In the New Hampshire Legislature, all bills are assigned to one or more Committees, in the originating body, either the House or Senate. The committee/s hold a public hearing on the bill and vote to make a recommendation to the full body. If a bill passes the originating body, it "crosses over" to the other body, where the process is repeated. If a bill passes both bodies, it can become law with or without the governor's signature, or the governor may choose to veto it, in which case both bodies can choose to vote to override the veto.
Each bill is scheduled for a public hearing that anyone can attend. The public hearing is when the committee hears from everyone who wants to be heard on the bill. To follow a particular bill, click here and enter the bill number; explore the links on the left column to get more information, including the full text of the bill. If you'd like to see what's coming up each week, click here to access House Calendars and Journals, and click here to access the same for the Senate.
To attend a hearing, open the door and walk right in. If you wish to testify in a House committee, fill out a pink speaker's card and pass it to the committee chair or secretary. If you wish to testify in Senate committee hearings, instead of the pink card, look for the blue sign-in sheet; fill it in and check the box indicating you wish to speak. Then, be prepared to wait to be called. Generally, legislators and state authorities are given the privilege of speaking first. Be aware that bills can be heard back-to-back and some hearings may go over the allotted time into the next hearing slot.
The best testimony is concise and focused on the bill in question. It may help you to prepare a written statement beforehand. Committee members appreciate it when they are provided with written copies of each speaker’s testimony, as they may wish to refer back to it when they are making recommendations for the bill’s outcome. If you testify, be prepared to receive questions from the Committee members. If you do not know the answer, it’s better to say so, and to offer to get the answer for them as a follow-up (and then be sure to do that!).
You may also attend a hearing simply to observe, or to express your position on a bill without testifying. In both the House and Senate committees, there is a blue sign-in sheet in the hearing room for you to indicate whether you support or oppose the bill. In the House, these are kept on clipboards in pockets on the wall by the door, or they may be being passed around when you arrive. Usually, several bills are heard in the same session, so check the bill number at the top to be sure you're signing in on the right sheet.
If you can't attend the hearing, you can contact the members of the relevant committee before the hearing. Of particular priority are
those members who represent you. For House committees, click here and then click on the committee name. To the right is a link for emailing all members of the committee; you can also click on each member's name to find contact information. For Senate committees, click here. You can submit testimony in writing to any Committee member, or to the Committee as a whole, by sending testimony to the Committee’s office at the Legislative Office Building (House Committees) or the State House (for most Senate Committees). Legislators can also be reached individually by either telephone or e-mail. Do not hesitate to call them at home--our citizen legislature expects this.
Each Committee will review all testimony received and then vote in Executive Session on its recommendation for each bill’s outcome.
Typically, the Committee recommendation will be: Ought To Pass; Ought To Pass with Amendment; or Inexpedient To Legislate (should be defeated). The Committee’s recommendation then becomes the basis for consideration by the full House or Senate.