New Hampshire Senate advances student-transport rule, tables cannabis bills and approves veterans tax credit

The New Hampshire Senate voted 21–3 to advance House Bill 231, a proposal that would prohibit school personnel from transporting students to medical or mental-health appointments without parental knowledge or consent except in emergencies or when following a published school-district policy. The chamber also laid two cannabis bills on the table after separate roll-call votes — House Bill 53, which would have allowed qualifying patients and caregivers to cultivate limited amounts of cannabis for therapeutic use, and House Bill 75, a proposal to legalize adult recreational cannabis. Lawmakers approved other measures including an option for towns to grant a $5,000 property tax credit to permanently and totally disabled veterans, and changes to hunting and fishing penalties and licensing requirements.

Senator Joe Abbas, reading the education committee report, moved the motion that House Bill 231 “ought to pass,” saying the bill “aims to create clear boundaries and protections for both students and school staff by ensuring parental involvement in nonemergency medical transportation decisions.” Senator Altschuler spoke in opposition to the committee recommendation, arguing the bill is unnecessary in many districts and could conflict with existing child-abuse and mandatory-reporting processes handled by the Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). "There is absolutely no opposition to having parental consent — the importance of parental involvement — what we oppose is how this bill goes about it," Altschuler said.

Several senators raised specific concerns during debate about insurance coverage and emergency exceptions. Altschuler warned the bill's narrowly drawn emergency carve-out (ambulance transport) could force school staff into difficult choices when ambulances are delayed, given the state's ongoing ambulance shortage, and could place staff and students at risk. Senator Innes and…