A mid-session update on legislation making its way through the State House

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

As we close in on the halfway point of the 2026 New Hampshire legislative session, many key bills have been discussed in the House and Senate — legislation focusing on a range of subjects from education funding to voting in elections. What bills should Granite Staters be aware of? Here to discuss that is Anna Brown, executive director of Citizens Count, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating voters about the political process, as well as executive director of the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership and Public Service at the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce School of Law.

Melanie Plenda:

What bills have you been tracking that Granite Staters should be aware of?

Anna Brown:

School funding is probably the biggest issue that I've been tracking in general this legislative session. First of all, there are identical bills in the House and Senate that would define an adequate education in a way that really pushes back on recent state Supreme Court rulings that would require the state to be providing more funding. There are also a few bills that are looking to set up open enrollment, where students would have the opportunity to enroll in different public schools around the state.

Another big trend in bills is looking to allow some separation based on biological sex, or even require it in some settings, such as schools, sports, hospitals and so on. That has been an ongoing issue between Governor Ayotte and Republicans in the Legislature. 

There are also some bills related to child care that I'm watching, which is really a perennial issue in New Hampshire that a lot of people agree is a big problem. There's a big shortage, but the state hasn't been able to make a lot of big changes to move the needle.

Melanie Plenda:

What bills do you believe are likely to pass the Senate? What about the House?

Anna Brown:

Almost all of the bills I just mentioned. When we're talking about pushing back on the state Supreme Court school-funding rulings, open enrollment, those child care bills, the bills looking to add separation based on gender identity versus biological sex. They have support in the House and in the Senate. So I really do see those issues as likely to move forward.

That being said, there are a lot of questions about the open enrollment bills and the school-funding bills, so that could slow down their progress. Recently, Governor Ayotte vetoed Senate Bill 268, which would add an exception to the state anti-discrimination laws for bathrooms, locker rooms, sports and so on based on biological sex. That's the second time she's vetoed a bill like that in a year, and so that also could really slow that down.

Melanie Plenda:

Some bills, like House Bill 1792, named the CHARLIE Act, have yet to gain sponsors within the Senate. What does this bill aim to do, and do you expect that it will be backed by Senate sponsors soon?

Anna Brown:

HB 1792 is interesting. The CHARLIE Act is named for [the late right-wing political activist] Charlie Kirk, but they came up with an acronym: Countering Hate And Revolutionary Leftist Indoctrination in Education Act. It prohibits teaching various concepts and theories. For example, it prohibits teachers from requiring students to acknowledge LGBTQ-plus sexuality as “ethical or normative.” Another example: the bill only allows instruction on critical race theory if it is presented as “Marxian theory contrary to American tradition, law and ethics.” This would apply to public schools, but not colleges or private schools or home school, and individuals could sue under the law. 

It's pretty sweeping when you think back to a couple years ago, when the state passed a law attempting to ban the teaching of critical race theory that was much more narrowly tailored and has been tied up in court cases. That being said, even though it's a potentially controversial bill, it had vocal support from House Majority Leader Jason Osborne. The fact that it was such a priority for him and for the Republican leadership in the House — and it still didn't get Senate sponsors — I think means it might not succeed in the Senate. Once again, I go back to the fact that it's a pretty far-reaching bill, and sometimes the Senate takes a more cautious approach to legislating than the House.

Melanie Plenda:

In New Hampshire, Republicans control the House, Senate, Executive Council and governor’s office. Has this caused any major disagreements during legislative sessions?

Anna Brown:

Being part of the same political party does not mean agreeing all the time. We've already talked about the bills vetoed by Governor Ayotte related to gender identity and biological sex. She's been very clear that she has no hesitation to veto some other bills she's talked about. 

So far, the House wants to repeal the Housing Champion grant program. She says she wants to keep it in place. Other bills she said she would veto includes a Senate-passed bill to increase tolls for non-E-ZPass users as a way to fund road maintenance. She said the bill is dead on arrival if it gets to her desk.

The House and Senate also are not always on the same page, so we discussed how with the CHARLIE Act I'm not sure if it's going to have the same reception in the Senate that it did in the House. Also, the House keeps passing marijuana legalization bills, and the Senate keeps on not passing marijuana legalization bills. 

Melanie Plenda:

One issue that is appearing in both the House and the Senate is school funding. Bills HB 1815 and SB 659 both look at redefining what should be included and funded by the state for students to receive a quote-unquote adequate education. Why is this an important issue in New Hampshire?

Anna Brown:

School funding has been a huge issue in New Hampshire for a few decades. Right now, schools are funded through both local and state property taxes, and there's a huge debate around if that's really a fair or constitutional split. 

Last summer, the state Supreme Court ruled that the state is not providing enough funding. It's a bit of a simplification, but they really said, “This is on the Legislature to fix. We're not going to tell them how to do it, but they have to do something.”

Now, the two bills you mentioned, they're identical — one in the House, one in the Senate. They’re sponsored by influential Republicans, and notably, both bills state, “How the state and its local governmental entities choose to raise, allocate and spend financial resources to implement this integrated public education system is a political policy matter reserved to legislative and executive judgment and control.” What that means is they're basically writing a state law that says the courts cannot decide that this is an issue for the Legislature. 

Now, can you write a state law that's going to override how the court understands the Constitution? The state recently filed an appeal in these lawsuits, arguing the court should overturn their original rulings that found the state had that obligation to be funding schools a certain way. So it's a bit of a showdown, I would argue, between the Legislature and the courts. And, even if this bill passes, I would say that it's really going to depend on how the school-funding cases play out to see what the actual impact would be on school budgets and also our property taxes.

Melanie Plenda:

HB 1196 aims to repeal the state Housing Champion designation and grant program, which helps alleviate New Hampshire’s housing shortage. Governor Ayotte has already said she wants to keep this program. Why would lawmakers want to repeal this bill in the middle of a housing shortage?

Anna Brown:

This bill was basically a way to reward towns that were adopting housing-friendly policies, and so people who originally supported the grant program are now saying, “OK, we’ve made enough changes at the state level to zoning that really this is not going to move the needle as much. The cost of administering the program is not going to give us all that much more benefit in terms of housing down the line.”

That being said, Governor Ayotte wants to put more money into the program in the next budget. I think that in the past, there was more grant money available. Now it's down to, if I recall correctly, about $3 million — which in the way of statewide housing development, is not a lot of money. So if she does have the money to put in the next budget, I think that could make a difference for some legislators. But right now, it's kind of uncertain how our budget's going to turn out at this point, and so I think legislators are very much in the mindset of cut costs, cut costs, cut costs.

Melanie Plenda:

Did anything else surprise you about this session?

Anna Brown:

I was surprised by one bill in particular. The House recently voted down a bill to repeal vaccine requirements for schools and daycares. This surprised me because the bill did have support coming out of committee. So it looked like the Republican majority was going to get on board, and they have a pretty, fairly large majority compared to the Democrats this year.

So I was surprised when the full Republican-controlled House came back and said, “Nope, we want to keep the vaccine requirements.” We've seen a lot more growth in anti-vaccine sentiment in New Hampshire ever since COVID-19. Now, RFK Jr has obviously been doing a lot of advocacy on the national level, sort of questioning whether vaccines are good. But the House, I would say, gave a resounding answer that in New Hampshire we're sticking with vaccine requirements.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you for joining us, Anna. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

What would proposed changes in the Legislature mean for public school open enrollment?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

A bill in the N.H. Legislature that would change open enrollment restrictions for New Hampshire public school students is being fast-tracked by lawmakers and is expected to pass within the next few weeks. Here to discuss House Bill 751 is Annmarie Timmins, a senior reporter at NHPR who specializes in education. 

Melanie Plenda:

To start, can you describe to us what is in this “open enrollment” bill and what changes it intends to make? 

Annmarie Timmins:

The crux of this bill is that a student in New Hampshire could go to any public school in the state, and their sending district, or their home district, would have to send money with them and pay for their education wherever they chose. At its most basic that’s what open enrollment is.

Melanie Plenda:

Senate Republicans are fast-tracking this bill straight to the House, without hearings in either chamber. Why are they moving the bill at this speed and is it necessary?

Annmarie Timmins:

Republicans are eager to get this through for a couple of reasons. There was a Supreme Court ruling out of New Hampshire recently that changed the way open enrollment transfers would be paid, and so that has caused, in their mind, some confusion.

The second reason is that we're right now in the middle of the annual school budget and town meeting season, and at those meetings, districts have to adopt their budget for the next school year. So they wanted to get ahead of that, because budgets are built on enrollment, in large part. They're also aware that school districts are very quickly trying to set some boundaries around this open enrollment, to manage their budgets and their enrollment. So they really wanted to get ahead of school district meetings.

Melanie Plenda:

You recently wrote an article for NHPR on this bill and its impact if passed. According to your reporting, how are different school districts feeling about these potential changes?

Annmarie Timmins:

They're largely trying to, I would say, shut them down, or very much limit them. I've heard Republicans who support this, and we have seen people speak up for this at these district meetings, that this is about school choice. If your school's not working for you or your child, in their minds, you should have the right to go elsewhere. That sentiment is coming up when I've been to deliberative sessions, but primarily school district leaders and voters are trying really hard to limit this. 

I looked at about 40 different communities, and each of those said no students may leave the district – and that's to protect their budgets. They don't want to send money away. Their frustration is maybe not open enrollment as a concept, but the way it's funded. On the other side, we're seeing limits put on who could come into a district, so some districts don't want to take any new students. Some have very specific limits, like two students could come in for kindergarten or for 3rd grade. And there are some districts who are struggling with declining enrollment, and they have seen open enrollment as a chance to fill some seats at a time when they really need students.

Melanie Plenda:

How would this bill impact lower-income school districts that can’t afford to lose large amounts of students to other districts?

Annmarie Timmins:

This is funded based on how school districts fund their schools. We know that every school district spends a different amount of money. Say a Manchester student wanted to leave and go to Bedford. Bedford spends more money than Manchester on a student. So when that student from Manchester comes, that might be a $17,000 so-called loss for Manchester. That student comes to Bedford, and while the bill tries to address this, a student is going to bring $17,000 with them, where Bedford spends $23,000 on its students. Are we giving them a tuition break to come over to Manchester? Will districts lose money if a student transfers? The supporters of this bill would say, well, you're also losing a student. But one student fewer, of course, doesn't change the light bill or the transportation budget — so that's the disagreement over why students should go somewhere else and why they shouldn't.

