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March 14: House gives schools Common Core out
School districts that don’t like the Common Core standards of education can opt out of them with legislation passed in the New Hampshire House this week.
Whether that option actually becomes law is still a ways off. It will require ratification from the state Senate and the signature of Gov. Maggie Hassan. Given the dynamics of a Republican-controlled Legislature and a Democratic governor, that remains to be seen.
Meanwhile, the Senate killed a bill that would have created a minimum wage law in the Granite State and its gave initial approval for the legalization of two casinos.
The Common Core, minimum wage and casino legislation were among the hot-topic issues tackled in Concord this week. Other matters included money for domestic violence prevention, funding for charter schools, fetal homicide, right to work, and marijuana decriminalization.
The opt-out option for Common Core is contained in HB 276. It passed 204-136. According to a story in the Concord Monitor, the House also passed bills saying local schools do not have to adopt the standards and allowing parents to opt their children out of the tests. The state does not currently require districts to adopt the standards, and districts such as Manchester have chosen not to. Districts that choose not to use Common Core must come up with their own standards that are tougher than the Common Core.
The effort in SB 261 to create a minimum wage law in New Hampshire went down to defeat 14-10 in the Senate on Thursday.
New Hampshire, without a minimum wage law of its own, defers to federal law, which establishes the rate at $7.25 per hour. The effort to create a minimum wage law in New Hampshire established a minimum wage of $8.25, increasing it to $9 and $10 an hour in subsequent years.
Gov. Hassan reacted to the vote saying: “It is disappointing that Senate Republicans voted down a common-sense measure to restore and increase New Hampshire’s minimum wage, which would have a ripple effect on wages higher up the pay scale while supporting businesses and encouraging job creation by putting more money in the pockets of consumers so that they can buy goods and services.”
The two-casino proposal is contained in SB 113 and it passed 13-11 in the Senate. It heads to the House, which has a history of killing Senate-passed casino bills. See a Concord Monitor story here.
Also in Concord
The House approved a measure to increase the cost of a marriage license by $5. The added revenue will go towards domestic violence prevention programs across the state. See an NHPR story here.
The House approved HB 560 that would make it a homicide to kill a fetus as the result of an accident or in committing a crime against the mother. See a Union Leader story here.
The House approved right-to-work legislation in HB 658. The measure prohibits unions from collecting dues from non-union members who might benefit from collective bargaining agreements. See a Union Leader story here.
With its approval of HB 618, the House gave its okay to decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. See an NHPR story here. Gov. Hassan has said she’ll veto the measure should it get to her desk.
Charter school advocates were at the State House on Wednesday to show their support for HB 563, which raises the amount of state money for charter schools. Lawmakers in the House passed the measure. See a Nashua Telegraph story here.
First-time visits
Jeb Bush and Scott Walker, aspirants in the 2016 presidential campaign, made their initial visits to the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire on Friday. Bush, the former Republican Florida governor, certainly got the balance of media attention during his visit. Walker is the Republican governor of Wisconsin. Also visiting was former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
Bush, Walker and Perry are likely candidates for the Republican nomination. The Union Leader had coverage of their visits. See the Bush story here. See the Walker story here. And see the Perry story here.
And we’ll see you next week.
Live Free or Die Alliance
www.livefreeordiealliance.org
Source: http://townhall.livefreeordiealliance.org/xn/detail/4091641:BlogPost:70543
