Executive Departments and Administration committee advances HEFA consolidation, holds several other retained bills for more work

The Executive Departments and Administration Committee met in executive session to consider retained bills and took mixed action: it passed an amended consolidation measure for state bonding authorities, voted to study or to send some measures ITL (inexpedient to legislate), and held several bills for further drafting and stakeholder review.

Committee members said the measures reflect largely technical fixes, stakeholder negotiations and ongoing drafting work; several items were continued so sponsors could return with revised language before the committee’s final reporting deadline. The group said it expects to reconvene on remaining items in November or early December.

The committee moved SB 56, which merges the New Hampshire Health and Education Facilities Authority (HEFA) into the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority (BFA), out of committee as amended. James Key Wallace, executive director of the New Hampshire Business Finance Authority, told the committee the amendment addresses “numerous technical changes” needed to ensure continuity of bond documents and modernize statutory definitions. “There’s no fiscal impact. Neither of these agencies receive any state funding,” Wallace said. The committee voted first on amendment 20252985s and then on the bill as amended; members agreed to move it out of committee.

On HB 233 — a proposal that would have required audio and video recordings of meetings of the International Vaccine Association to be posted on its…