Melanie Plenda:

What about the higher-income districts? Will this have an impact there?

Annmarie Timmins:

They are anticipating seeing students wanting to come to them. If you spend more on education, maybe you have more programs to offer. Maybe you have smaller class sizes compared to a district with less money. So they're anticipating students coming into their district, and there's the spending discrepancy that I just described.

But also how do they control? If they can't set any limits on who can come in — which would be kind of disallowed, but there are limits on what limits they could set. So what if they have an influx of 10 to 15 students midway through the year? Their question is, “How do we budget for that?” So they're worried about that.

Melanie Plenda:

Sen. Tim Lang, a Republican from Sanbornton, who authored this bill, noted that the bill leaves it up to the school district to set the capacity for how many out-of-district students they can accept. Do you think, with the amount of pushback so far on this bill, that many districts will be doing this?

Annmarie Timmins:

I think we will see school districts definitely set the limits on what we've seen so far proposed. What Tim Lang's bill would do is let districts say what their capacity for students is. But the bill does not identify or explain how capacity would be determined. Is it just what you hope your student-to-teacher ratio would be? How do you factor in students who have far more needs in a year, or maybe a drop from 25 students to 23 is not really a drop in terms of resources that that classroom needs.

Critics of the bill will say this is one weakness of it that’s not clearly defined. While it sounds like they'll be able to set some limits, they're not quite sure what that would look like.

Melanie Plenda:

If this bill passes and goes into effect, could that impact town meetings, either this year or next year?

 Annmarie Timmins:

It could. Right now we're in the SB 2 season, which means you have your deliberative session and then you vote in March at the polls — as opposed to what we think of as a traditional school district meeting. So what we're seeing early on are these districts adopting these caps. So if those pass, they'll be in effect. 

But there's disagreement over what happens next. If this legislation passes, but doesn't take effect right away, then the school year would proceed, presumably, with these caps in place. If these caps are sort of set aside or overruled by this legislation because it passes and is signed by the governor quickly and takes effect immediately, there are just different views on what happens next. Some school district lawyers have said that just sets aside these caps; they're moot now. Others have said no, that would lead to litigation, and they would ask a court to keep them in place in the meantime. So it's one of the many unknowns of this legislation.

I should say that the governor has expressed some concerns about the timing of this bill, and so it's possible we might see a rewrite that does extend the effective date out to the next school year. But even if that happened, we're setting a budget right now for next school year. So it's unclear how much that would help.

Melanie Plenda:

Based on your reporting, what would be the long-term, lasting impacts of this bill for schools in New Hampshire?

Annmarie Timmins:

I think the long-term impacts of this are really unknown at the moment. If we only see a few students take advantage of this, what would the impact be? It might be quite minimal. If we see pockets of students sort of leaving a district and going to another district, a single district, that will have a big impact for that district.

I think we should look for what happens in communities where there are many school choices. If you live in central New Hampshire or the southern part of the state, you have nearby schools you could go to. So I think, geographically, it's worth paying attention to what happens if litigation ensues. School districts are locally funded, primarily. Critics say this is really the state taking over local control. So I think there's a lot of unknowns — and that's what's worrying school districts. 

The other question here, in terms of impact, is school districts are urging the governor to sign an alternative open enrollment bill, which would study open enrollment for a year. Now, we're different from other states that have open enrollment because some states say school districts don't have to transfer money. The student can leave, but money doesn't go. I think that would resolve a lot of school districts' concerns. We're funded very differently from other states, so the impact here might not look like the impact that has been studied elsewhere. So school districts are urging the governor to sign this study bill instead of putting open enrollment in place now. That’s another unknown — if both bills reach her desk, which bill will she sign?

Melanie Plenda:

What other education bills are you currently following? 

Annmarie Timmins:

There are lots of questions too about what school funding is going to look like.

Some lawmakers want to put more money into public education. Some want to reduce the scope of what an adequate education is, and thereby you'd be paying for less. Where does the Legislature end up in terms of the court saying, “You're not spending enough, but we're not going to give you a deadline for spending more or tell you what you should be spending.”

Also, I'm really interested in what happens with the University System of New Hampshire. Our public universities and colleges saw about a $30 million cut over two years, and students are telling us what that looks like for them — not only tuition increases but they're losing advisors, and they're seeing professors take early buyouts, so a class they need next semester to stay on track might not be offered until the following semester, and that could have long-term impacts. We have seen a bipartisan bill that would reinstate some of that money, at least for the next school year, and I'm watching that as well.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you for joining us today, Annmarie.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Collaborative effort seeks to standardize AI use in New Hampshire schools

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Artificial Intelligence is continually changing and shaping the way we live our lives. As AI continues to become more common, it’s important that students understand how to use it to enhance learning. But what are safe ways to use AI in school settings? The N.H. Learning Initiative helped to create a guide that outlines a way to standardize AI usage in schools across the state. Here to discuss that is Ellen Hume-Howard, executive director of the N.H. Learning Initiative.

Melanie Plenda:

The N.H. Learning Initiative worked to create the N.H. AI Education Collaborative. This collaborative, made up of school districts and administrators, wrote the AI guidance for schools framework. Can you tell us more about the framework, and what went into making these guidelines?

Ellen Hume-Howard:

We're very lucky in New Hampshire — we have a very collaborative environment with the professional associations, the principals, the superintendents, the school board, and all the technical organizations in the state. We all were sharing that we thought collaboratively we would be able to maybe get on paper — a little bit of a practical guide for districts. All of our national organizations were sharing with us really great information, so we decided to work together and put our heads together and to create a roadmap for New Hampshire educators and school systems so they'd have a little bit of a starting point. 

Melanie Plenda:

Why did the New Hampshire AI Education Collaborative feel it was important to create this document?

Ellen Hume-Howard:

Lots of times in education, we tend to be a little bit behind the curve when new technology is introduced. There have been many times with different things — computers, internet, calculators — there’s sort of like this hesitation, this waiting to see what's going to happen.

In the case of AI, though, it was coming pretty quick, pretty fast and pretty rapidly, and like the internet and phone use in the last several decades, kids were really out ahead of it — more than the educators in the system. Our intuition was telling us, “Let's see what this is going to look like. Let's see what the safety aspects are.” Because as educators, that's one of the things you're always thinking about — how safe is it? We had to find a middle-of-the–road approach to this, where we were providing guidance but also being very cautious about what the tools were like.

Melanie Plenda:

In what ways can artificial intelligence help both students and teachers?

Ellen Hume-Howard:

I think that AI can be incredibly helpful in multiple ways. One of the things that's really key is that, when it comes to students, having adults guide the process and creating conditions within schools where you can control the AI tools that students have access to really can enhance what education looks like.

Ultimately, AI doesn't replace human beings, right? So that's still a major factor in education, but what AI can do is provide a little bit of a roadmap for students in regards to getting feedback for their learning in multiple ways. Teachers, on the other hand, can find tools within AI that help them with tasks where they need feedback, also designing some lesson plans, doing some things that are often time-consuming that can be quickly done.

Melanie Plenda:

How do these guidelines in the framework help to ensure that AI is being used responsibly within schools, and which parts of the guidelines have been helpful to schools so far?

Ellen Hume-Howard:

Right out of the gate, one of the ways that we were able to cull together the different national picture and the different tools that we were sharing was the idea of what policy needs to look like. Oftentimes, with things like this, when any kind of change happens, lots of times policy is slow to catch up with what the practice needs to be. We wanted to get out ahead of it really early to help districts put in place policies that could help them guide and be able to be flexible, because this is the type of technology that changes and has changed significantly since we even published our guide last spring. 

That was a big piece — where do we start with some of these policies? What do they need to look like? What's fair? How do they align with what the state of New Hampshire requires in an educational setting, things like student privacy, all of those pieces? We built starting points for policies and gave districts sort of a springboard that, “this is how other districts are doing it.” Ultimately, we created a network thinking about this, and I think that really helped. We had some districts that were way out ahead, and they were part of this group.

As we built the guide, we tapped into what they would recommend — here is a good place to start; this is the way that you can build your technology infrastructure so that kids have access to AI but you can protect them. There were multiple things happening as we built this, and it really was reflective of the expertise of this entire committee, and we tapped into people beyond just even the committee — any kind of resources we could find and experts that weighed in and gave us some feedback. 

Melanie Plenda:

Why do you think AI literacy is important to teach in schools from a young age? 

Ellen Hume-Howard:

One of the things you're responsible for as an educator is to prepare students for the world they're living in and for the world that's going to be coming — making sure that we have sensible learning progression experiences for students where they can learn to be literate, they can learn to understand, and how to use these things. We did that when we first introduced the internet.These are all things that come into play in being digitally literate and also just AI-literate, which I think is the new literacy component that all schools need to make adjustments to.

Melanie Plenda:

What would you say to parents who may be skeptical about AI being used in the classroom?

Ellen Hume-Howard:

I think they just need to ask questions, and they need to be part of the conversation and to share what they're worried about and to have communication at the school level to demonstrate how they use AI and what it really looks like. 

We don't have to keep anything a secret about how we're going to use it. One of the things that I was most impressed with early on with AI was the idea that the school system could control what AI students had access to in school. Students have had access to lots of different AI for years, but it's been in different forms. So the control in the school, I think, is probably more strict than maybe what they find when they leave the walls of the school out on their own and what they have access to with other apps. 

I think having the conversation with parents because there are things that they would really benefit from — about how the schools lock down things, advice on how parents can lock down information. I think the conversation needs to be pretty fluid and pretty open and transparent, and no one needs to be worried, because we can have control over some of these things. What we need to be is cautious. We need to be good consumers of these types of advancements. 

Melanie Plenda:

These guidelines were released in June of 2025. How has the implementation of these guidelines played out differently for schools across New Hampshire? 

Ellen Hume-Howard:

We accomplished the policy baseline pieces, which I think have been really effective. But over the last several months we've got lots of feedback from districts. We've had suggestions on how to talk to parents about AI, about different ways to vet apps that students would have access to. We built this guide on our own, but what's happened is that everyone's starting to contribute. So one of the things that we'll do as we get closer to the spring is just relook at every section and update it and edit it based on our learning and take a little dip into where the national conversation is going. 

Melanie Plenda:

How can Granite Staters learn more about how to use AI in an effective manner? Does the New Hampshire Learning Initiative have more resources for understanding AI?

