM, in Room 202-204, LOB. We need your support to defeat this bill! You can no longer sign in against the bill since the public hearing has passed, but please contact the committee and urge them to recommend defeat for this bill. Read the Union Leader’s coverage of last week’s hearing here.
Protect Labor Rights of Students
OPPOSE SB 517, relative to the employment status of university students working in educational programs. This anti-worker bill would exclude college and university students who are resident advisors and dormitory counselors from the definition of ‘employee.’ It has a hearing in House Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services on Wednesday, April 24 at 10:15 AM in Room 307, LOB. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
Protect Voting Rights
OPPOSE HB 1569-FN, relative to eliminating voter identification exceptions. This bill removes voter affidavits as proof of identification and repeals the procedures for affidavit ballots. It has a hearing in Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs on Tuesday, April 23 at 1 PM in Room 103, LOB. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
Protect LGBTQ+ Rights
OPPOSE SB 341, relative to mandatory disclosure by school district employees to parents. This bill would require school personnel to monitor and record student behavior and report this behavior to their parent or guardian when requested. It has a hearing in House Education on Monday, April 22 at 10 AM and will be exec’d at 12:45 PM in Room 205-207, LOB. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
OPPOSE SB 375, relative to biological sex in student athletics. This bill denies transgender students the opportunity to participate on a sports team that aligns with their gender identity. It has a hearing in House Education on Monday, April 22 at 10:45 AM in LOB 205-207. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
OPPOSE HB 619, to require a person to attain the age of majority for genital gender reassignment surgery. This bill denies access to medical procedures that should be decided on by the teen, parents/guardians and medical professionals. It has a hearing in Senate Judiciary on Thursday, April 25 at 9:15 AM in SH, Room 100. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
OPPOSE HB 396, permitting classification of individuals based on biological sex under certain limited circumstances. This bill would diminish nondiscrimination protections for transgender people in bathrooms and locker rooms, at sporting competitions, and in detention facilities. It has a public hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, April 25 at 9 AM in the State House, Room 100. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony.
Protect Tenant Rights
OPPOSE the non-germane amendment #2024-1484h to SB 563, which would eliminate due process for people living under non-traditional lease agreements. This harmful amendment has a hearing in House Criminal Justice and Public Safety on Monday, April 22 at 10 AM in LOB 202-204. It is scheduled to be exec’d on Wednesday, April 24 at 11 AM in LOB 202-204. Please contact the committee and sign in to oppose and share testimony. Read more about the proposal at InDepthNH.
Support Free Speech for Palestinian Rights
OPPOSE SB 439, to prohibit discriminatory boycotts of Israel in state procurement and investments. This bill already had a public hearing in the House Executive Departments and Administration and will be exec’d on Tuesday, April 23 at 11 AM in Room 306-308, LOB. We ask for your support to defeat this bill which prohibits nonviolent protest. You can no longer sign in against the bill since the public hearing has passed, but please contact the committee before they meet on Tuesday and urge them to recommend defeat for this bill.
Support Affordable Housing
SUPPORT SB 538 and SB 406. From Housing Action NH: SB 538, known as the HOMEnibus bill, proposes key incentives and reforms to improve the overall zoning landscape for affordable housing production. SB 406 includes a special appropriation of $2.5 million for homeless service providers with existing state contracts. Both bills have a public hearing in the Special Committee on Housing starting at 9:30 AM on Tuesday, April 23 in Room 210-211, LOB. Contact the committee and sign in to support these important bills. We recommend this recent report from the NH Fiscal Policy institute, which breaks down the dramatic increase in home prices in all NH counties in recent years: Median Single Family House Price Increased 66 Percent in Five Years.
Immigration News
We recommend a recent essay by Dr. Ana Raquel Minian in the New York Times, Immigrant Detention Should Have No Place in Our Society, which describes the problematic framework of immigrant detention. “In theory, the purposes of detention and imprisonment are distinct. Unlike people held by the criminal justice system, detained immigrants are not being penalized for breaking the law; they are being held while they wait for permission to enter the country or until they are removed or deported. Nonetheless, the nation’s detention and prison systems have grown side by side, buttressed by the same logic and practice.” She explains the role that private prison companies play with regard to policy and practice in this area, leveraging their power by spending “large sums in lobbying and campaign distributions.”
