The House, Thursday, May 5, 2022

Speaker PackardThe question being adoption of the majority committee amendment (1702h). The Chair recognizes Rep. Abramson to speak against the amendment.

Rep. Max Abramson (R - Rock 40)Thank you, Mister Speaker. Mister Speaker, I rise in opposition to amendment (1702h), the so-called Kenny McCormick district. As many members already know, in 1812, Democrat Governor Elbridge Gerry signed a bill redrawing the legislative districts in Massachusetts to keep the predecessor the Republican Party, the Whig Party at the time, from winning a majority in that year. The top of the head of that salamander district where we get the American term Gerrymander is literally in my back yard back in Seabrook. I took a look at those woods while writing this speech looking out at America's first ever gerrymandered district, hoping that we could restore our party's long tradition of the politics of principle, as President Reagan often said, "Trust the people." For two centuries, Jacksonian Democrats and big city party bosses of both parties, gerrymandered states but voters supported Republicans in an effort to stop this terrible practice. Technically, it is impossible to gerrymander one or two districts, but the public has rarely heard this proposal of proportional districts before the election and were not given sufficient notice. It was only mentioned once or twice in the news. Neither the Governor, nor the Senate has argued for the idea of proportional districts, nor even explained it to the public and the Governor's veto threat shows no understanding in those public statements of this approach nor the important debate that's behind it. This I-93 district may come to be known by the public as the Kenny McCormick district, the famous orange clad inaudible character from South Park, which the district resembles. Kenny in the show South Park was always muffled and died in each episode as a running gag. This amendment kills retail politics in New Hampshire by creating two long boundary districts where candidates must spend money in five different television markets forcing our congressional delegation to raise tens of millions of dollars from out of state special interest groups. Several years ago, I admit that I suggested proportional districting to a committee of this body and have come to regret it. After doing more research, we have come to find that heavily Republican and Democrat leaning districts around the country produce the worst representation and the least competition, stifling the will of the voters and muffling them in November. If these entrenched party line districts produce the worst beltway Congress critters, why would we create two more of them? Why make congressional district races more expensive, putting our congressional delegation in the back pockets of out of state and foreign monied interests that all four men on Mount Rushmore warned us against? Mister Speaker, drawing another line in the sand won't fix what's gone wrong with our broken system of government in Washington D.C. A great line that wraps around Manchester resembling the wall around ancient Athens, history's first democracy or "demokratia," Greek for mob rule. Ronald Reagan once warned that a nation that cannot defend its own borders isn't a nation at all. Well, a legislature that cannot meet its constitutional and moral obligation to craft fair districts that inspire public confidence isn't a Republic at all. Mister Speaker, putting Kenny McCormick on a congressional district map is like putting lipstick on a pig, red, red lipstick. Red button.

Speaker PackardThe House will be in order. The Chair recognizes Rep. Berry.

Rep. Ross Berry (R - Hills 44)Thank you, Mister Speaker. There was a lot going on there. Mister Speaker, this is my map. Unlike the previous map where I compromised and I tried to vote count and do a map that would pass the body. This map was a map that I developed. When I released this map, someone said I appeared agitated and they were right. They thought I was agitated because the minority party was attacking the map. They were wrong. Mister Speaker, I was agitated because for 8 months I sat in hearings about map after map and I heard from the minority party communities of interest, existing political boundaries, county lines, competitive. I was agitated, Mister Speaker, because I gave them a map that did all of that. Let's talk about the districts, Mister Speaker. The current congressional maps splits 5 out of New Hampshire's ten counties. The minority party thinks that's A-okay. This map, Mister Speaker, splits 2. It keeps 8 of the counties in the state wholly intact, a request that the minority party asked for. They got it. Mister Speaker, this map has the lowest deviation of any map publicly presented. There's 1.377 million people that live in this state and this map has difference of 9, 9, without dividing a single town or city. Mister Speaker, this map recognizes the state as it is today in 2022. It is not my fault, Mister Speaker, that the I-93 economic corridor is in fact the largest community of interest in this state, but currently it is divided. It is pulled apart so that the seacoast, the second largest economic community of interest as the minority party would say, can be remained intact. So what does this map do, Mister Speaker? It recognizes every economic community and it keeps them intact. My friends on the other side might recognize that. Keeping communities of interest together was a request that we heard from this well. How many times? Here it is, Mister Speaker, a map that they asked for and they got it, and now, predictably, the truth is revealed. They didn't actually want that. What they want, Mister Speaker, is a map that solidifies their incumbents forever. A map, Mister Speaker, that doesn't hold incumbents accountable. We just heard, Mister Speaker, about how we want competitive districts. May I continue, Mister Speaker?