Ellen Hume-Howard:

Looking at the guide has been helpful to some parents — the guide is available on our website. I think maybe just one of the things that we've encouraged teachers to do is to navigate what type of AI workshops are good for them based on their content area. Also, for community members, they're welcome to come and learn some things. There's lots of different AI training going on everywhere, from the University of New Hampshire to the community college system. So there's lots of opportunities where people, all members of the community, are welcome to learn.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you Ellen for joining us today. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Black History Month: Avoiding myths and telling the truth about American history

February is Black History Month, and we pay special attention to the subject. But recent events, in and outside of New Hampshire, are making that more and more difficult. On Jan. 23,, the Trump administration removed panels that discussed George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people at the President’s House Site in Philadelphia, Pa. (A federal judge on Feb. 16 ordered the Trump administration to temporarily restore displays  as a lawsuit filed by the city of Philadelphia continues.) So can we hide from history? Here to discuss that and more is JerriAnne Boggis, executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire. 

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Melanie Plenda:

The Black Heritage Trail works to share New Hampshire’s connection to Black history, one of them being the story of Ona Judge, a young woman who escaped slavery to live in New Hampshire. Her story is depicted on one of the panels in Philadelphia. Can you tell us more about her and her circumstances?

JerriAnne Boggis:

What her story tells us is, first of all, that George Washington enslaved people. That's the first story that we look at when we think of Ona Judge’s story, especially here in New Hampshire, where she ends up living. The other story that it tells us is that the Washingtons knew about a law in Philadelphia, that an enslaved person, after living there for about six months, could petition for their freedom. What the Washingtons did to sidestep that law, to be unlawful, was to cycle out their enslaved people every six months so that they wouldn't have a chance to petition for their freedom. So it was on one of these moments when the Washingtons were cycling out their enslaved people that she decided that she would leave. She left the household, and with the help of the black community, the Underground Railroad, she ended up in Portsmouth. 

We know her story because on several occasions, George Washington ran an ad saying that she was a runaway. At the time, the Fugitive Slave Act was in place, and an enslaver could then have them return to that institution of slavery. On several occasions, he tried to get back what he saw as his property, and he did it under the radar, because at the same time, he's talking about gradual emancipation and getting rid of the institution of slavery.

These stories complicate George Washington at a time when we want to say a myth of the “great valor of this man.” It just shows a much more complex human being who really believed in the institution of slavery and held enslaved people himself.

Melanie Plenda:

What were your thoughts about the removal of information concerning Judge and other enslaved people from the President’s House in Philadelphia? 

JerriAnne Boggis:

I think we do our country a disservice by telling the mythology of America instead of really looking at telling the story truthfully and responsibly. I think we lose so much. We localize these stories in creating a myth of our country. 

We have the Declaration of Independence, which we're celebrating the 250th anniversary this year – the thing that defines America, that we are a place of liberty and justice for all, that we all have the right to pursue our happiness. But when we look at these stories, especially when we look at the story of enslavement black history, it is removed from American history. Because it doesn't fit that narrative of equality and justice for all. It allows us to then remain looking at people in a stereotypical way that the other story tells us, instead of looking at a fully formed human being with desires, pursuing their happiness, work, and courage to be taking a stand for democracy.  Democracy is endangered when we don’t have informed people. We are bound to repeat our mistakes if we don’t understand history.

Melanie Plenda:

In June of 2025 you joined us to discuss the Juneteenth celebration, and how the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire was faring in the current political climate. How are things now? Has anything changed?

JerriAnne Boggis:

We are in a good place. First, people wanted to know how we got where we were, and that has continued to be. On a federal level, we struggled when grants were withdrawn. Now in the environment we're in, where a lot of our sponsors are paying attention to basic human needs that have been stripped – clothing, shelter, well-being, health, schools – we see a decline in some things. 

The biggest change that we've seen since then is really our ability to talk about this history in schools. That's where we see some pushback because the teachers themselves are at a risk of losing their own jobs. So we have to be careful. We have to find alternative ways of getting this information to our students, to our younger ones. That's where long-term change happens. 

Melanie Plenda:

How have you been able to address that? How have you been able to reach out to school-age kids if the schools aren’t necessarily an avenue for that anymore?

JerriAnne Boggis:

There are some teachers that will take the risk. There are some school districts where teachers are supported. So what we do is find the like-minded people so we get the information out.

We’ve also looked beyond the schools to look at community organizations, churches. We’ve created really strong partnerships with the Episcopal Church and the Unitarian Church so that we can gather youth groups, community organizations, to really get this out, And we are really relying on our tours so that they can actually be out of the classroom and see this information right in their backyard. 

Melanie Plenda:

Can you tell us about the Ona Judge mural and the importance of the “History Through Art” initiative and continuing to tell the history of Black Americans?

JerriAnne Boggis:

Art has the ability to disarm people. Looking at something beautiful – looking at something someone created, that touch, that feel, invisibly seeing it raises that curiosity. We're fortunate that Manny Ramirez from Positive Street Art is our local artist. He is from Nashua, a young man of color who is creating the piece for us.

There's no picture of what Ona Judge looked like, so like what we did with the Harriet Wilson statue, we had to create this for what story we're telling. We do know Ona Judge had freckles, and she had curly hair. But exactly what she looked like, we don't know.

So we did the research on what she could have worn. She was the body servant to Martha Washington, and that said she was well-dressed. So that gives us an opportunity to break stereotypes of what black women look like, creating a well-dressed 18th century woman. So we have this really nice, powerful image of this woman standing tall, just tasting freedom, by her choice, here in New Hampshire, and what possibilities that await her.

Melanie Plenda:

In honor of Black History Month, every Sunday in February, the Black Heritage Trail hosts the series, “The Elinor Williams Hooker Tea Talks,” showcasing New Hampshire Black history and featuring panelists presenting on the importance of cultural expression. Why is it so significant to illuminate specifically, the importance of African American oratory, especially right now?

JerriAnne Boggis:

When we decided on doing the series, – we try to plan them a year in advance – we knew we were coming up to the 250th anniversary, and we started getting all the talk about erasing Black history. We can't talk about it in school, can't read this book – all the things that we can't do. Thinking of the 250th, of this whole voice –  the First Amendment right of freedom of speech – and then we looked at our Black history, the importance of the oratory just came to mind. It is that power that's in the voice. 

We wanted to examine right where we start, right where our independence starts – with the voice. In doing so, to look at what Black oratory is, the role the pastor played not only in spiritual life but secular life. The power of the pulpit, what Black women have done throughout America's history in using their voice to speak to social justice issues, and what our young people are doing today. How has oratory changed? What form has it taken? How are they protesting? How are they using their voice for social change? So that's what we wanted to examine with this series, where it starts with the voice.

Melanie Plenda:

Last year you wrote an op-ed for the Union Leader about using social media to project Black voices when books and curriculum are being censored. How do you think these Black influencers can make an impact, as history is being torn down right in front of us?   

JerriAnne Boggis:

This new platform of social media – all of the different avenues, whether it's above ground, underground or right in the middle. These stories cannot be hidden. Instantly, all over the world,  somebody has this information. Those platforms are so powerful in getting messages out that they open many doors for Black influencers to tell the story and tell the truth. We as the recipient of these stories, have to be discerning as to who we listen to or find the knowledge for ourselves. But you can't hide it so easily anymore, and that's the beauty of the platforms that we have.

Melanie Plenda:

Last year, the Trump administration restored a statue of Confederate general and KKK member, Albert Pike in Washington, D.C.. Now, as they remove vital pieces of Black history from sites across the nation, what is going on here? And what kind of impact do you think this will have?

JerriAnne Boggis:

This is one of the things that we're always afraid to say: This is a power move to maintain white supremacy. It's a power move to create a narrative that we already knew was false. We had gotten to a point in telling the history of our stories very openly. There were all these projects coming up that were looking at America without rose-colored glasses. We were looking truthfully at our story, and we were creating these pockets of understanding and of crossing that bridge of networking with each other to create a break. If you are in a power position, you are scared about that, because once the majority moves away from that, then that power structure has to fall, and something else has to take its place. But I want to be hopeful that it's not the majority of the country that thinks that way. I have to be hopeful that we moved further along that ladder that we thought we did.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you JerriAnne for joining us today. We really appreciate it.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

‘The Old Homestead’: How a 19th century play can still speak to us now

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

We’re here to talk about a passion project that is at the heart of film history, New Hampshire history and perhaps even the quintessential mystique of the wise Yankee farmer. It all starts with a 19th-century play, “The Old Homestead,” which eventually became a silent movie. It has a unique history and pedigree, and to tell us more about it we have two experts also with a unique history and pedigree. We have Keene State College film professor emeritus and filmmaker Larry Benaquist and author Howard Mansfield. 

Melanie Plenda:

Larry, tell us a bit about the history of “The Old Homestead” and its connections to New Hampshire.

Larry Benaquist:

“The Old Homestead” is a play that was written by Denman Thompson, a resident of west of Swanzey, N.H., who became an actor in his early days and ended up writing a play that he could do as a skit, which he performed around the country for over 25 years. This play became so popular, so widely seen, that it astonished even him.Apparently, this vision of the New Hampshire farmer as wise, industrious, kind became the way Americans saw this. It’s not  a caricature, exactly, not even a stereotype – the authenticity of it struck people, so much so that they were turning people away at the door for 25 years. This play is one of the most popular plays in America.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you give us the basic plot, just a rundown real quick of what is, what is the play about?

Larry Benaquist:

It's a retelling, in a way, of the prodigal son story from the Bible. When the play opens, the old farmer’s son has left him about a year before. There had been a robbery at the bank in his town. He was accused of the robbery – he had not done it, and even though that was to be proven, he left in humiliation and went to New York City and started leading a life of and just sank into alcoholism and shame. The play opens with his father, who's a widower living on a farm outside of Keene with his sister and some interesting characters in the neighborhood who accompany him. After meeting a tramp who comes to the house, he ends up going to New York City to retrieve his son. 

It’s a very simple play. It’s in four acts and ends up where it begins – at the farm in West Swanzey.

Melanie Plenda:

How did you first hear about it?

Larry Benaquist:

The play had been put on every year in Swanzey from 1939 until 2016. After Denman Thompson’s death in 1911, the play had been filmed twice. I didn’t even know about that.

