NH 2003 Legislative Session

Bills of interest to Homeschoolers

last updated 4/06/03 8:00AM

All the bills listed here, all 57 of them, address issues that have in the past affected homeschoolers in this state or in other states, or have the potential to affect homeschoolers here in NH.

• Click on the issue for an analysis.
• Click on the bill number to follow progress of that bill.
• Click on the "*" next to the bill number to go directly to the text of the bill.
• Bills in boldface are ones that I think could have a major impact.
• Visit the CHENH website and click on "Legislation" for more news.
• Visit the NH School Boards Association website for more news.
• Click here to see bills that have been vetoed.
• Click here to see what's new.

Obviously, one person alone cannot track all these bills. I would be indebted to anyone who passes along information, or who takes on the task of tracking particular bills. If you notice any errors or glaring omissions, please contact me.

Chris Hamilton
673-0189

The usual path a bill takes:

1. Sponsor(s) submit an LSR (Legislative Services Request) with general information about the bill.
2. Legislative Services writes the language of the bill, and depending on who the prime sponsor is, assigns it a HB (House Bill) or SB (Senate Bill) number.
3. The bill is brought to the floor of the appropriate house, and is referred to a committee for study.
4. The chairman of the study committee chooses a date and time for a hearing before the committee, when the public can provide input (testimony) to the committee.
5. The committee meets in executive session to vote on a recommendation to the house as a whole. Three possibilities are a)Ought To Pass (OTP), b) Ought to Pass with Amendment (OTP/Amendment), c) Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL). There is usually a majority and a minority report, each written by a legislator who voted in that manner, outlining the issues which caused members to vote as they did. They can also vote to refer the bill to another committee for study, or table it, allowing the legislative session to end without taking action on the bill. To do so is considered very discourteous to the sponsor.
6. The bill is scheduled for a vote in the house. The recommendation of the committee may be so strongly for the bill that they ask for it to be added to a list of bills that are passed without debate. If even one legislator wants to comment on the bill before the house, it can be taken off that list and debated on the floor, although that may possibly delay passage.
7. If the bill passes the house in which it originated, it "crosses over" to the other house. There is a deadline by which bills must "cross over" in order to be considered during a certain session. When it crosses over, steps 3-6 are repeated in the other house.
8. If the bill is amended in the second house, a conference committee is created to write a compromise bill that resolves the differences between the two houses.
9. If the bill passes both houses of the legislature, it is sent to the governor. If s/he does not veto it within 5 days, it becomes law.

Bills that have been vetoed