Speaker PackardDon't get into the motive of anybody else, the other party or an individual.

Rep. Ross Berry (R - Hills 44)Yes, Mister Speaker, I will do that. Mister Speaker, when we speak of competitive, let's talk about competitive. This map produces a congressional district 1 where the winning party would have won with 300 votes, 50.05%. That, Mister Speaker, that is competitive, but once again, we say one thing and sometimes we can do another. Mister Speaker, I present to you a map that meets all of the constitutional requirements, a map with the lowest deviation that has been publicly released, a map that respects what we heard in the hearings. Mister Speaker, this is a map that represents New Hampshire in 2022, not 1880.

Speaker PackardThe House will be in order. The motion before us is the majority committee amendment (1702h). I was waiting for that. Who requested it? Rep. Barbara Griffin requests a roll call. Is that sufficiently seconded? It is sufficiently seconded. This will be a roll call vote. The motion before us is the majority committee amendment (1702h). This is a roll call vote. The Chair recognizes Rep. Bergeron for a parliamentary inquiry.

Rep. Paul Bergeron (D - Hills 29)Thank you, Mister Speaker. If I know that this amendment not only places both incumbents in the same district, but it moves 4 of 7 of the Republican primary opponents of the last congressional district 1 nominee into another district to the benefit of that 2020 nominee. If I know this amendment moves a total of 86 towns and a population of 559,000 people from one congressional district to the other. And if I know this amendment still moves the most northern part of the existing congressional district 1 in Carroll County to congressional district 2, so instead of the North Country being represented in congress by both members of congress, the plan reduces that to just one and limits their voice of the North Country and its residents, would I press the red button in opposition to passage of the majority amendment?

Speaker PackardThe Chair recognizes Rep. Lynn for a parliamentary inquiry.

Rep. Bob Lynn (R - Rock 7)Thank you, Mister Speaker. Mister Speaker, if I know that this bill redraws, or this amendment redraws our two congressional districts in a manner that meets all the requirements that our colleagues across the aisle said a fair redistricting plan should embody. And if I know that the population deviation between the districts is the lowest of any plan previously proposed by any party or group that is less than 9 people. And if I know that unlike the current map which splits over half the counties, this plan keeps 8 of the 10 counties together and does not divide any municipality. And if I know this plan keeps together the economic community comprising the I-93 corridor while also preserving other communities of interest such as the academic communities in Durham, Plymouth, Hannover and Keene. And if I know that this plan places together in the same district the 3 northern counties which have shared tourism, environmental and forestry related interests. And if I know that this plan creates districts that are more competitive than the districts proposed by any other plan and ensures that both the major parties will have a realistic chance of prevailing in elections over the next ten years, would I then press the green button to approve this plan? Thank you, Mister Speaker.

Speaker PackardThe motion before us is the majority committee amendment (1702h). This is a roll call vote. If you are in favor, you'll press the green button. If you are opposed, you'll press the red button. Voting stations are open for 30 seconds. Have all members present had an opportunity to vote? The House will attend to the state of the vote. 178 voting Yea; 158 voting Nay, the committee amendment is adopted. The bill is on second reading and open to further amendment. For what reason does the member rise?

Rep. Al Baldasaro (R - Rock 5)Motion to print the remarks in the Journal.

Speaker PackardWait until the end of the debate. The bill is on second reading and open to further amendment. Minority amendment is (1736h). The Chair recognizes Rep. Bergeron.