The federal government is taking public comments until June 7 on a new temporary rule that would extend the validity of Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) from 180 days to 540 days. You can submit comments in support here. We encourage commentors to urge the department to make this rule permanent.
Join us for AFSC’s first African & Black Diaspora Learning Series. This 8 session workshop series will run from June 2024 through September 2024 and is designed to build community among Black and African community members locally and across the country, sharing our backgrounds, cultures and experiences in an open, inclusive and welcoming environment. Workshops will focus on key topics in diasporic history, systems of oppression, and movements for justice, incorporating cultural and trauma-informed wellness practices to develop participants' capacity for leadership in local and national work for immigrant and economic justice.
Recommended Reading
Only Revolutionary Love Can Save Us Now, by Michelle Alexander, March 8, 2024, The Nation – “2024 just might be the year that changes everything. But the way that things change is ultimately up to us. It can be a time of world war, genocide, the collapse of democracy, and the loss of hope. Or it can be a time of great awakening—when we break our silences and act with greater courage and greater solidarity, a time when the existential threats that we are facing finally lead us to embrace humanity and perhaps even glimpse the spark of divinity that exists within each one of us, and all creation.”
Last Week at the State House
Key:
LOB – Legislative Office Building (33 N. State St. Concord)
SH – State House (107 N. Main St. Concord)
OTP – “Ought to Pass,” the recommendation for approving a bill or an amendment
OTP/A – Ought to Pass with Amendment
ITL – “Inexpedient to Legislate,” the recommendation for defeating a bill or an amendment.
ITL” can also be used as a verb.
“Without Recommendation” - This indicates that the committee vote was a tie for both ITL and OTP. During the House session, these bills will be considered first as Ought to Pass.
Re-refer – When a Senate committee wishes to hold onto a bill for further consideration. The recommendation to re-refer must be approved in the full Senate. The committee will have until the end of the calendar year to meet about the bill and make a recommendation for further action.
VV – Voice vote. Votes are not counted.
RC – Roll call vote. Each legislator’s vote is recorded and attributed to them.
DV – Division vote. Votes are counted but not attributed to individual legislators.
Last week in the House
The full House did not meet on April 18.
Last Week in the Senate
The Senate met in full session on April 18. Here are the outcomes of the bills we’re tracking.
On the Regular Calendar
EDUCATION
HB 1015-FN, relative to requirements for literacy skill development in elementary grades. This bill makes changes to the elementary grade literacy skill development requirements that school districts must meet. OTP by VV.
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES
HB 609-FN, relative to energy facility siting. This bill establishes the regulation of energy facility siting within the public utilities commission and establishes new procedures to replace the site evaluation committee. OTP-A by VV.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
HB 1088, enabling schools to maintain a supply of epinephrine auto-injectors. This bill allows school districts to maintain a supply of epinephrine auto-injectors for use in the event of an allergic emergency. OTP by VV.
HB 1171, extending the commission to study environmentally-triggered chronic illness. This bill extends the final reporting date and the prospective repeal date of the commission to study environmentally-triggered chronic illness for an additional 5-year period. OTP by VV.
HB 1296-FN, relative to insurance coverage for diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations. This bill provides that certain insurers that provide diagnostic and supplemental breast examinations shall not impose co-payments, deductibles, or other cost-sharing requirements. OTP by VV.
HB 1609-FN, relative to the commission on the primary care workforce and the state office of rural health. This bill extends the commission on the primary care workforce. The bill also directs the office of professional licensure and certification to provide certain licensure information regarding the primary care workforce to the department of health and human services, state office of rural health. OTP-A by VV.
Next Week in the House
The full House will not meet in session on Thursday, April 25. They will meet next on May 2, May 9, May 23 and May 30. It is possible they will also meet on May 22 if an additional day is needed to complete work on Senate bills.
Next Week in House Committees
You can watch the House hearings here. You can sign in for House bills here. And you can contact House committees here.
