Legislative Update Week of August 12, 2024 Sununu Signs Students First Act Last week, Gov. Sununu signed HB 1265, the Students First Act, into New Hampshire Law. These new provisions will expose sprawling and expensive school administration in New Hampshire to ensure that our education spending priorities puts students and teachers first. Despite decades of increasing school expenses throughout New Hampshire to reportedly benefit our students, no school tax increases are going to teacher pay. Instead, school districts are creating well-paid, left-wing administrative bureaucracies focused on expensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives and staffing, all at the expense of teachers and students. Now, school districts will be required to report spending trendsfor non-teaching staff before budget meetings. Look out for these reports in your district and take action to protect your pocketbook while standing up for our students! If these graphs are not physically displayed in a public place prior to budget meetings, any taxpayer in the district can sue and have their attorney’s fees covered. You can read more about the new law and see examples of these reports here. We urge you to thank Senator Keith Murphy (R-Manchester) for his tireless efforts in ensuring this legislation made its way to the Governor’s desk and into law. You can email Sen. Murphy here or call him at 603-271-4063.  THANK SEN. MURPHY Help Save the Lives of Newborn New Hampshire Babies Now that HB 1607, the Baby Safe Haven Bill, has been signed into law, we need New Hampshire Christians and all those dedicated to safeguarding young lives to engage in this important child protection issue. UNDER THE NEW LAW: 1. Parents can now surrender infants up to 61 days old to any designated safe haven in New Hampshire. 2. Designated safe haven locations that are staffed for 24 hours now have the option to install a baby box, which allows parents to surrender their child safely while remaining completely anonymous. 3. The law includes a new vital exclusionary rule which will protect the identity of the parents from law enforcement, incentivizing criminal parents to safely surrender vulnerable infants who would otherwise be at risk of abuse or death. HOW YOU CAN HELP: With the increased ability of parents to surrender their children anonymously, it is more vital than ever for the body of Christ to step forward to ensure that opportunities for parents to surrender their at-risk infants are well-advertised and readily available. One simple way to do this is by lobbying your town to put baby boxes at your 24-hour staffed police station, fire station, or hospital. We are grateful for those who have already stepped up to donate a box in their town. You can also contact your church about becoming a safe haven. If the church has any regularly staffed hours, they technically already qualify under RSA 132 – A:1. Any church that wishes to act as a safe haven must display an external sign notifying the public that the church is willing to accept unwanted newborns during its staffed hours. For more details on how your church can meaningfully engage on this issue, visit our blog post on the topic. We also encourage you to take a few minutes to watch Pastor Kevin Twombly’s beautiful message below about the unique opportunities our new law presents to New Hampshire churches. LEARN MORE Shannon McGinely on X Check out Cornerstone Executive Director Shannon McGinley’s latest post on X, where she addresses the issue of the high cost of living for young families in the Granite State. Follow Shannon for more informative content.  |
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