Rep. Paul Bergeron (D - Hills 29)Thank you, Mister Speaker. Amendment (1736h) appears in calendar page 50. The amendment proposes moving the Town of Hampstead from the 1st congressional district to the 2nd. That's it. According to the 2020 census, the population of the 1st congressional district is just 17,945 people larger than the population for the 2nd congressional district. Thus, by moving the town of Hampstead and it's 8,998 residents the resulting population difference is just 51 people, an exceptionally low deviation. More than 99% of the state's population will continue to reside in their current congressional districts. There were a lot of opinions expressed during the public hearings that we held on this and other redistricting bills. Lumping them all together from all the different redistricting bills that were before our committee and saying that was the minority position or some other groups position would be unfair and inappropriate and inaccurate. During the redistricting process for the congressional district, the House Special Committee held listening sessions in all ten counties and conducted a number of public hearings. At no time did members of the committee hear calls for the congressional districts to undergo radical changes. The proposal follows nearly 140 years of precedence in keeping New Hampshire's congressional districts nearly the same geographically from one redistricting to the next so as not to upset and displace a lot of residents from one congressional redistricting period to the other. The districts will remain competitive. In the last 86 elections in the 2nd congressional district, Republicans have won 71 times, Democrats have won 15. In the 1st congressional district, the seat changed hands in 6 of the last 8 elections with incumbents losing in 5 of those races. The current districts were created by a Republican majority ten years ago. They have been and will continue to be competitive. The minority amendment would ensure that every announced candidate for New Hampshire's US congressional districts will continue to reside in the districts in which they have been campaigning. Under the majority proposal, New Hampshire's two congressional representatives would be moved into the same district, while 4 candidates for the Republican nomination in the 1st congressional district would be swept out of their district and moved into the 2nd district thus strengthening the primary campaign for the leading Republican fundrais- ing candidate in the 1st district and forcing 4 Republican congressional candidates to restart their campaign efforts in a different district. The filing periods for declarations of candidacy for this year's state primary and general elections begins in less than 30 days from today. Every candidate should be able to approach the election on a level playing field. The focus of redistricting should be on the voter and not be used to benefit one party or one candidate over another. One of the great strengths of the New Hampshire political system is that in the New Hampshire House and Senate, the Executive Council and the Governorship, voters are able to decide every two years whether or not they want to keep an incumbent in office or make a change. This amendment would protect the rights of our New Hampshire voters and candidates to have a fair opportunity to color our state red, blue or purple. Please press the green button in support of amendment (1736h). Mister Speaker, I request a division vote.

Speaker PackardThe Chair recognizes Rep. Berry. Does the member yield to questions? The member does not yield.

Rep. Ross Berry (R - Hills 44)Thank you, Mister Speaker. We've already voted on this proposal once and we shot it down once. They refer to it as the least changed method but it's not actually the least changed method. It moves one town but it doesn't get the lowest deviation possible because you can move the towns of Campton, Sandwich, Albany, Bartlett, Hale's and Hart's from district one to district two and you would have a deviation of 9, which is what we just passed. Mister Speaker, to the actual proposal as a whole. This is a map that divides five out of the ten counties. This is a map that divides every economic community except for the Seacoast. Mister Speaker, this is a map that was originally designed in 1880 and if you saw the map from 1880, Mister Speaker, you wouldn't recognize it. The map from 1880 looks nice. If the map from 1880 was passed today, it would be off by 300,000 people because this map doesn't recognize the fact that the population of this state has shifted away from the Seacoast. For those of you who are history buffs, I believe our state capital used to be at the Seacoast. Mister Speaker, while it's nice to go back 76 elections, the reality is we've only had 10 elections, we've only had 5 elections under the current maps and those "competitive maps," one party has won 90% of the contests. That's what they define as competitive. Mister Speaker, finally, to the argument of building districts around incumbents and candidates. Mister Speaker, that's a really interesting way to go about it so every ten years we should build a district based on who's running for office at the time for the next ten years? If that's the logic, Mister Speaker, that some people would like to use, that's certainly fine. I will not be building districts around incumbents and candidates. I will be building districts that best represent the people and, Mister Speaker, this map does not do that.

Speaker PackardRep. Turcotte has requested a roll call. Is that sufficiently seconded? It is sufficiently seconded. This will be a roll call vote. Members take your seats. The motion before us is the minority committee amendment (1736h). This is a roll call vote. The Chair recognizes Rep. Bergeron for a parliamentary inquiry.

Rep. Paul Bergeron (D - Hills 29)Thank you, Mister Speaker. If I know that this proposal would keep Gail Huff Brown, Mark Kilbane, Tim Baxter and Carolyn Leavitt, four of the seven candidates currently fundraising and campaigning in the Republican primary for US Congress in district 1 within that district and not move them into district 2. If I acknowledge that a candidate does not need to live in the congressional district in which he is a candidate, but I know that the last time a New Hampshire candidate for congress lived outside of the district in which he was running, he gathered less than 2% of the total votes. If I know that this amendment as opposed to the majority's proposal would move just one town, not 86 towns between districts, would move 9,000 people, not 559,000 people from one district to another and would move less than 1% of the population, not 41% of the population from one district to the other, would I then press the green yes button to support amendment (1736h)?

Speaker PackardThe Chair recognizes Rep. Lynn for a parliamentary inquiry.