Monday, April 22
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, Room 202-204, LOB
10:00 AM Public hearing on proposed non-germane Amendment #2024-1484h to SB 563-FN, relative to federal immigration enforcement. The amendment prohibits state and local government entities from adopting sanctuary policies to prohibit or impede the enforcement of federal immigration law and prohibits a tenancy at sufferance to be created by those without a written agreement permitting them to occupy a property. Copies of the amendment are available on the General Court website.
11:00 AM Full committee work session on SB 563-FN, relative to federal immigration enforcement.
EDUCATION, Room 205-207, LOB
10:00 AM SB 341, relative to mandatory disclosure by school district employees to parents.
10:45 AM SB 375, relative to biological sex in student athletics.
Tuesday, April 23
CHILDREN AND FAMILY LAW, Room 206-208, LOB
9:30 AM SB 573-FN, establishing a committee to study consent and confidentiality laws applicable to adolescent and young adult health care in New Hampshire.
2:00 PM SB 417-FN, relative to out-of-home placements for children.
COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Room 302-304, LOB
10:00 AM SB 173-FN, relative to surprise medical bills.
1:45 PM SB 399-FN, relative to insurance coverage for blood testing associated with elevated lead levels.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 306-308, LOB
11:00 AM Executive session on SB 439-FN, to prohibiting discriminatory boycotts of Israel in state procurement and investments
FINANCE, Room 210-211, LOB
10:00 AM SB 406-FN-A, making an appropriation to the department of health and human services to increase rates for shelter programs.
MUNICIPAL AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT, Room 301-303, LOB
9:30 AM SB 538-L, relative to zoning procedures concerning residential housing.
TRANSPORTATION, Room 203, LOB
1:00 PM SB 501, relative to driver licenses for noncitizens residing in New Hampshire.
1:30 PM SB 358-FN, relative to invalidating out-of-state driver’s licenses issued to undocumented immigrants.
Wednesday, April 24
CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY, Room 202-204, LOB
9:30 AM SB 362-FN, relative to body-worn cameras.
10:00 AM SB 508-FN, relative to the duties of the superintendent of the county department of corrections concerning mental health and substance use disorder screening of inmates and coordination for services upon reentry into the community.
ELECTION LAW, Room 301-303, LOB
10:30 AM SB 534-FN, relative to campaign finance.
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 306-308, LOB
11:00 AM SB 481, relative to establishing Juneteenth, June 19, as an annual holiday.
JUDICIARY, Room 206-208, LOB
10:00 AM SB 413-FN, relative to civil actions for PFAS contamination
LABOR, INDUSTRIAL AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, Room 307, LOB
10:15 AM SB 517, relative to the employment status of university students working in educational programs.
11:00 AM SB 330-FN, relative to allowing the ability to work from home to count toward unemployment benefits eligibility.
PUBLIC WORKS AND HIGHWAYS, Room 201, LOB
11:30 AM SB 543, establishing the state environmental adaptation, resilience, and innovation council.
Friday, April 26
SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON HOUSING, Room 302-304, LOB
10:00 AM SB 408, establishing a committee to study the effects of the housing crisis on the disability community.
10:15 AM SB 527, relative to student housing.
10:30 AM Public Hearing on non-germane amendment #2024-1482h to SB 527, relative to local planning and zoning regulations pertaining to student housing and occupancy. The amendment includes the accommodation of student housing in the purpose of local zoning ordinances and limits municipal discretion relative to occupancy ordinances. Copies of the amendment are available on the General Court website.
Next Week in the Senate
The full Senate will not meet in session on April 25.
Next Week in Senate Committees
You can watch the Senate hearings here. You can sign in for Senate bills here. And you can contact Senate committees.
Tuesday, April 23
COMMERCE, Room 100, SH
11:00 AM HB 1178-FN, relative to an employee’s unused earned time.
EDUCATION, Room 101, LOB
9:00 AM HB 1288-FN, relative to establishing certain due process rights for students, student organizations, and faculty members facing disciplinary actions by state institutions of higher learning.
