Governor’s updates

Governor’s updates
On June 30, Gov. Chris Sununu issued Emergency Orders No. 57 and No. 58 amid the state’s ongoing response to Covid-19. Emergency Order No. 57 gives temporary emergency wage enhancements of $3 per hour to park management and roadside laborer employees of the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources whose duties include restroom cleaning and trash disposal functions at facilities within Hampton Beach State Park. The order is applicable for any qualifying time worked from June 19 through Oct. 23.

Emergency Order No. 58 is an order terminating Emergency Order No. 3, which was issued on March 17, prohibiting all providers of electric, gas, water, telephone, cable and other utility services in New Hampshire from disconnecting or discontinuing service for non-payment during the Covid-19 pandemic. Under Emergency Order No. 58, Emergency Order No. 3 will terminate on July 15.

On July 6, the Governor’s Office for Emergency Relief and Recovery (GOFERR), in conjunction with the state Department of Revenue Administration and New Hampshire Employment Security, announced the opening of the New Hampshire Self Employed Livelihood Fund (SELF) application period. Sununu had announced the establishment of the fund in a June 25 press conference. The New Hampshire SELF program builds on the success of the Main Street Relief Fund. To qualify, a business must not be permanently closed or be in bankruptcy and must not be a nonprofit, a franchise or a national chain. Applications can be accessed online at gopher.nh.gov and will be accepted through July 17.

Also on July 6, Sununu issued a statement in response to President Trump’s upcoming rally in Portsmouth on July 11, saying that it is “imperative” that all attendees wear masks. “I am pleased to see the campaign will be handing out face masks and hand sanitizer to all attendees, as has been true at all public gatherings … where social distancing is hard to maintain,” he said.

Details of all Emergency Orders and other announcements can be found at governor.nh.gov.

All the bills
The New Hampshire House of Representatives sent several bills to the governor’s desk when it met June 30 for the last day of the 2020 session. Here are some of the highlights, according to multiple press releases from the House and the Senate:

• HB 1166, HB 1129, HB 1246, and HB 1247 — pieces of the Granite Promise Plan — include provisions for workers’ protections; annual meeting and budget provisions for municipalities, school districts and village districts; enhancements for child care scholarships and long-term care facilities, and modest protections for renters and homeowners now that the moratoriums on evictions for nonpayment of rent and foreclosures expired July 1.

• HB 1240 includes protections for victims of sexual assault by those in a position of authority in the education system, and authorizes temporary marriage officiant licenses and apportions a portion of the license fee to domestic violence prevention.

• HB 1162 is an omnibus bill encompassing several pieces of legislation aimed at increasing equity and safeguards for Granite State children and families. “This legislation … allows for unmarried couples to adopt children … and provides legal security for all children brought into the world through assisted reproduction,” chair of the House Children and Family Law committee Rep. Pat Long (D-Manchester) said in a statement. “This legislation also establishes and improves oversight of children’s services, including the office of the child advocate, and clarifies statute providing for insurance coverage during children’s early intervention services.”

• HB 731 would increase the state’s minimum wage gradually to $12 by January 2023.

• HB 1582 is an omnibus bill relative to veterans’ protections. “In this legislation we assist our veterans to start businesses, find jobs and apprenticeships matching their skill set, obtain physical and mental health services, prevent suicide, achieve license and certification reciprocation, access educational opportunities for themselves and their families, and we continue the fight to end veteran homelessness,” Sen. Jon Morgan (D-Brentwood) said in a statement.

• HB 1111 would expand broadband access across the state.

• HB 1558 is comprehensive education legislation. “The comprehensive education bill passed today is very important to our schools and the children they serve. Assuring that students have access to special education and behavioral health resources and that schools have the resources to offer needed programs will be especially important as education moves back into the classroom,” Rep. Mel Myler (D-Hopkinton), chair of the House Education Committee, said in a statement.

• Comprehensive election law bills HB 1266 and HB 1672 — “Including concern for Covid-19 as a specific reason to request an absentee ballot will provide clarity to voters in the upcoming fall election, and the provision to permanently expand absentee balloting will assure equal access to elections moving forward. I urge the governor to sign this crucial legislation,” Rep. David E. Cote (D-Nashua), chair of the House Election Law Committee, said in a statement. House Republican Leader Dick Hinch (R-Merrimack) released the following statement in response to the House voting to concur with HB 1672: “The Attorney General and Secretary of State have already issued guidance allowing absentee balloting in the primary and general election for those who have concerns voting in person due to Covid-19 ensuring all New Hampshire citizens are able to vote in the 2020 elections. Spending CARES Act funds for brand new programs, such as online voter registration, is unacceptable and puts our state’s reputation of having clean and fair elections at risk.”

• HB 578, HB 1246, HB 1520, HB 1623 and HB 1639 address health care needs in the wake of the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• HB 1280 is an omnibus bill that increases prescription drug affordability and improves access to affordable health care for Granite Staters.

• HB 1494 covers a variety of workers’ protections including health and safety standards and a state death benefit.

• HB 1623 is omnibus legislation that seeks to ensure coverage and reimbursement for health care services provided through telemedicine on the same basis as services provided in office visits.

• HB 1639 addresses long-term public health crises. “Long running public health emergencies such as New Hampshire’s opioid crisis may very well be exacerbated by the economic and social impacts of Covid-19,” Sen. Tom Sherman (D-Rye) said in a statement. “This legislation takes steps to give the state the necessary funding and tools to gain a clearer picture of what works, and how we can expand treatment and recovery options.”

No indoor vaping
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has modified the definition of “smoking” in the Indoor Smoking Act to include the use of e-cigarettes and devices. Under the new law, according to a press release from DHHS, smoking is defined as “having a lit cigarette, pipe, or any device designed to produce the effect of smoking, including devices … that may include, but are not limited to, hookahs, e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, e-hookahs, and vape pens.” The Indoor Smoking Act says all tobacco products are prohibited in enclosed workplaces and enclosed places accessible to the public, including restaurants, bars and vape shops.

The homeowner of 10 Currier Dr. in Manchester got an unwelcome surprise the night of July 2 when a car crashed through her living room while she was watching TV. According to a press release from the Manchester Police Department, the car had swerved off Wellington Road, hit a utility pole, then crashed into the home. Both the driver and the homeowner were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, though there was significant damage to the pole and the home. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Final paving work was scheduled to begin July 7 on Route 102 in Londonderry and will continue for about two weeks, between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. each day, according to a press release from the NH Department of Transportation. There will be alternating one-way traffic between the Derry/Londonderry town line and the intersection of Michael’s Way. It is part of a $62.2 million project that encompasses work on I-93 in the Exit 4 Derry/Londonderry area and Route 102 reconstruction, according to the release.

The Stone House in Hooksett, eligible to be placed on the state and national registers of historic places as an example of an early 20th-century period house, may be demolished to make way for a storage facility, according to a press release from the Hooksett Heritage Commission, which is petitioning to stop the demolition. The commission is hosting a public hearing Thursday, July 16, at 6:30 p.m. at the Municipal Building, 16 Main St.

Jim Hansen, a fifth-grade teacher at New Searles Elementary School in Nashua, has been named New Hampshire’s recipient of the National University System-Sanford Teacher Award and will receive $10,000 in recognition of his work supporting student development and achievement, according to a press release. Hansen frequently travels to Kenya and uses his fifth-graders’ poems as learning tools for Kenyan students, then brings his Kenyan students’ poems back to New Hampshire to show his students that they have similar dreams and aspirations despite their different cultures and life experiences.