Freshmen Orientation

Remember what it was like when you were a Freshman?  For us new Representatives, it's high school all over again.

We spent the last three days in Concord getting tours of the Statehouse and Legislative Office Building, meeting the staff, attending training sessions and learning the legislative ropes.  One of the highlights for us was meeting the fourth graders from the Bicentennial Elementary School in Ward 8, and presenting the class a NH flag that had flown over the capital.

The upcoming sessions will likely review over 1,000 bills, and I began checking filings by other Reps on legislation I intend to submit.  I was advised it's usually better to co-sponsor a bill already in progress than creating a similar one of your own.  December 3 is the deadline for filing bills for the upcoming session, ending June 30.

Our caucus elected Bill O'Brien as our Speaker nominee, to be confirmed by the entire House on December 1.  The election was contested, but the losing candidate showed a great deal of grace and class in requesting that the vote for Bill be made unanimous.

We should be receiving our committee assignments from the Speaker during the next 30 days.  That's when the workload really picks up.  Remember those 1,000+ bills?  They all get assigned to committees for resolution, typically OPT (Ought to pass) or ITL (Inexpedient to legislate).

If the OPT bills are voted unanimous by committee, they go on the Consent Calender.  Consent Calender bills are voted (and voted yes) as a group by the full House on Wednesday's as they are considered bi-partisan and non-controversial.  However, any member of the House can pull any bill off the Consent Calender and take it up individually for debate and a vote.

The good news in NH is that every bill comes to a vote.  Legislation can never be bottled up.

My civics lesson for today.