{"id":158,"date":"2008-08-11T11:32:57","date_gmt":"2008-08-11T15:32:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/?p=158"},"modified":"2017-12-18T16:23:57","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T21:23:57","slug":"no-summer-break-for-many-lawmakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/2008\/08\/11\/no-summer-break-for-many-lawmakers\/","title":{"rendered":"No summer break for many lawmakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

August 11, 2008
\nEagle Tribune<\/a><\/p>\n

CONCORD \u2014 The legislative session ended a month and a half ago, but some lawmakers are still putting in hours at the State House.<\/p>\n

While in theory, lawmakers, who receive an annual salary of $100, are supposed to get the month of July off, in reality, they’re still busy discussing everything from sewage to truancy to charitable spending in hospitals.<\/p>\n

Local representatives and senators might be wearing jeans to these summer sessions, but they’re still working hard. There are dozens of committees and commissions meeting in the upcoming weeks that will discuss ways to enforce new laws and discuss proposals for the next session.<\/p>\n

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, said she was initially surprised by the number of hours some lawmakers were spending in Concord when the session is out.<\/p>\n

This summer, she is spending up to three days a week in Concord and serves on seven different commissions.<\/p>\n

One commission is studying alternative sentencing for criminals with the help of county officials and mental health experts. Another is still focused on how to appropriately fund statewide education.<\/p>\n

The depth of the topics has made it hard for Hassan to escape Concord for an entire week.<\/p>\n

“I feel like this summer topics feel a little bit heavier for me than it has in the past,” she said. “The reality is, at least one of my study committees is going to meet while I had a previously scheduled vacation. In that sense, we do our best to cover each other’s absences.”<\/p>\n

Likewise, Sen. Mike Downing, R-Salem, who serves on two committees and several commissions, said there’s seldom a break \u2014 even in the summer. Since he became a senator in 2006, his wife has had to take over many of the duties in their family-owned business.<\/p>\n

“Last year, with the retirement issue in the fall, I was up there three to four days a week (in the summer),” he said. “The issue was very important financially and to thousands of people.”<\/p>\n

A House spokeswoman said she did not know how many groups were meeting this summer. But legislators estimate about one-third of the state’s lawmakers are immersed in summer business. In total, there are 400 members in the House and 24 members in the Senate.<\/p>\n

But summer meetings aren’t for all lawmakers.<\/p>\n

Rep. Jason Bedrick, R-Windham, who is finishing up his first term, didn’t get an invitation to sit on any committee.<\/p>\n

“There are certain people who seem to be a magnet for committee assignments,” he said. “Especially those who have been there for a long time. They get asked more than freshman legislators like myself.”<\/p>\n

Rep. Kim Casey, D-East Kingston, said each year she’s served in the Legislature, her summer schedule has gotten busier. In some ways, she sees the summer as a more demanding time than the regular session because discussions are more thorough.<\/p>\n

“Without having more people sitting in during the session, we often don’t have time to do the justice (a topic) needs to be done,” she said. “Many things are pushed to the summer, because it’s better to take the time and do it well.”<\/p>\n

But in other ways, Casey said, summer at the State House is a little more relaxing.<\/p>\n

“The dress is business casual,” she said. “Jeans, but if jeans, then a polo shirt or a nice jacket. … The mood is a little more relaxed.”<\/p>\n

Regardless of the mood, representatives and senators will be working past the month of August.<\/p>\n

In addition to State House duties, there are always town functions and political rallies to attend.<\/p>\n

“The calls and e-mails don’t let up; there’s constituent work to do,” Downing said. “Then there are things in the district that you should attend and want to attend because you’ve been elected senator.”<\/p>\n

And then there’s that looming primary Sept. 9.<\/p>\n

“Especially given that it’s election season, I don’t really have any time off now,” Casey said. “I am very aware that it’s going to be a stressful fall and we’re preparing for it this summer.”<\/p>\n

This week’s legislative schedule<\/p>\n

August 11<\/p>\n

– Commission to study issues related to groundwater withdrawals
\n– Joint legislative committee on elderly affairs
\n– Automated External Defibrillator Advisory Commission<\/p>\n

August 12<\/p>\n

– Commission to study methods and costs of sewage, sludge and septage disposal
\n– Commission to study childhood lead poisoning prevention laws, policies, and state standards
\n– Commission to study the state highway trust fund
\n– Committee to study parking for wheelchair-lift vans
\n– Committee to study the financial liability for placement of a child with a disability<\/strong>
\n– Commission to study issues relative to the practice of leasing state-owned real estate on the shores of public waters
\n– Committee to study truancy laws<\/strong>
\n– Charter schools and open enrollment oversight committee<\/p>\n

August 14<\/p>\n

– Committee to study ways to increase access to oral health care<\/p>\n

August 15<\/p>\n

– Governor’s commission on alcohol and drug abuse prevention, intervention and treatment
\n– Commission to study the feasibility of public funding of state election campaigns
\n– New Hampshire commission on deafness and hearing loss<\/p>\n

Source: New Hampshire General Court Calendar<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August 11, 2008 Eagle Tribune CONCORD \u2014 The legislative session ended a month and a half ago, but some lawmakers are still putting in hours at the State House. While in theory, lawmakers, who receive an annual salary of $100, are supposed to get the month of July off, in reality, they’re still busy discussing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[71,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-158","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-governor-watch","category-legislation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6696,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158\/revisions\/6696"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cnht.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}