One day, before Covid, a woman in Keene said to me, “You know what, I think this play has been filmed a couple of times.” So I was isolated during Covid and had nothing to do, so I thought, “I’m going to try and find those films,” and that’s what I started to do. It took a few years to happen because no prints existed in this country. We found prints in Europe.

There was a 15-minute film in 1915, four years after Denman Thompson died that was very popular and stuck pretty  much to the play, and then in 1922, during the Jazz Age – a totally different interpretation of the story. We found the 1915 version in a small archive in Paris. The 1922 version was in two locations – Moscow and Brussels – and I found it much easier to deal with Brussels. 

Howard and I have overseen the production of a half-hour documentary dealing with this whole process, and specifically the great significance of the play in the late 19th century, which I really had no idea about at the time,

Melanie Plenda:

Howard, please tell us a bit about your background and how you came across “The Old Homestead?” 

Howard Mansfield:

I write about how places came to be the way they are, why people tell certain stories about their history, and why they refuse to tell other stories. So I'm just the guy who goes around and asks  a lot of questions, pokes around, goes through the archives.

I went to see “The Old Homestead” three different times. It's very unlike anything you've ever seen. You're used to going to the theater and seeing three or four characters and two acts. This is 50 characters played by about 25 actors over four acts, with breaks for music for barbershop quartets with live oxen walking across. It's an entirely different thing. 

One of the most important characters of the play is the barnyard – the name of play, “The Old Homestead,” that’s what people loved. His audience were farm people who had gone to the city,  and they loved the play and loved seeing the animals. There’s a lot of talk of farm chores there. They missed chores. They missed animals. 

The other was Uncle Josh himself. Denman Thompson started out as a variety actor, basically vaudeville stage, doing all sorts of very broad gestures. Uncle Josh is based on just the three years he spent in Swanzey. His family had a long background in Swanzey – he had three generations of his family. Before he was born, they left to try their luck on the frontier, which at that time was in Pennsylvania. They failed, came back, and in just those three years, Denman is going back, absorbs all that and creates this character based on two figures in town who were known for their wit. 

Uncle Josh is kind. He’s constantly sitting down listening to people’s stories, and people really reacted to that. Ministers said to their congregations, “It’s worth a dozen sermons – go see it.” People go see it over and over. The play had great resonance and great attraction.

Melanie Plenda:

There’s an event coming up in Keene about it. Larry, can you tell us more about it? And most importantly, is it too late to get tickets? 

Larry Benaquist:

Well, I'm afraid for two films that haven't been seen in over 100 years, there might be some seats available at the last minute if people don't show up. There was only room for 140 seats, but we fully intend to bring this around to other locations. I think people will want it. These are two very, very interesting films, and accompanying them is the 30-minute documentary with this history we’ve been talking about and a lot of information about how Thompson came to write the play and the aftermath.

Melanie Plenda:

Let’s dig a little deeper. Why do you think this piece resonates with people? What is its staying power?

Larry Benaquist:

Staying power is something we've talked about, as we observe in our documentary. It's very much a piece of its mid- to late-19th century origins. There's nothing about it that could be modernized. It has to be seen in the context of itself. You can do Hamlet in modern dress or Romeo and Juliet in spacesuits. But you can't do anything like that with this play, because part and parcel of it is the land itself. Howard got it exactly right. The star of the film is “The Old Homestead.” It’s a place where clarity can be achieved. Where honesty and real connections between human beings happen. The shots that are shown in the city are the reverse of that. They're teasing him because he's from the country. They get him drunk. He's flirted with by wanton women. You've got this split between the virtues of agricultural, rural life and what's lost when that's gone. 

Melanie Plenda:

What do you hope people who attend the event take away from it? 

Howard Mansfield:

I hope that they have a sense of maybe a little bit about what country life used to be like around here and why people may longed for it as it was fading. Maybe, if they think about it,, they realize how many of these images are still around today in popular culture. They are in images in Hollywood movies, and these Hallmark movies where people are always going back to the small town and finding romance at Christmas time – all these tropes. They still live, and there's still this longing for home. 

There are two stories we tell about home. Home waits for us, we can always go back there or home is fled, and we can never go back. I think you see those kinds of two things going on in this play and in the movies, and I think those are two things that people are always longing for.

Larry Benaquist:

That might explain the immense popularity of this play with urban audiences. You couldn't get tickets for this play in Boston or New York City. They were sold out. So it wasn't just country people leaving their farms and going into the small towns to see it in a local theater. It was different from that. 

Melanie Plenda:

So interesting! Thank you for sharing all this with us and our audience.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Protests in New Hampshire: what are your rights?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity. 

The right to assemble is ingrained in the American Constitution. Is that a right to protest? And what does that right guarantee you? In light of the recent deaths in Minnesota, where people are protesting about the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, officers in the area, and as other anti-ICE rallies break out here in New Hampshire and the country, what can protesters do to stay safe but effective? Here to discuss it is Margaret O’Grady, an assistant professor and constitutional law expert at the University of New Hampshire. 

Melanie Plenda:

Is protesting something we, as Americans, can do anywhere, anytime and in any manner we want?

Margaret O’Grady:

The answer is a resounding yes. It's not often a constitutional law professor can say a one-word answer, but in this case, the answer is yes. To the second part, are there limits on it? That is also a yes, but I just want to step back for a second and think about how the First Amendment does guarantee the right to assemble, which includes the right to protest.

The actual language is “Congress shall make no law prohibiting the freedom of speech or of the press or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for redress of grievances.” That's the U.S. Constitution from 1789. 

The New Hampshire Constitution was written five years earlier, and arguably has more robust protections for the freedom to assemble. There, it says, ‘The people have a right in an orderly and peaceful manner to assemble and consult upon the common good, give instructions to the representatives and to request of the legislative body by way of petition or remonstrance, redress of the wrongs done to them and of the grievances they suffer.” That word, “remonstrance,” actually means vocal, virulent protest, and so it is enshrined in our Constitution. It's a bedrock principle, both in New Hampshire and federally.

Melanie Plenda:

What are the restrictions? 

Margaret O’Grady:

As a blanket matter, speech is quite protected, but just because you're speaking doesn't mean you can commit other crimes. There are state statutes that say you can't riot, you can't disturb the peace, and you must follow laws, generally. There's also what's usually referred to as “time, place and manner” restrictions. That's a phrase that basically means the government, the federal government, a state, a municipality, can say you can protest, but first we're going to say that you can't protest, for example, past 9 p.m. because kids have to be asleep. 

The really important thing is, what the government can't put restrictions on is the content of that speech. So any government can't say you're allowed to have a parade or a gathering in front of the State House in support of animal welfare, but you are not allowed to have a gathering in support of the protesters in Minneapolis. That would be a restriction based on the viewpoint and the content of the speech, and that is absolutely unconstitutional. So those restrictions really just have to be based on the time, place, and manner, and not the content.

Melanie Plenda:

What about spontaneous protests? I mean, are those allowed to happen? Or do you have to have a permit?

Margaret O’Grady:

So those are allowed to happen. There's case law saying that when a group of people gathers together in immediate response to a breaking news event, for example, that's got to be allowed. Again, there are restrictions — you can’t be blocking traffic or creating some sort of public safety issue, for example. But what we saw in Minneapolis, for example, after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renée Good, there were spontaneous, very large demonstrations happening, and those are protected. We need to see all of this together as it’s not just that speech and protest are protected in the Constitution, it’s really the bedrock — one of the most important rights that people have. 

Melanie Plenda:

What legal responsibilities does a local government have when it comes to protesters? 

Margaret O’Grady:

The main thing is to allow the speech to go forward, to protect the rights of the speakers and to protect the rights of the listeners, also. Part of free speech is the freedom to hear what someone else is saying. In that. is protecting the public safety during a protest, which is obviously their number one public safety function, but it is to protect the speaker and to protect the listeners.

Melanie Plenda:

What about police or federal officers? What legal responsibilities do they have? 

Margaret O’Grady:

They have constitutional obligations to not violate people's Fourth Amendment rights, regarding search and seizure, not to use deadly force unless there is an imminent threat to themselves or to others, and to ensure that speakers can speak and that also people can hear them. When officers are in a situation where there is a protest, where there are people exercising their First Amendment rights, public safety, of course, is their job but also not preventing speech or preventing people from listening to that speech.

Melanie Plenda:

If they cross those lines, what are the consequences and how are they enforced?

Margaret O’Grady:

That's a really complicated question, and perhaps our first reaction is that it shouldn't be complicated, but it really is.

If we look at specifically the situation of the killing of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, those were federal officers who took their lives. Were they state officers, there might be some more of an availability for a criminal prosecution, and we saw that with the murder of George Floyd. Because we have federal officers, there are other issues at play, which really do constrain the ability of the loved ones of the victims, and also the state, from prosecuting it as a crime. 

First, the Department of Justice could prosecute it as a crime. I think we all know from the reaction of the administration blaming the victims immediately, that's very unlikely to happen. In fact, people who worked in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota resigned because they were told not to investigate the officers, but rather to investigate the family of Renée Good. So I think it's very unlikely we'll see an investigation by the federal officials.

In terms of the state officials, that's the Supremacy Clause immunity doctrine, comes into play. That means that, although a state officer could be found criminally charged for that crime, because it's a federal officer the state will have a very hard time prosecuting that crime. They'll have to go to federal court. They will have to show that the officers cannot make any defense, that anybody in their shoes reasonably acting under the color of their federal authority would have — even if it's mistakenly in the scope of their duties — committed the acts that they committed. That makes it really hard for state prosecutors to prosecute it as a crime. 

I think they should try. I always say this to my law students: You represent your client within the confines of what the law is, and you do your best. So I think they should try. But it's a very high hurdle to clear. The vice president said federal officers have absolute immunity. That is not true, but it is true that it’s a high hurdle. 

In terms of civil liability, there is no avenue for the families of the victims to sue civilly. There's a statutory ability to sue under Section 1983 — you can sue for tort damages when your constitutional rights have been violated, or on behalf of a loved one who's been killed. But there's no such statutory authority for federal officials to be sued in the same way. 

Melanie Plenda:

When you have a conflict between a state and federal government, what are the legalities and rules at play? For example, Minnesota and federal officials seem to be at odds about investigating these deaths and who has jurisdiction. 

