New Hampshire Senate advances wide slate of bills; parents’ rights and Medicaid work rules draw heated debate

The New Hampshire Senate on a full legislative day on March 1 advanced a large package of bills, ordering many to third reading or to committee and moving several appropriations and policy measures forward. Among the most contested items were a parental-rights-in-education bill and legislation restarting a waiver to require community engagement and work activity for some Medicaid enrollees.

Lawmakers voted to advance Senate Bill 72 — a consolidated parental bill of rights for education — after committee debate and floor amendments. The motion that SB 72 “ought to pass” as amended carried on a roll call, 16–8, and the bill was ordered to the Committee on Finance. Senator Kevin Sullivan introduced the committee recommendation and sought a roll call; Senator Long and others pressed concerns about evidentiary standards, trusted adults, and the bill’s scope during floor debate.

The Senate also approved Senate Bill 34, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to resubmit a community-engagement/work-requirements waiver to the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. That bill’s committee recommendation passed on a roll call, 16–8, after floor debate that centered on implementation costs, exemptions for students and caregivers, and the risk of increased uncompensated care and administrative expense described by opponents.

Other notable floor actions included advancing Cheryl’s Law (Senate Bill 273), which relates to motorist duties approaching highway emergencies; a measure allowing licensed engineers and architects to perform building-code inspections as alternative inspectors (Senate Bill 188, ought to pass as amended); and legislation to create an optional mobile driver’s license and non‑driver ID system (Senate Bill 70), which the Senate approved before subsequently laying the bill on…