9:15 AM HB 1570-FN-A-L, requiring the department of education to conduct a facility assessment of public schools and public chartered schools.
9:30 AM HB 1656-FN-L, relative to adequate education grant amounts for pupils receiving special education services.
ELECTION LAW AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS, Room 103, LOB
9:20 AM HB 1091, relative to the financing of political campaigns
9:40 AM HB 1569-FN, relative to eliminating voter identification exceptions.
10:00 AM HB 1596-FN, requiring a disclosure of deceptive artificial intelligence usage in political advertising.
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, Room 103, SH
9:40 AM HB 1294-FN, establishing a committee to study ways to facilitate municipal compliance with Clean Water Act requirements.
9:50 AM HB 1649-FN, relative to prohibiting certain products with intentionally added PFAS.
FINANCE, Room 103, SH
1:30 PM HB 1678-FN, establishing a New Hampshire farm to school local food incentive pilot program.”
JUDICIARY, Room 100, SH
1:30 PM HB 1573-FN, making an appropriation to the department of health and human services to enhance oversight of children in residential placements.
2:00 PM HB 1589-FN, establishing a veterans treatment court
2:15 PM HB 1339-FN, relative to background checks during motions to return firearms and ammunition.
Wednesday, April 24
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND ADMINISTRATION, Room 101, LOB
9:00 AM HB 1456, relative to the appointment of the members of the board of tax and land appeals and the housing appeals board.
9:30 AM HB 1474, relative to the commission on Native American affairs
9:45 AM HB 1075, relative to abolishing daylight saving time.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, Room 103, SH
9:30 AM HB 1280, relative to informed consent and patient rights.
9:45 AM HB 1300, relative to terminal patients’ right to try act.
10:00 AM HB 1283-FN, relative to end of life options.
JUDICIARY, Room 100, SH
1:00 PM HB 318-FN-A, relative to magistrates, bail commissioners, the standards applicable to and the administration of bail, and making appropriations.
Thursday, April 25
CAPITAL BUDGET, Room 101, LOB
10:00 AM HB 1043, relative to the capital appropriations for the legislative parking garage design and police standards and training council facility improvements.
ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES, Room 103, SH
9:00 AM HB 1465-FN, relative to studies of nuclear energy technologies and renaming the office of offshore wind industry development.
9:40 AM HB 1490, relative to the solid waste management act.
9:50 AM HB 1499, establishing a committee to study the civilian clean energy, community resilience, and conservation corps
JUDICIARY, Room 100, SH
9:00 AM HB 396, permitting classification of individuals based on biological sex under certain limited circumstances.
9:15 AM HB 619-FN, to require a person to attain the age of majority for genital gender reassignment surgery.
1:00 PM HB 1295-FN, relative to penalties for criminal violations of the therapeutic use of cannabis.
1:15 PM HB 1350-FN, relative to therapeutic cannabis possession limits.
1:30 PM HB 1539-FN, relative to annulling, resentencing, or discontinuing prosecution of certain cannabis offenses.
1:45 PM HB 1633-FN-A, relative to the legalization and regulation of cannabis and making appropriations therefor.
Upcoming Events & Actions
Every Wednesday
Solemn Vigils for Ceasefire now! Humanitarian access to Gaza! No tax dollars for war crimes! – Join us from 2 PM to 3 PM. Hosted by NH Peace Action, AFSC, & interfaith partners.
April 24: Congressman Chris Pappas, Dover District Office, 660 Central Avenue, Dover
Every Thursday
Meeting for Worship with Attention to Peace in Palestine & Israel - 5:30 PM. Hosted by AFSC.
Solemn Vigils for Ceasefire Now – 12 noon at City Hall Plaza, in front of the State House, Concord
Every Friday
AFSC Action Hour for a Ceasefire – 12 noon. Hosted by AFSC. Join AFSC staff every Friday at 12 p.m. ET / 9 a.m. PT to hear updates from Gaza. Then, take action with us as we contact our elected officials and call for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian access to Gaza. Our elected officials need to keep hearing from us.
Save the Dates
Mark your calendar for these upcoming virtual events for AFSC’s “Protecting Immigrant Rights in an Election Year” webinar series to learn more about how our immigration system works and what we can do to protect and advance the rights of migrants.