Margaret O’Grady:

In terms of a crime committed in a state, both should have jurisdiction. I think a lot of these questions then become more political than legal — it’s very unusual to have a federal government that has no appetite for investigating a crime committed by a federal officer, and that's the issue we have here.

The state is trying to assert its severity as a state, but they didn't want ICE to come in in the first place. So these clashes are really foundational to the safety of the people in a state. Usually, it's the safety of the people in a state, and the federal government helps a state, like after a storm cleanup, but this clash is something that is unusual, and I won't say completely unprecedented in our history, but certainly in our recent history.

Melanie Plenda:

Do you have any advice for people who are protesting at these anti-ICE rallies in terms of protecting themselves legally? 

Margaret O’Grady:

I think the important thing is to know that you are within your rights to use your voice, and so use it. Make sure you tell people where you're going to be. Do not do anything that violates the law in another way — do not disturb the peace, do not stop traffic. Be peaceful.

You also have the legal right to record. I want to be very clear about that too. There was actually a fairly recent case from the First Circuit, a man recorded an arrest happening on Boston Common, and the First Circuit found that he was within his rights to do so, because recording of police actions in public is a foundational to the First Amendment — freedom of the press and freedom of speech. Bring your phone, charge it, record it, make sure someone knows where you're going to be. 

Groups like the ACLU have a lot on their website about how to protest safely, and I think that the main thing is, try to maintain your own peacefulness. And, of course, do not be violent, and make sure you're with people who know you and you feel safe with, and continue on in a way that is as safe as you can be in this situation.

I've been to several gatherings in my town and around the state, and have never felt unsafe. I think a lot of us see what's going on, and of course the deaths of Alex Pretti and Renée Good shook a lot of people. The stakes are very high, and I think we can be inspired by the people of Minneapolis who see the wrongs being done to their neighbors, the terror being inflicted on their neighbors, and they stand out. I don't want us to start walking around and feeling silenced before we even speak out because we're afraid of violence — that would be a really tragic outcome of what we see happening.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you so much for such great information.Thank you for joining us today. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Why is there such low participation in the state’s Family and Medical Leave program?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

If you are one of the lucky few with paid family or medical leave insurance in New Hampshire, you likely know how valuable it is. But despite the state’s efforts, few workers have this benefit available. Why do so few people in New Hampshire have it, and what does that mean for the state’s efforts? Joining us to discuss that is Dr. Kristin Smith, an associate professor of sociology and director of the Policy Research Shop at the Rockefeller Center at Dartmouth College. She is also a senior fellow at the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. 

Melanie Plenda:

What inspired you to research this topic, and why is it important?

Kristin Smith:

I have been researching working family policy for 25 years. One of the things that's really important is how families can manage their work and family responsibilities — what policies are available to help families? And paid family and medical leave is one of those policies.

Melanie Plenda:

Tell us about your recent policy brief and what it covers. Where can people find it?

Kristin Smith:

My recent policy brief is at the Carsey School of Public Policy. It was published through the Carsey School of Public Policy in one of their series on New Hampshire.

This brief came about because, in 2021,  there was a paid family and medical leave program that was passed in the state budget bill, and there was coverage to be offered, beginning in January 2023. Since I had been studying paid family and medical leave since 2016, I decided to collect some data in 2022 just prior to the launching of this program, and then again in 2023 and 2024. This was so that I would be able to track the impact of this program on the workers' access to paid family and medical leave in our state.

What this brief is covering is a look over time from 2016 to 2024 at how access to paid family and medical leave has changed, and whether there's been a change during the time since the enactment of this policy. 

Melanie Plenda:

What were your findings, in a broad sense?

Kristin Smith:

One of the major findings is that, in New Hampshire, workers lack paid family and medical leave overall. They did in 2016, and this program has had very little impact in changing the access overall for the whole state.

About 3% of workers in our state have access to paid family and medical leave through the voluntary, opt-in paid family and medical leave program. That doesn't mean that only 3% of workers in our state have access to paid family and medical leave, because employers are also offering their workers paid family and medical leave. The issue is that not all employers are offering it.

The state wanted to offer a chance for workers to opt in to a program if their employers were not offering it, and also offer employers a way to get paid family and medical leave through the insurance company that the state has contracted with, MetLife. 

There are three plans within this voluntary paid family and medical leave program. The first is that state employees were automatically offered paid family and medical leave through this program. So roughly 9,000 state workers now have access to paid family and medical leave through this program. Then private employers can opt in to the program. If you're a worker and your employer doesn't offer paid family and medical leave, you can buy into the program and pay that insurance premium yourself.

Melanie Plenda:

For those who are unfamiliar, how does paid family and medical leave work in New Hampshire?

Kristin Smith:

Employers can offer paid family and medical leave as a benefit to their employees, and some of them have been doing this for many years. Typically, it's the larger firms that are offering paid family and medical leave through the employer, as well as employers that have sort of higher-educated and higher-earning workers. That's one way you can get paid family and medical leave through your employer. 

Another recent addition is this voluntary paid family and medical leave program. This is the first. It's a very unique program because it's allowing employers and workers to opt in to the program. That's a second way that you could get paid family and medical leave in our state. 

In other states, there are two different models. One is that the states don't offer any paid family and medical leave at all, and it's just through employers that workers can get paid family and medical leave as a benefit. Another model is Comprehensive Universal Paid Family and Medical Leave, which is offered in 14 states. Those states have eligibility criteria for workers, but in general, most workers are eligible, and they have benefits that they can take if they have a qualifying medical reason. 

Melanie Plenda:

Your recent paper looked at who has paid family and medical leave across different demographics. What were some of those findings? Who is more likely and less likely to have this benefit? 

Kristin Smith:

Overall, workers who are in larger firms have paid family and medical leave compared to workers that are in smaller firms. That's a really important point, because in New Hampshire, we have a lot of small firms — like over 90% of our firms are small businesses with less than 50 workers. So that translates into a lot of workers not having access to these benefits. Workers who have higher education, workers who have higher earnings typically have paid family and medical leave, which means that those that don't have those characteristics are less likely to have that. As well as women — women typically are in occupations that don't offer paid family and medical leave, and therefore, as a whole, women have less access to these benefits.

Melanie Plenda:

Did New Hampshire’s recent efforts to team up with MetLife to offer more paid family and medical leave have any impact on the state’s workers?

Kristin Smith:

About 3% of workers in New Hampshire have covered for paid family and medical leave through the voluntary paid family and medical leave program through MetLife. That translates into about 18,000 workers. So 18,000 workers are probably pretty happy that they have access to paid family and medical leave through this program.

But in terms of moving the needle on a state level, this program, it's really falling short in terms of making an impact. There are a lot of reasons for that. 

I think the main reason is that workers don't know about this program. About 18% of workers have heard of this program, which means that 80% haven't heard of it. Despite the state's efforts to get the word out, there’s just not a lot of knowledge about the program — that’s probably the largest reason.

There are some other reasons as well. The program offers six weeks of paid family and medical leave at a reimbursement rate of 60% of the workers wages up to a cap.  In comparison to some other states that offer paid leave programs, almost all the states offer 12 weeks of leave. That might be a reason that some workers aren't signing up and taking the leave, as well as the 60% wage replacement level that is a bit lower than the other states. 

Many states have adopted a progressive scale. If you are a lower-wage earner, you would be able to get wage replacement for up to 90% of your wages, and then that would decrease up to usually around 67% or 70% for all workers. So having a low replacement level really has been shown in the research to be a deterrent for workers taking the leave if they have the leave, and I think it's probably a deterrent here in terms of joining the program among those workers who are joining as individuals. So men and lower-income workers typically give the reason of a low replacement rate as one of the main reasons they're not taking the leave, even when it's paid.

Melanie Plenda:

Isn’t there also a long waiting period to get the benefits? Does that also play a role?

Kristin Smith:

Individual workers are required to pay in for seven months before they are eligible to make claims. That’s a bit longer than some of the other programs, although programs do typically have a waiting period, it's not often seven months.

The other thing that might be a deterrent or difficult for individuals who are thinking about joining the program is that there is a two-month enrollment period in December and January. If there was sort of a sliding enrollment period, they might see more individuals joining. Employers can join whenever they want. They don’t have a two-month enrollment period, and they don't have a seven-month waiting period. So those two factors are really more important in thinking about the individual workers, if you want to increase access for those workers.

Melanie Plenda:

What are the consequences for those who don’t have paid family and medical leave?

Kristin Smith:

There are some really important consequences that have a real impact on families.

If a worker doesn't have access to paid family and medical leave, they may leave the labor force because of the demands on their time to care for their loved ones. That's an important piece to think about in New Hampshire, where we have a pretty low unemployment rate right now, and we're always looking to have a robust workforce. Not having this type of benefit can sort of deter people from moving to our state as well as in terms of recruitment and retention of workers — those are the two pieces that at the state level policymakers may want to be thinking about in terms of having a robust paid family and medical leave program. In other states, we've seen that this has been a way for states to retain and recruit workers.

Melanie Plenda:

What’s the solution here? What would that look like? 

Kristin Smith:

There are several things that one could contemplate. We in the United States don't have a national paid family and medical leave program. The most efficient way, but least likely way, would be to pass the Family Act, which has been introduced into Congress in this legislative session. The New Hampshire Legislature could pass their own Comprehensive Universal Program for Paid Family and Medical Leave, and that would increase access for all workers, regardless of whether your employer is offering this benefit or not. 

New Hampshire could also consider ways to improve the program that they currently have. The voluntary program could be improved, and those are some things that I've already talked about — offering 12 weeks of leave instead of six weeks, raising the wage replacement level from 60% to something higher, having a higher wage replacement for workers that are lower-wage workers, and expanding the job protection. 

We didn't really talk about this yet, but the job protection piece in the voluntary program that is linked to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act — which is the act that provides unpaid leave in our state and in the nation — is linked to the size of your employer, and because we are a state that has a lot of small employers, about 60% of our workers lack job protection when they take either the unpaid or paid family and medical leave. So having job protection that is more for the workers would be another thing that policymakers could consider.

Melanie Plenda:

Interesting food for thought — thank you Dr. Smith.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

COVID-19, the flu and norovirus: A seasonal update

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

This is the 250th episode of “The State We’re In,” which began during the pandemic with updates about COVID-19. Today we’re going back to our roots in a conversation with Dr. Gabriela Andujar Vazquez, hospital epidemiologist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, about COVID as well as the rise in cases of flu and norovirus and what you and your loved ones can do to protect yourselves.

