New Hampshire politicians made their way to Peterborough Tuesday night to discuss pending bills with local voters.
The Peterborough Plus Unit of the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire (LWVNH) and interested community members gathered at Peterborough Town Library to meet with local politicians and voice their questions on bills currently on the state Legislature during a “Civics 101” event.
Officials in attendance included state Sen. Donovan Fenton (Democrat) from District 10, state Sen. Ruth Ward (Republican) from District 8, state Reps. Riché Colcombe (R), Jim Creighton (R) and Jim Fedolfi (R) from District 30, Molly Howard (D) from District 31, Peter Leishman (D) from District 33 and Executive Council member Cinde Warmington (D) from District 2.
For one hour, politicians and the public discussed their opinions on topics that included public education, parental rights and gun control. Peterborough Plus Unit of LWVNH member Hope Driscoll said the purpose of the event was to encourage civil engagement between community members and their representatives.
“It’s always good for people to meet their legislators,” said Driscoll. “New Hampshire has such a large legislature, it can be hard to know your representatives.”
According to Fenton and Colcombe, approximately 800 House bills and nearly 300 Senate bills in New Hampshire are still pending, with several related to public education and gun control.
During the meeting, Fenton said he does not support funds from the state’s Education Freedom Accounts going toward private schools.
“We are [giving] a lot of money to these EFA accounts; it’s not right,” said Fenton. “Our tax dollars should be going toward public schools.”
Fenton also said he is in favor of increasing the federal legal age to purchase an assault rifle to 21 years or older.
“I think the majority of us want common-sense gun reform,” said Fenton. “I think we have a huge issue with gun violence in America.”
Colcombe said she is in favor of protecting the Second Amendment while addressing the mental health crisis in America.
“We should be able to bear those arms,” said Colcombe. “[Gun violence] has a lot more to do with mental health issues and not guns. The gun is not what is driving people to kill others.”
In addition to public education and gun control, politicians also discussed issues surrounding voting by mail ballot and making Election Day a paid federal holiday. Leishman said he is in favor of the federal holiday bill because it could increase voter turnout nationwide.
“I think everybody should have the opportunity to vote and not rush from work,” said Leishman.
Creighton said the federal government should eliminate mailing ballots because they are inefficient and outdated.
“In terms of mailing ballots, I’m not for that. Absolutely for absentee,” said Creighton.
To conclude the meeting, Warmington said she plans to keep making positive strides toward a better New Hampshire.
“I hope we can continue this bipartisan work,” said Warmington.
In other news, according to Leishman, members of the New Hampshire House Finance – Division 1 Committee met on Tuesday and voted in favor of allocating $50 million in unfunded liability retirement for New Hampshire residents.
On Feb. 15, committee members will be meeting with Gov. Chris Sununu to discuss the annual state budget. According to Leishman, the state’s budget in 2023 is projected to be just over $13 billion.