Should the NH House be able to pick and choose which bills it hears and votes on?

New Hampshire is one of the few states where every bill submitted to the Legislature is guaranteed a public hearing.

Hundreds of bills

The Granite State has the 4th largest English speaking legislative body in the world with over 400 House and Senate members. Between the two legislative bodies, over 800 bills were proposed last year.

Currently a single member of either legislative body can sponsor a bill, and that bill will receive a public hearing and be voted upon by the House or Senate, dependent on where the bill originated.

Read part one of our series on how bills become law in New Hampshire.

No guaranteed hearing?

Current New Hampshire House Speaker Shawn Jasper (R-Hillsborough) would like the House to change its rules.

Jasper proposes limiting the number of bills reviewed by legislators. He suggested that a bill should have five or six co-sponsors before it is guaranteed a hearing, or that House leadership and committee chairs should be given more discretion as to which bills are advanced.

Bills should have a broad range of support

Those who agree with Speaker Jasper say that rather than waste the time of the legislators and the public to hear a bill that is perhaps just one person’s fight, requiring multiple sponsors for a bill will indicate a broader base of support.

Legislators in New Hampshire make only $100 per year, plus mileage, but with hundreds of bills to tackle each session, can find themselves driving back and forth to Concord multiple times per week for months. The significant time commitment of hearing and voting on so many bills could be deterring otherwise highly qualified citizens from running for office.

Every bill should have its day in court

Those who don’t want to see the current system change say that legislative leaders should not be able to unilaterally decide what bills are important enough to advance. They argue that every bill should be heard by elected officials, with the public getting a chance to weigh in. Open debate is part of the democratic process, and both sides should be able to voice their opinions.

Have your say

Do you think the House should vote on every bill, or should leaders be able to pick and choose? Let us know your opinion in the comments below.