Melanie Plenda:

Is COVID still an issue in New Hampshire? 

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

It definitely is. I think maybe some of you might remember that we had a little bit of a spike of cases during the summer, a little bit of a lull in the fall, and we are seeing an increasing trend of COVID-19 cases in the community across the state.

Melanie Plenda:

What about flu cases this year? According to news reports, serious cases are on the rise at most hospitals. Is there something different about this strain of flu?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

There is. Currently, the predominant strain is an influenza A virus, and that particular strain has had significant accumulation of mutations. This is what we call an “antigenic drift.” “Antigenic” actually refers to accumulation of mutations by the virus over time, and this is actually what drives seasonal flu epidemics every year, and why we need to update our flu vaccines every year. 

This particular clade is called K, and it has high antigenic drift, and what that means is that, compared to prior years, it has accumulated a little bit more mutations, and what results in is larger outbreaks, a quicker and very steep increase in cases and higher transmission rates, which is what we’re seeing this season

Melanie Plenda:

What are the symptoms of flu? 

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

Fever, usually, which makes it distinct from common colds. Usually, people will have some high fevers,particularly young children and older adults. Cough, which can be dry or productive. You can have some shortness of breath, body aches, muscle aches. It really can send people to bed or home for a day or two. This is regardless of whether you're healthy or have medical problems.

It can hit people quite quickly for the first two days of the illness. Illnesses like common colds, where you have maybe the sniffles, you feel like you're still able to sort of function. But the flu can take a toll on one's body quite quickly.

Melanie Plenda:

When should you head to a hospital, versus just staying home and resting?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

When you feel shortness of breath — you're not able to breathe well, and it just keeps persisting. It can lead to seizures, febrile seizures, in those less than two years of age, mostly. It's keeping an eye on the temperatures, and if you feel that by day four or five, the person who is sick continues to feel sick and is not able to function, seeking medical attention with either your primary care provider, depending on the urgency, or an emergency room or urgent care clinic visit would be appropriate to to get ahead of it. 

Melanie Plenda:

What about norovirus? Are cases also on the rise? 

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

Norovirus is an interesting virus. It has some seasonality to it. There are some years where there are lulls. There is some component of climate, meaning that it can sort of spread quicker in certain summers, for example. Every three to four years, we see high epidemics and then lulls, years where it sort of stays low. In 2025, we did see a higher incidence of norovirus being identified during the summer and into the winter months than compared to other years.

Melanie Plenda:

What are some of the symptoms of norovirus?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

It's very explosive diarrhea. It's a very contagious virus. You just need a little bit of exposure to a couple of those variants to get ill. It usually lasts 24 to 48 hours. Some patients that have weak immune systems may have more prolonged days of symptoms. What makes people very sick and needing to seek medical attention, or sometimes emergency room visits, is dehydration. They're not able to keep up with any fluids orally, so patients can become dehydrated quite quickly. So the most vulnerable patients — like young children, older adults — are more susceptible to dehydration, and that would encourage them to seek medical attention.

Melanie Plenda:

Is it too late for flu vaccines at this point? 

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

Absolutely not. The flu season started a couple of weeks earlier than the U.S. in European countries. We do have some estimates out of England regarding the flu vaccine efficacy. They found it’s about 70% to 75% effective against hospitalization for children, and about 30 to 40% for adults against hospitalization. There was more concern that it was not going to be as similar to other flu vaccine seasons because of the antigenic drift that we talked about. So what that means is that there is still a chance, if you haven't been vaccinated for the flu, to get the vaccine to protect yourself and the community.

Melanie Plenda:

When is the best time to get that vaccine?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

In general, I tell my patients to get it before Halloween. Starting in December is when we see the increase in cases, but you want to get it at least two weeks before it starts circulating, because that's when you get the most protection. 

Melanie Plenda:

What should you do to stay healthy? Should we break out masks and gloves again? Is hand sanitizer enough?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

Wash your hands — hand hygiene is always encouraged. Hand sanitizer is effective against eliminating influenza virus and other viruses from our hands. It just has to be more than 70% alcohol to be able to kill that virus or bacteria in our hands.

Regarding the mask, if it's well-fitting and used appropriately, it should protect yourself and others, particularly if you're sick. Wearing a mask will do what we call source control, which is prevent you from spreading illness to others. I know that using a mask regularly every day is not necessarily something that's feasible, but the more you can use it in certain situations, it sort of accumulates that risk mitigation. 

Melanie Plenda:

Speaking of vaccines, the federal government has released new guidelines reducing the number of required vaccines for children. What do you think of the guidelines?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

I think, like all of us in the medical community, we are concerned by these changes. The childhood vaccine schedules in the United States have been developed through many, many years of rigorous review, looking at safety and effectiveness data, taking into consideration our health care system, how fragmented it is, how there are pockets of patients that are vulnerable and are unable to access care. So a lot of thought and debate over the years around how we have implemented our childhood vaccine schedules went into it, and so I think we're all concerned that this thoughtful process did not happen when these changes were issued.

The prior childhood vaccine schedules were meant to protect all, not just individual children — but entire communities. So reducing the recommended vaccines without necessarily having strong scientific justification, or at least transparency on how these decisions were made, will potentially increase preventable diseases and end up undermining the public's trust in the system that has saved countless lives for the past 50-plus years.

Melanie Plenda:

What advice would you give parents about getting kids vaccinated?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

One thing we should make clear is that nothing has changed. We haven't had any evidence that the safety or efficacy of the vaccines that we have been delivering and recommending in our childhood vaccine schedules for many years has changed. No evidence has been brought to light that would prompt us to drastically change our schedule.

I would encourage parents to ask questions of vaccine safety and whether this is what's right for their child. But I would also point out that nothing has changed in terms of safety or evidence to make these unilateral changes. So I would advise parents to continue to visit their child's providers and have discussions if they do have worry or confusion. Because I think that right now, a lot of patients may be confused about whether the changes were something that they should be looking into or not. 

Melanie Plenda:

Do you have any other advice for people trying to stay healthy this winter?

Gabriela Andujar Vazquez:

I almost always say similar things when I talk about general public health and staying healthy. There has been a lot of confusion and different opinions around how to stay healthy. I think that having conversations with trusted sources of information and bringing up difficult questions and challenging sometimes things that we thought were to be true — that’s part of how we move, how we evolve, how we identify issues in public health. But that doesn't mean that by asking questions that it should completely eliminate the rigorous reviews that have happened before. Continue to talk and find common ground on some of these issues that are complicated, because our health care system is complicated.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you for those tips, doctor.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

State House update: What to expect during the 2026 legislative session

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Our state Legislature has been hard at work. New laws passed in 2025 have just gone into effect, and the 2026 legislative session has just started. Here to explain what’s going on is Anna Brown, executive director of Citizens Count, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating voters about the political process. Brown is also executive director of the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership and Public Service at the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce School of Law.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you give us a brief overview of some of the new laws that went into effect on Jan. 1?

Anna Brown:

The biggest headline was an end to mandatory car inspections, and there has been some litigation around that, but that was a big change that a lot of people were probably watching. We also have a new ban on certain gender-related care and treatment for minors and a ban on sanctuary cities, which are towns and cities in New Hampshire that would otherwise not cooperate with ICE and immigration enforcement from the federal level. 

Melanie Plenda:

Let’s dig a little deeper. Tell us more about what the gender-affirming care law for minors entails. How will that affect people?

Anna Brown:

This is looking at surgeries, hormone therapy, such as puberty blockers, and other interventions that minors would get related to a gender transition. Any minors that were getting procedures prior to Jan. 1 will be able to continue them — that was an amendment to the bill that got some more support on board — but going forward, there won't be the opportunity to do that in New Hampshire for those under 18. 

Melanie Plenda:

What about sanctuary cities? How will this ban affect the state and its residents?

Anna Brown:

The definition of sanctuary city is a little subjective, but basically, a sanctuary city would have a policy in place that they're not going to cooperate with ICE detainers, that's Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When local law enforcement cooperates with ICE detainers and a person is arrested, they would hold that person up to 48 hours for ICE to come and move forward with immigration enforcement proceedings.

In New Hampshire, this wasn’t a widespread issue. There has been one town, Hanover, that had a policy against cooperating with ICE. They were at risk of losing state funding if they didn't change that policy. So they have changed their policy coming into the new year. New Hampshire’s big cities, not to mention all of the small towns, this wasn't really something that was happening, so there shouldn't be big differences in terms of what law enforcement is doing.

Melanie Plenda:

Another law has to do with ambulance costs. Can you tell us more about that?

Anna Brown:

Yes, this is a ban on balance billing. What that means is if you're calling an ambulance to the hospital — it’s an emergency, you're not going to ask them the network they're in or the rates. But when the ambulance submits to your insurance, there might be a disagreement. The ambulance might want you to be paying more than what your insurance is willing to cover, so the individual would get a bill for the balance — that’s why we say balance billing. It was also sometimes called surprise billing because if you're taking the ambulance ride and you have insurance, you're not expecting to get a big bill after the fact. So this law blocks that and sets rates for ambulances providers in terms of what they are allowed to charge insurers.

Melanie Plenda:

What about the law involving AI chatbots and minors? What’s behind that? 

Anna Brown:

This is an interesting one, as AI is just constantly evolving, and it's a really strange legal landscape in terms of determining who is responsible when bad things happen.

This bill is looking at what happens when an AI chat bot or similar tool encourages suicide, makes sexual suggestions or encourages other harmful behavior. This law adds civil penalties, such as a fine, though the law that's going into effect says specifically that the owner or operator must know that they are intending to facilitate, engage or encourage this harmful behavior.

Realistically, most of these AI technology developers are not sitting there with the intention to encourage harmful behavior among children. So I am not convinced that this law is going to have a really big impact at the moment, but there was hesitation among legislators to go farther than that, because it is such a rapidly changing landscape. Again, it's hard to assign blame and responsibility when it's so complex that people aren't even sure where some of this information is coming from. 

Melanie Plenda:

Parents now have a right to see their children’s library records. How did that come about? 

Anna Brown:

This is related to a lot of general concern around certain books about sex and gender, in particular, that minors have access to.