May 28 – Employment & Worker Rights
June 25 – Hard Conversations
Think Twice Toolkit: Building Skills for Police Alternatives - 8 PM. Hosted by AFSC. Join us for an empowering 4-part series designed to equip you with a comprehensive toolkit of police alternatives and personal skills. Register once for all 4 sessions and attend as many as you can
April 17 & 24 and May 1 & 8
African & Black Diaspora Learning Series – Hosted by AFSC. Join us for an 8 session workshop series that will run from June 2024 through September 2024 and is designed to build community amongst Black and African community members locally and across the country, sharing our backgrounds, cultures and experiences in an open, inclusive and welcoming environment. Workshops will focus on key topics in diasporic history, systems of oppression, and movements for justice, incorporating cultural and trauma-informed wellness practices to develop participants' capacity for leadership in local and national work for immigrant and economic justice.
Sunday, April 21
Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks 2024: A New Deal for a Great Society – Envisioning the Future, Nashua Public Library, 2 Court St, Nashua, NH. Hosted by the Black Heritage Trail NH. This year's program will explore how two federal programs geared toward building a more just society - Franklin D. Roosevelt's "New Deal" and Lyndon B. Johnson's "Great Society" - played out in New Hampshire. We will ask what impact these programs had on our state and what happens now when changing demographics meet programs designed during the New Deal and Great Society.
Monday, April 22
Peace & Justice Conversations: Youth Speak Out Against Nuclear Weapons - 7 PM to 8 PM. Hosted by NH Peace Action. On Earth Day, let’s talk about one of the greatest threats to life on Earth and hear from youth who are working for a nuclear-free world. Leaders of the Students for Nuclear Disarmament (SND) group will speak to us about why they are involved, how they come to the issue, how the threat impacts them, what they’re hoping to inspire and lead by organizing SND, and how we can get to work in NH.
Tuesday, April 23
A Tribute to Refaat Alareer: The Power of Telling the Story of Gaza - 1 PM to 2:30 PM. Hosted by AFSC and Haymarket Books. Months after Dr. Refaat Alareer was killed in Gaza by an Israeli targeted airstrike, authors, editors, and the publisher of the anthology Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, will come together to honor Refaat’s life, memory, and legacy.
Transportation Options in Nashua & Beyond - 2 PM. Nashua Public Library, 71 Pearson Avenue, Nashua. Hosted by United Way of Greater Nashua and Nashua Regional Planning Commission. Join us for an informative talk on free and low-cost transportation options available within the city of Nashua. Discover the diverse range of transportation services tailored to meet the needs of Nashua residents. Whether you're seeking accessible transit solutions, looking to reduce your transportation expenses, or simply interested in exploring alternative ways to get around the city, this talk will provide valuable insights and resources to enhance your mobility and quality of life in Nashua.
Yalla Count MENA In! Webinar Series: The New Race and Ethnicity Standards – 2:30 PM. Hosted by the Arab American Institute, D.C. On March 28, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced revisions to the Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, known as Directive 15. The revisions, the first since 1997, include the historic addition of a new “Middle Eastern or North African” (MENA) minimum reporting category. Please join us for a webinar with leading experts to discuss what Arab Americans, as well as all racial, ethnic, and tribal populations, can expect from these changes, and how stakeholder organizations plan to address remaining gaps and implementation.
Wednesday, April 24
Film Screening: The Angel of Gaza & The Present - 7 PM to 9 PM. Hosted by NHPA. Palestine Education Network will present 2 short films at Red River Theater in Concord. Tickets available at the door. In Angel of Gaza, 8-year-old Malak narrates her family’s arduous journey of love, sacrifice, and reunification with her father .in the United States after seven years of forced separation. The film is a close-up portrait of a Palestinian child from Gaza and how they see the world around them. The Present: On his wedding anniversary, Yusef and his young daughter set out in the West Bank to buy his wife a gift. Between soldiers, segregated roads and checkpoints, how easy would it be to go shopping?
