The Coalition’s Public Affairs staff works closely with other advocacy groups and legislators on drafting legislation, organizing testimony, and advocating for policy change throughout the Session.  NHCADSV either takes an active role in or tracks upwards of 150 bills each Legislative Session.  These bills range from addressing domestic and sexual violence; stalking; issues relating to family law, divorce, and child custody/visitation/support; judicial matters and law enforcement; privacy issues and the security of personal information; healthcare; and economic justice-related issues.

Coalition Public Affairs staff review every piece of legislation introduced every year, identify priority legislation, and ultimately track hundreds of bills over the course of a legislative session.  The Public Affairs staff identifies priority bills and determines what the position of the Coalition will be on the legislation. They work with legislators, community partners, and stakeholders to support and secure passage of multiple bills every year and, conversely, work to defeat legislation that would adversely affect victims.

How can I participate in the NH Legislative Process?

You have many opportunities to impact this process, including testifying at hearings, writing letters, or making phone calls to your Senators or Representatives. The NH Legislature is considered a “citizen legislature” and legislators welcome calls from their constituents.

If you are interested in testifying for the Coalition at a public legislative hearing, or are interested in participating in our advocacy, please contact the NHCADSV office. The Coalition is always looking for people who “work in the trenches” and see the day-to-day struggles survivors face.  This is invaluable information to share with the Legislature that may significantly improve the lives of many individuals throughout the state of New Hampshire.

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NH Legislative Process

The NH Legislature holds annual sessions, and adopts its own rules of order and operation, setting various deadlines for legislative action. The first deadline, typically in early December, is for the introduction of bills. By that deadline, legislators must provide to the Office of Legislative Services all the information needed to draft the bills they wish to introduce. The bills are drafted, printed, and introduced into either the House or the Senate, depending on whether the legislator is a Representative or Senator. Bills are then scheduled for a public hearing.

The public hearings scheduled on each bill provide time for testimony by legislators, interested stakeholders, and members of the public. The protocol followed at hearings is for the sponsor or sponsors of the bill to be recognized first; other legislators are called on after that. Members of the public are then allowed to testify. Often committee chairs will call on witnesses in the order they have signed up to speak, but that can vary if, for example, the Governor or a state agency head wishes to testify.

For hearings in the House, anyone who wishes to testify must fill out a pink index card (available in each committee room) and submit it to the chair of the committee. Anyone wishing to register an opinion but who does not want to speak may sign the blue sign-up sheet to indicate their support or opposition to the legislation.

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