Previously, if a minor had their own library card with their name on it, the parent did not automatically get access to see what that child was checking out. There was an argument that this is a concern. The counterargument was, “OK, then a parent doesn't have to allow their child to have their own library card.” But after a few years of debate, legislators ultimately decided that we want all parents and legal guardians to be able to go to a library and say, “I would like to see the books that my children have checked out.” There are still some questions in terms of what libraries are going to be able to do to verify if someone is definitely a child's parent and if they should be having access to that child. Because, of course, we do have some scary and unfortunate situations in this world when a parent is not a safe person for a child.

Melanie Plenda:

There’s also a new law about returning confiscated firearms. Can you tell us more about that?
Anna Brown:

This law basically is shifting the default in courts towards immediately returning a person's firearm after a protective order expires. I do expect there to be ongoing debates around this. In the upcoming legislative session, there are some bills that are looking to change what's going on with the return of firearms after protective orders. 

Melanie Plenda:

Let’s look ahead, what about some of the things coming up in the Legislature this year. What about housing? 

Anna Brown:

For every zoning change that was passed at the state level last year, I am pretty much seeing a bill in 2026 to roll it back or hem it back in.

For example, there was a law that allows multifamily residential development in commercial zones — they’re looking to repeal that this session. There was also an expanded right to accessory dwelling unit development, which puts accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, completely back under local control. Given what I've seen in the past, it seems unlikely that the Legislature will immediately repeal a law that they just passed the previous year. 

There are a couple bills that are looking to add extra taxes on second homes. I feel like new taxes don't have a lot of success in the Republican-led Legislature, but it's a novel idea. There's bills that are looking to transfer surplus state-owned property that would be suitable for housing to developers for very low amounts. Then there are ideas about special assessment districts or tax increment financing for housing development, which, to keep it really simple, would be basically allowing special taxes or fees in certain areas that would go specifically to that infrastructure development and other supports that can really encourage housing.

Melanie Plenda:

How about school funding? Any chance the state will start helping towns fund their educational needs?

Anna Brown:

There are many proposals this year that are looking to change how the state law defines an adequate education and many bills that are looking to change the funding formula, particularly related to special education, because those costs have been going up a lot, and there's a limit on how much the state currently reimburses at the local level. But there's also an interesting sort of side debate that's happening about if schools can take out loans from the state. 

I don't think there's going to be major changes to the school-funding formula this year. I think the Legislature is likely to start talking about it. Since this has been an intractable issue for decades, I don't see any quick changes. In fact, some legislators have explicitly said they think the Supreme Court overstepped its bounds and they shouldn't make any changes in the Legislature. I am expecting to see maybe some changes around how budgeting happens for school districts at the local level.

Melanie Plenda:

What about the death penalty in New Hampshire? Do you think that will come up in 2026?

Anna Brown:

There are a few bills that are looking to reinstate the death penalty for capital murder. There's also interest in doing that for child sexual abuse.

This is really related to the fact that Gov. Kelly Ayotte was attorney general when Michael Addison's case came up — he is the only inmate we currently have on death row. New Hampshire does not have a death chamber. It does not have the capability to implement the death penalty. We repealed it about a decade ago. If it was reinstated, Governor Ayotte has said she's open to that. So this is really going to be a question of the legislature. 

I think we can all agree, whether you're for or against the death penalty, that this is an issue that really touches everyone. There are very strong ethical, legal and financial questions about this. I will say last time we repealed the death penalty, it was a squeaker vote. It barely went through. A lot of legislators changed their mind throughout the process of how they were voting. So I would also encourage people, if you have an opinion on this, to be engaging with your legislators.

Melanie Plenda:

What else do you expect to come up in the next few months? 

Anna Brown:

We’ve touched on school funding — that's really huge, along with gender and housing. I’d say those are probably the top issues that I'm going to be watching, along with child care. As for some other issues, a lot of legislation is looking at whether a site evaluation committee for landfills is needed.

Then there are two constitutional amendments that I think are intriguing, because the whole thing with a constitutional amendment is it doesn't go to the governor, it has to pass the Legislature with a supermajority, and then it goes to voters at the polls in November. The first one is a constitutional amendment that would legalize marijuana. This is an issue we've seen again and again. The governor has put a block on this. The House frequently has passed some version of marijuana legalization. I'm not sure if the Senate would be on board. 

The other constitutional amendment that I think is interesting would be protecting the right of same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, and so on. This relates to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, and there's concern that same-sex marriage is is not just a given. We need to aggressively protect this in New Hampshire, not just in state law, but the constitution itself. I think this is interesting, because at one point, not too long ago in our history, same-sex marriage was a very controversial issue. Now we've seen generally widespread acceptance of that among the public. But does that rise to the level where people are going to agree this needs to be in the state constitution? I'm not sure. But the fun thing about constitutional amendments is, as I said, voters will potentially have a chance to weigh in on the issue in November, so I'll be watching those debates closely.

Melanie Plenda:

Interesting as always. Thank you for joining us.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Why the Granite State News Collaborative’s Community News Survey matters

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

The Granite State News Collaborative, a network of local news organizations, is conducting a Community News Survey to take the pulse of news consumers in New Hampshire. Melanie Plenda, host “The State We’re In” — who’s also executive director of the collaborative is here to tell us what the survey is, why it’s being done and why you might want to participate. 

Rosemary Ford:

Melanie, what is the Community News Survey, and why is the collaborative doing it?

Melanie Plenda:

It is exactly what it sounds like. It is a very short — we promise — series of questions just trying to get at the heart of what people want from their news. What are they missing? What do they care about? We want to know what you're concerned about and how you get your news.

The whole reason for doing this is not only to shape the coverage across the state from all of our local news partners, all of whom will have access to the survey results. It’s not only to make sure that we're covering the things that people actually care about and we're answering questions that people actually have, but we also want to assess, “Are we delivering news in a way that people are consuming it?” Because it’s great that we have amazing coverage and amazing reporters and they're doing all this great work, but if we're not delivering it in a way that people are wanting to receive it, then that's a real problem. So it's really going to help us to better understand how people are interacting with news, — whether they're even consuming local news, and if not, why not? And how we might bring them back to local news.

Rosemary Ford:

What sorts of questions does the survey have? 

Melanie Plenda:

We tried to keep it very straightforward and also a little open-ended because we wanted to let people really kind of not just be relegated to some multiple-choice questions.

We do ask, “What kind of news do you consume?” Where do you get your news? If you do consume local news, what outlets are you reading, listening, or watching? What concerns you? What questions do you have about those sorts of things?” We do understand there's lots of surveys out there, and people have a lot of demands on their time, so we wanted to be mindful of that. So we wanted to keep it short and sweet, but really still be able to get to the heart of what would help us better serve our communities?

Rosemary Ford:

How will this survey help the Collaborative better serve the community? What will the answers help you do?

Melanie Plenda:

All of our 20-plus partners will have access to the survey results. So from there, individual outlets can assess where their coverage is relative to what people say they want. They may be able to see that a lot of people are actually getting their news on social media. So how can they do a better job of disseminating that information out on social media?

From the Collaborative perspective, I can help gather up that information, disseminate it out to the partners. And then once they've had a chance to assess what their needs are, what resources do they need in order to be able to get the news out in a way that will satisfy community members? If it turns out they do need some additional resources, or if they need a larger project then that's where I come in, and GSNC as an organization, can try to fill in those gaps or try to coordinate projects that will better help the partners do the work that they are best at.

Rosemary Ford:

Can you tell us about some of the challenges the Granite State’s news organizations are facing in these times?

Melanie Plenda:

This is nothing new that local newsrooms — not only across the state, but across the country — have really taken a hit in the last couple of decades. And by that, I mean they've lost reporting staff. Let's say, they have 20-plus communities in their coverage area, and only two or three reporters — sometimes only one —  there to cover it. What happens then? A lot of that watchdog piece that we are supposed to be there for, a lot of community connection pieces, aren't able to happen and that's a real shame.

It takes a toll on communities when local newsrooms go away altogether. Then really people are only left with national news, or the sort of doomscrolling that we all do on social media, and that can lead to people being more polarized, that can lead to local decisions being made that really impact everyone's daily lives without local people having a say on that. 

Now that said, I will say, and I will brag about our local news partners a bit. While everyone has struggled with maintaining a staff that can do the job they need to do, I'm really and just humbled every day by how dedicated our local reporters, editors and publishers are here in New Hampshire. They don't use it as an excuse that they don't have as full of staff as they would like to have. They just keep going, and they keep serving their community as best they can.

Rosemary Ford:

According to the Pew Research Center, 70% of U.S. adults have trust in local news while only 56% have trust in national news. Why do you think there is such a significant difference between the two? How is that playing into what local news organizations are doing?

Melanie Plenda:

The only way I really know how to answer that question is by looking at how local news reporters conduct their business.

Local news reporters live in the communities or near the communities that they cover, which means they are not just taking in information about their community or learning about their community in the eight or 10 hours that they're on the job. They're living there. They're going to restaurants. They're going to local businesses. They send their kids to the local schools. They are part of the community there. They have a vested interest in the community, and I think that absolutely makes a difference in coverage. I think that means that maybe you have a vested interest in providing just straight-up information to your neighbors so that people can make decisions. 

I have a lot of respect for a lot of the national news outlets, and they do present information. But I also think that a lot of times, the coverage is more about horse races and it's more about conflict and less about actual policy and information about those things that people need to make their decisions.

I do think that there's a difference in the way people feel when they read local news. I think most people pick up on that. I think they know that if they have a problem with something that's written in the local newspaper or their local online news outlet, they can call that person up and have a conversation with them and talk it out. There is the connection with local news that you don't get from other news resources.

Rosemary Ford:

According to the Pew Research Center, 38% of adults regularly get their news from Facebook, and 55% of TikTok users get news updates there. What’s the impact of this on local news?

Melanie Plenda:

People get a lot of their news on social media. I don't see that, in and of itself, as a bad thing. I do think that we should give people more credit than we do. I think many of them can tell the difference between very obvious disinformation, and that’s not what I worry about. There are sources that present themselves as legitimate or who play just a little bit fast and loose with facts,and people not being able to discern the difference — or worse, and probably more likely, don't have time to go do their own research to suss out whether that is true or not. 

In my perfect world. I think that local news — and maybe this is kind of what I'm hoping we might learn from our survey — is that if this is where people are getting their news, then I kind of feel like we need to flood the zone with accurate local news. If more of us were finding ways to innovate and bring local news to where people are getting their news — whatever the platform, I think we'd be doing the community a great service. Then kind of screaming it from the rooftops that we’re there. That's what I would like to see. A lot of outlets are doing that, they just need to do it more and get more creative.