Thursday, April 25
Progress Through Policy: Advancing Birth Equity and Maternal Health in New England - 10 AM. Hosted by NH Perinatal Quality Collaborative. This webinar builds upon the September 2022 New England Maternal Health Summit, which showcased community triumphs on maternal health care that supports birthing people having a safe, respectful, and empowering birth and postpartum experience. This webinar will focus on maternal health policy to catalyze change.
Detention and Deportation - 7 PM. Hosted by AFSC. Join us for the fourth of our webinar series on Migration Justice. You will learn about the immigration detention and deportation systems and why AFSC believes they should be abolished. We will reflect on how detention and deportation feed a system that is based on everything but justice. In this webinar you'll hear from AFSC legal experts, organizers and community members on alternatives to detention and our vision for humane immigration policies.
Monday, April 29
Strengthening the Foundations of a Thriving Economy: Health - 11 AM to 12 PM. Hosted by NH Fiscal Policy Institute. Accessible and affordable health care is essential to the well-being and economic security of Granite Staters. Healthy residents are more easily able to find and keep employment, both helping their well-being and bolstering a workforce that can support a thriving and prosperous Granite State economy for everyone.
Wednesday, May 1
Ballots & Brews - 6 PM to 8 PM.BarCode Lounge & Grill - 1055 Elm St. Manchester. Hosted by Open Democracy. Democracy is for everyone, but only a fraction of New Hampshire residents get involved in the political process beyond voting in general elections - or even know how to start. We want to work together to fix that. Join us for an approachable introduction to the New Hampshire legislative process. In this relaxed atmosphere, we will discuss why voters' rights and civic engagement matter, the importance of campaign finance and redistricting reforms for passing policies that cater to the needs of the people, and the many different ways you can get involved.
Wednesday, May 8
Surveillance, Criminalization, and Punishment (Spring 2024 Speaker Series) - Toward Data Justice: Countermobilization and Community Control - 4:30 PM. Hosted by Harvard Kennedy School. Will modern surveillance, AI, predictive policing, facial recognition, and more shrink the criminal legal system’s footprint or expand criminalization into new domains? On balance, will new technology improve our flawed systems or entrench existing and new harms? We’ll be joined by academics, practitioners, and impacted community members to unpack cutting-edge technological advancements in criminalization and punishment—exploring improvements to the administration of justice and the reproduction of hierarchies of control and domination.
Monday, May 13
Strengthening the Foundations of a Thriving Economy: Income and Poverty - 11 AM to 12 PM. Hosted by NH Fiscal Policy Institute. Despite New Hampshire having the lowest poverty rate among the 50 U.S. states as measured by the Official Poverty Measure, high housing costs and other living expenses indicate more hardships and financial insecurity for Granite Staters near the federal poverty threshold. NHFPI will share the latest information on income, poverty, and cost of living across New Hampshire, highlighting key challenges to household budgets and the effects of taxes on household finances.
Tuesday, May 14
Public School Strong Training! - 6:30 PM to 8 PM. Hosted by HEAL Together. Join public school parents, family members and supporters from across the country to learn: - How to show your support for well-resourced and inclusive public schools - What to look for when you observe your school district's school board meeting - How to form a Public School Strong team in your school district - Ways to join a national movement to protect and transform public schools that serve all children.
With best wishes,
Maggie Fogarty, Grace Kindeke and Kathleen Wooten
AFSC’s New Hampshire “State House Watch" newsletter is published to bring you information about matters being discussed in Concord including housing, the death penalty, immigration, education, civil liberties, and labor rights. We also follow the state budget and tax system, voting rights, corrections policy, and more.Subscribe today to receive State House Watch news every week!
The AFSC is a Quaker organization supported by people of many faiths who care about peace, social justice, humanitarian service, and nonviolent change. Maggie Fogarty and Grace Kindeke staff the New Hampshire Program which publishes this newsletter. Read our 2023 highlights here. Kathleen Wooten is AFSC’s State House Watch researcher and database manager.
Your donations make our work possible. Click the DONATE NOW button on our web page to send a secure donation to support the work of the AFSC’s New Hampshire Program. Thank you!