Good afternoon, Mister Speaker. Good afternoon, my colleagues.…
Rep. Aboul Khan (R - Rock 30)Good afternoon, Mister Speaker. Good afternoon, my colleagues. My name is Aboul Khan, and I represent the town of Seabrook. I am here before you to talk about my native country, Bangladesh. I immigrated to the United States 45 years ago. I have many friends and relatives living in Bangladesh and I am a frequent visitor to my birth country. Last August 5th, 2024, everything changed in that beautiful country. A fundamentalist student uprising took over the country's power and installed a pro-fundamentalist, anti-West, anti-India and anti everything government led by Muhammad Yunus. Last six months, the country has been in political turmoil. Lots of attacks are reported targeting homes and businesses of the opposition party, properties and places of worships of the religious minorities mainly Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and the Indigenous Peoples. Five days ago, they bulldozed the father of the nation's home, which used to be a museum. They are in a rampage all over the country and I am getting frequent calls to let the policymakers in the United States know what is happening in that small country in South East Asia. On Nov 25, a well-known Hindu and ISKON religious monk, Chinmoy Krishna Das, was arrested under false accusation and detained without any due process for his bail to this day. His fault was that he had been vocal regarding minority rights. The government alleged that he disrespected the Bangladeshi flag, which is false and even this is not considered a big non-bailable crime in the real world. Out of 350 parliament members of Bangladesh, nearly 135 members' houses were either burned, destroyed or vandalized by this government-supported fundamentalist or so-called student mob. Mister Speaker, Honorable Members, for many years Bangladesh army were deployed by the United Nations for peacekeeping purposes all over the world. Now the question is if they can't keep peace in their own country, how they can fulfill their job as peace keepers in another country supported by our tax dollars. Mister Speaker, there is a huge issue in that part of the world about Islamic educational institutions called madrasas. These student-thugs are educated in those madrasas by the jihadists who promote fundamentalism spreading hatred and lawlessness in the country and many other parts of the world. Mister Speaker, currently there is no law and order, and no democracy in Bangladesh. There is no freedom of press. The government is arresting any journalist who does fair and independent reporting about the current events. These fundamentalists are dictating the courts and law enforcement agencies in their own way. I would also like to mention that since last August's uprising, these fundamentalists killed thousands of police officers. In conclusion, I am urging all my colleagues to please vote yes on HR 11 so that we can send this resolution to the United States government to look into this and investigate the continued massacre happening right now as I speak. Thank you, Mister Speaker and God Bless America and God Bless the State of New Hampshire.
Speaker PackardThe motion before us is the Ought to Pass motion on HR 11. A division has been requested. Members take your seats. The motion before us is Ought to Pass on HR 11. This is a division vote. The Chair recognizes Rep. Budathoki for a parliamentary inquiry.
Rep. Suraj Budathoki (D - Hills 40)Thank you, Mister Speaker. Honorable colleagues, I rise in strong support of HR 11 because silence in the face of oppression is complicity. Sorry, If I know that what is going on in Bangladesh at this time is a human rights violations and abuse. And if I know that we need to stop what is going on there, I would urge you to vote yes on this resolution. Thank you.
