New Hampshire House fails to override multiple gubernatorial vetoes; most attempts fall short of two-thirds
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Summary
The New Hampshire House considered a series of roll-call votes on governor's vetoes across education, budgeting, and public-health measures on Dec. 3, 2025; most override attempts failed to reach the two‑thirds threshold required by the state constitution.
The New Hampshire House met in session on Dec. 3, 2025, to consider a series of governor's veto messages and held roll-call votes on multiple bills. Under the state constitution, overriding a governor's veto requires a two-thirds affirmative vote.
Clerk announcements and procedural instructions prefaced a sequence of roll-call votes. The House addressed vetoes including HB 115 (temporary appropriations), HB 140, HB 148, HB 319 (school transportation for kindergarten), HB 324 (obscene/harmful materials in schools), HB 356 (partisan school district elections), HB 358 (immunization exemptions for religious belief), HB 446 (parental notice for nonacademic surveys), HB 475 (default budget reductions for town meetings), HB 613 (accessible voting machines), HB 667 (prenatal development visual materials), and HB 781 (cell phone–free education policies).
Where tallies were recorded in the transcript, the clerk announced results and the House repeatedly fell short of the two-thirds margin required to override. For example, the clerk recorded the HB 319 override roll call as 182 in the affirmative and 173 in the negative; the clerk stated that failed to meet the two-thirds threshold. In other cases the transcript records the clerk's announcement that the motion failed or that the governor's veto was sustained; some tallies in the transcript were garbled or not given as individual roll-call names.
Several votes included recorded recusals. The transcript notes that Representatives Kuttab and Litchfield recused themselves from one vote; Representative Harvey Beaulieu is recorded as recused from another. Where the clerk announced outcomes, the House sustained the governor's veto or failed to override by the constitutionally required margin.
The session proceeded with the House addressing numerous veto messages in succession rather than extended debate on most items; several members made brief parliamentary inquiries or pro‑override statements explaining local origins of bills (for example, Representative Hammond described HB 319 as arising from a local school board's effort to avoid costly midday bus routes for half‑day kindergarten).
Next steps: The clerk indicated continued scheduling and bill assignment activity for January. Where the House sustained vetoes, bills will remain vetoed unless reintroduced or otherwise later acted on under applicable rules.