Rep. Bob Lynn (R - Rock 7)Thank you, Mister Speaker. Mister Speaker, if I know that the minority amendment presently before this body contains none of the positive attributes of the majority amendment that we just passed, then would I press the red button to defeat this proposed amendment? Thank you, Mister Speaker.

Speaker PackardThe motion before us is minority amendment (1736h). This is a roll call vote. If you are in favor, you'll press the green button. If you are opposed, you'll press the red button. Voting stations are open for 30 seconds. Have all members present had an opportunity to vote? The House will attend to the state of the vote. 156 voting Yea, 182 voting Nay, the minority committee amendment fails. The question now is on Ought to Pass as Amended. The Chair recognizes Rep. Marjorie Smith. Rep. Marjorie Smith and Rep. Berry both waive off. The motion before us now is Ought to Pass as Amended on SB 200. Are you ready for the question? Who requested the roll call? Rep. Griffin requested a roll call. Is that sufficiently seconded? It is sufficiently seconded. This will be a roll call vote. The motion before us is the majority committee report of Ought to Pass as Amended on SB 200. This is going to be a roll call vote. The Chair recognizes Rep. Espitia for a parliamentary inquiry.

Rep. Manny Espitia (D - Hills 31)Thank you, Mister Speaker. If I know the amendment we just adopted makes radical changes to our congressional districts that our constituents did not ask for. And if I know that a particular constituent from Newfields, the one with the veto pen, has weighed in and said, "This map ain't it." If I want the legislature to write the congressional districts but know that we can do better, would I now press the red button to vote against the committee report? Speaker Packard: The Chair recognizes Rep. Lynn for a parliamentary inquiry.

Rep. Bob Lynn (R - Rock 7)Mister Speaker, if I know for all the reasons stated just a few minutes ago that the proposal before the House now is a fair, accurate and entirely appropriate redistricting of our congressional districts, would I now press the green button? Thank you, Mister Speaker.

Speaker PackardThe motion before us is the majority committee report of Ought to Pass as Amended on SB 200. This is a roll call vote. If you are in favor, you'll press the green button. If you are opposed, you'll press the red button. Voting stations are now open for 30 seconds. Have all members present had an opportunity to vote? The House will attend to the state of the vote. 179 voting Yea, 159 voting Nay, the committee report is adopted.

Rep. Rick Ladd (R - Graf 4)Thank you very much, Mister Speaker and colleagues. I would also like to thank our young man from Pinkerton Academy today. That was a wonderful rendition of our National Anthem. I'm here to speak in support of SB 234, now to be known as the Jason Dickey Suicide Prevention Act. Within your committee report, you will note that there are some statistics on suicide in our country. I'm not going to go into that. You can read that just as well as I can say it. One thing, the second leading cause of death among those in ages 10 through 34 in our country is suicide. This bill will address the issue of suicide amongst our young people here in the State of New Hampshire. It's not a complete and thorough way to answer this problem, but it's one solid step forward. For those schools which issue ID cards for students, be it an elementary school through a secondary school or post-secondary institution in our state, when the ID card is issued, on the back side the National Suicide Prevention lifeline will be printed there on the back of that card with the new number. There is an 800 number, but the new number, 988, which will go into effect July 16 for folks to call in case of a need and there are needs in this state. Why this? What does this suicide prevention hotline or lifeline provide? It provides prevention resources. It provides mental health services and it provides a live voice for one to talk with in such an awful situation and a possible tragedy. During the committee hearing, I was very impressed. In fact, overwhelmed with the deep and sincere presentation by Jason's parents. To quote his mother, Martha, "My hope is if one student in New Hampshire has the number and sees it one day, that number on the back side of that card, and makes that call and saves themselves, that's a success. It's truly a success." Will this act make a difference? My answer is yes it will. This bill provides hope. When you open that door from hopelessness and meet hope and you meet the light of day, that's what we need to have available to those that are looking at this awful end. During the committee hearing process, we heard that Jason was very politically oriented and perhaps with the passage of this bill, another young person with another similar dream may fully have that dream come to be. Perhaps, even sitting in this chamber someday instead of taking that tragic route of suicide. So, in conclusion, I'd like to say this on behalf of the entire Education Committee, the committee as a whole, we were humbled and honored to hear the testimony of the parents. We were humbled and honored to present this bill to the General Court and I ask your support. Thank you.

Speaker PackardThe motion before us is Ought to Pass as Amended on SB 234. Are you ready for the question? All those in favor, say Aye; those opposed, Nay. The Ayes have it.