Speaker PackardThe motion before us is Ought to Pass on HR 11. This is a division 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 the opportunity to vote? The House will attend to the state of the vote. 328 voting Yea; 41 voting Nay, the motion is adopted. REGULAR CALENDAR CONT'D
HB 201-FN, prohibiting the removal of claws from cats. MAJORITY: INEXPEDIENT TO LEGISLATE. MINORITY: OUGHT TO PASS. Rep. Judy Aron for the Majority of Environment and Agriculture. This bill is a solution in search of a problem. The majority of the committee voted Inexpedient to Legislate because there is no real need to ban this procedure or codify harsh penalties to veterinarians. We do not have statistics that demonstrate that New Hampshire has a problem with our veterinarians performing cat declawing procedures for non medical reasons. In fact, we heard testimony from New Hampshire veterinarians that the overwhelming majority of New Hampshire veterinarians already discourage or do not offer cat declawing procedures and instead work with cat owners to use behavior modification and other techniques to prevent the cat from scratching family members or destroying property. When those techniques fail, and the veterinarian determines that declawing is the only remaining solution (aside from rehoming or euthanasia) then that should remain a choice between the cat owner and the veterinarian. If an owner has tried all methods available to cease chronic scratching and if declawing was made illegal, their options would be to: abandon the cat, rehome it to an unsuspecting home, or surrender it to a shelter, or they might even take their cat to a state where cat declawing is not banned. The committee heard in testimony that cat declaw procedures are only done by New Hampshire veterinarians when medically necessary for the cat, or for instances when cat owners have medical conditions that could be life threatening if they are scratched by their cats (i.e. on blood thinners, etc.), or if it is an absolute last resort to chronic cat scratching behaviors. We also heard that modern techniques, such as laser surgery yield better and much safer results than techniques used in the past, and that declawed cats can and do live long, healthy, and happy lives. Most importantly, the majority felt very strongly that we as a legislature should not go down the road of removing autonomy from New Hampshire veterinarians and dictating to them what procedures they can and cannot offer. Our licensed veterinarians have the knowledge, experience, and wisdom to work with their clients to determine what procedures are the right ones for their pets and the legislature should not interfere with that relationship. We also understand that certain animal activist organizations are flooding state legislatures across the country with these types of bills and once they get one procedure banned, they continue to try to ban others, and they use these campaigns to fundraise. For all these reasons, and more, the majority in the committee voted to Inexpedient to Legislate this bill. Vote 9-7. Rep. Nicholas Germana for the Minority of Environment and Agriculture. While reliable statistics are not available, the committee heard testimony, even from opponents of the bill, that this procedure is performed in New Hampshire. The committee heard a great deal of testimony from veterinary professionals and members of the public about the profound adverse effects that cats can suffer as a result of this procedure. The minority of the committee concludes that unnecessary declawing is inhumane and, however infrequently it might occur, should not be permitted in New Hampshire.
The question being adoption of the majority committee report of Inexpedient to Legislate. Rep. Nicholas Germana spoke against. Rep. Judy Aron spoke in favor. On a division vote, with 191 members having voted in the affirmative, and 177 in the negative, the majority committee report was adopted.
HB 369-FN, relative to misdemeanor sexual assault prosecutions. OUGHT TO PASS WITH AMENDMENT. Rep. Katelyn Kuttab for Judiciary. This bill, as amended, provides protection for minors under 18 in misdemeanor sexual assault cases. It mandates that a defendant charged with a misdemeanor sexual assault of a minor under 18 must choose to proceed in circuit court and waive the right to a jury trial or immediately appeal to superior court for a jury trial. This provision aims to prevent minor survivors of sexual assault from enduring the ordeal of appearing for two separate trials and reliving their trauma. Vote 11-1.
Amendment (0167h) Amend the bill by replacing section 3 with the following:
3 New Section; Sexual Assault and Related Offenses; Cases Involving Misdemeanor Sexual Assaults Against Minors. Amend RSA 632-A by inserting after section 9 the following new section:
632-A:9-a Misdemeanor Sexual Assault Prosecutions with Victim Less Than 18 Years of Age. I. In any prosecution for a violation of RSA 632-A:4 involving a victim less than 18 years of age at the time
the prosecution is commenced, and which is brought in the circuit court, the defendant may elect to either: (a) Appeal within 30 days after the arraignment to the superior court for a jury trial pursuant to the
provisions of Rule of Criminal Procedure 21(a); or (b) Proceed with a trial in the circuit court, which will constitute a waiver of the right to a jury trial
and the right to appeal for a jury trial pursuant to RSA 502-A:12 and 599:1. II. A circuit court shall not proceed with a trial under subparagraph I(b) unless it has conducted a colloquy
with the defendant and finds that the defendant has knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently waived his or her right to a jury trial.