Rosemary Ford:

Could you tell us more about that? How are local outlets adapting to that kind of social media environment?

Melanie Plenda:

I have noticed a lot more outlets embracing things like the idea of starting a podcast, or they're doing vertical videos for online or they're giving quick hits from meetings — just like a quick result, saying the story will be out later. So really interacting one-on-one through social media with their audiences. I've seen that over the past few years for sure, and I think that that's only going to increase. 

People are picking up on these sorts of innovations and new technologies and new media, and bringing those into their newsrooms and integrating them more into their day-to-day. And I think that's only a good thing.

Rosemary Ford:

So beyond the community news survey, how else can New Hampshire residents support local news organizations?

Melanie Plenda:

I would say, first and foremost, if everyone who is scrolling their social media shared one local news story a day, just imagine how many more people would be able to get connected to their local news. I think that is one of the best things you can do — not only to support local news, but to support your communities. You can be confident that those stories are written by people who live here, who care about your community and are trying to do right by it. I feel like that is one of the best ways to support local news and to help your community. 

You can also get a subscription to your local news outlet. You can give gift subscriptions during the holidays, for a birthday, why not? You can also donate to news funds that accept donations. You can also just reach out to your local news organization and see if there's opportunities to contribute, either as a writer or a volunteer, or if you have a special skill that you might want to share — all of those things help keep local news strong and keep our community strong right along with it.

Rosemary Ford:

Thank you Melanie.To take the Community News Survey, you can visit collaborativenh.org/communitysurvey.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

What’s the winter forecast for New Hampshire?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Having just come off our first nor’easter early in the season, the winter ahead seems daunting. With predictions of arctic cold in the coming weeks, should Granite Staters be prepared to hunker down? The Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts a mild winter, but what can we really expect? Here to discuss this is Mary Stampone, New Hampshire’s state climatologist and associate professor in the geography department at the University of New Hampshire.  

Melanie Plenda:

What kind of weather can we expect this coming winter? Will it be a heavy snow season?

Mary Stampone:

I expect we'll see a bit of the full range of possible winter weather conditions this season. We've already experienced some severe cold and snow, and the coldest part of the season is still ahead of us, so we'll likely see more of that. It is equally likely that we'll experience some milder weather this winter, as that has become more common in response to global warming.

Melanie Plenda:

What is your process of collecting and analyzing climate data that will go out to the public? How do you spot patterns and make predictions from this?

Mary Stampone:

We all use weather forecasts for daily conditions, but when we need to look ahead over a month or a season, we usually refer to long-term outlooks, which go beyond the weather for the next week or two. Because we're looking so far ahead, the information and a seasonal outlook is less detailed than what we get with a weather forecast. 

So, for example, outlooks can't tell us what the temperature will be on any specific day in January or February, or even how much total snow we're going to get this season. But what they do give us is a sense of the type of conditions, and these general conditions are what we can most likely expect to experience over the course of the next several months. 

Melanie Plenda:

Can you tell us about the polar vortex? What is it and how will it affect us here in New Hampshire?

Mary Stampone:

The polar vortex is a low pressure system that sits high in the atmosphere. It's typically centered over the pole, but it exists year-round. It's not just a temporary thing. It's always hanging out there, and the spin around it keeps that cold arctic air in the Arctic.

Occasionally, it weakens, and when it weakens, it kind of wobbles around. It can even expand or split. When that happens, that cold arctic air can plunge south, even as far south as Florida. It brings colder-than-normal weather into the U.S. These events can happen once or twice a year, or even not at all. They typically last maybe a few weeks or so, and they're not a permanent weather pattern.

Melanie Plenda:

What does that usually look like when that does occur in New Hampshire?

Mary Stampone:

It tends to bring extremely cold and dangerous weather to New England. But again, it tends to be temporary. You may hear on your forecast, “We’re having an arctic outbreak or a cold weather outbreak headed our way.” A lot of times those are the kinds of patterns that we can expect with the polar vortex weakening.

Melanie Plenda:

Is the polar vortex weakening becoming more frequent, and how is it connected, if at all, with climate change? 

Mary Stampone:

This is a fantastic question. Overall, we don't have a long enough record to determine if there is a trend toward a more frequent weakening of the polar vortex, or if this is simply part of some natural variability that we haven't yet captured. However, recent observations indicate that the position of it and how strong or weak it is may be impacted by sea ice and the changes in sea surface temperatures and the air pressure associated with the loss of Arctic sea ice due to global warming. So there's a lot of uncertainty still here in the research, but there is a scientific basis for the idea that we could be seeing more cold air outbreaks as the world warms. 

Melanie Plenda:

How does this colder weather brought on by the polar vortex impact the state on a larger scale? Will it affect crops and agriculture?

Mary Stampone:

Again, this weakening pattern with the cold air plunge is a temporary pattern. It can be dangerous if you have to be outside, but again, it's usually a couple of weeks at most. 

So for us, we're expecting this pattern to kind of persist through December, but by the end of December, going into the new year, temperatures are expected to shift back to average, or even above average, for what we expect to be probably a milder winter, along the lines of what we've seen in recent years. 

Melanie Plenda:

Are there other impacts with the colder weather brought on by the weakening of the polar vortex?

Mary Stampone:

It's a dangerous cold as the event is happening, but once it strengthens and re-forms, things kind of go back to normal. So that cold air gets put back up into the Arctic, and we tend to have the normal. or the more average weather that we can expect. 

Melanie Plenda:

From a climate change perspective, what can New Hampshire residents expect going forward for winters here?

Mary Stampone:

Winters across the board in New England and the Northeast are warming, and with it, we're seeing less snow and ice as well as milder conditions. So fewer deep freezes — we still get them, obviously, we get them connected with the polar vortex weakening, but they're becoming less frequent over time. This has a lot of different impacts that kind of extend beyond the winter season.

But here, we're seeing a reduction in energy needed for heating in the winter. We're seeing a contraction of the winter season. So snow happens later, and snow melt happens earlier. We're also seeing mid- season melts that reduce our snowpack. These have implications beyond the winter season. Groundwater recharge during the spring can be impacted. Also, it's these deep freezes that help kind of manage invasive species, and so winter warming can have some impacts that go beyond just the winter season.

Melanie Plenda:

What about La Niña? Will that have an impact this winter?

Mary Stampone:

So La Niña is one part of that El Niño sea surface temperature pattern that we observe in the Pacific Ocean. It can impact weather in the midlatitudes across North America. La Niña winters generally tend to favor greater snowfall in the Northeastern U.S.

However, the strength of the pattern matters. A weak La Niña — which is what we're expected to be in through the end of December into January — is usually associated with a lot of uncertainty. It's very difficult to say that this winter is going to be snowier than average. When we're talking about a weak La Niña, overall, our seasonal outlooks still favor greater-than-average precipitation. 

Melanie Plenda:

What resources should the public be aware of in finding the most reliable winter weather updates and preparing for bad weather?

Mary Stampone:

First, I say go straight to the source, which is the National Weather Service. They have regional forecast offices that produce excellent forecast information. This is a great place to go anytime you want to kind of look ahead for any coming winter weather at home or wherever it is you might be traveling.

For folks who are heading up to the White Mountains this season, I would encourage you to look at the Mount Washington Observatory forecast. They provide really great detailed information for higher-elevation weather conditions, which can be very different from what we see at lower elevations.

And closer to home, in my experience, your local broadcast meteorology team tends to have some of the most accurate local-scale information on local conditions.

Melanie Plenda:

Mary, I’ll get my shovel ready! Thank you for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

How Community Action Partnerships support New Hampshire residents in need of assistance

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

The holidays can be a difficult time for those who are struggling. As we begin this holiday season, we’re highlighting some of the organizations that support New Hampshire residents now and all year-round for those who may need assistance. The Community Action Partnership of New Hampshire is one example — it continues to aid residents across the state. That organization has five action agencies that support New Hampshire residents with resources such as access to food, energy and housing. Here to discuss what is offered locally is Betsey Andrews Parker, chief executive officer of the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County. 

Melanie Plenda:

To start, what is the Community Action Partnership of Strafford County? What kinds of resources do they provide for residents?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Community Action really is a bunch of coordinated programs that wrap around families or individuals to help get them over that tough time. Community Action Partnership of Strafford County is just one of five Community Action agencies in the state of New Hampshire. We cover the entire state. So anyone in New Hampshire that is looking for that support because of a job loss, an unexpected bill that's put them over the edge, for rental assistance, etc., Community Action is there.

Melanie Plenda:

How does your organization’s services compare to the services provided by other Community Action Partnership offices? Are there any differences between what Strafford County offers versus other counties?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

We’re one of 1,000 across the country — Community Action was started back with the War on Poverty in 1965. Across the board in New Hampshire, you know you can access Head Start, weatherization, fuel assistance, housing supports — that’s very consistent across Community Action.

But what makes Community Action really different and unique is that we're about community. So we look locally in our area at what needs to be done that we can help address. We do that by doing a needs assessment every three years and working with our community partners to say, “Is there something that we can do?” For example, some operate shelters. Three of our Community Actions operate the BRIC ((Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) program. What makes us different is that we all offer programs to help people who are experiencing low to moderate income be able to make their ends meet. We do it either directly or we partner with another organization. 

Melanie Plenda:

Who qualifies for these services? How can people find out what they are eligible to receive?

Betsey Andrews Parker: 

I would first of all encourage people to look up the Community Action Partnership of New Hampshire. You can actually go on and put your zip code in to find out exactly where your local Community Action office is, because we do have offices all across the state. 

When I say low to moderate income, that could mean a lot of things. Typically, people who are experiencing low income would be what we call 100% of the federal poverty level, and we go up to 200% of the poverty level. Basically for a family of four, that’s around $55,000, $56,000. We are targeting the people in New Hampshire who are working, who are working and disabled, who are seniors, a lot of folks who are working in lower-wage jobs who are barely making ends meet with rent, child care payments, health insurance payments. Those are the folks that are really qualifying for our services right now.

Melanie Plenda:

What is the process for applying for these services?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Every program tends to be a little different, and I think that's what makes Community Actions some of the best-kept secrets around. It's our job to worry about the red tape and the nuances of paperwork. So when you come in, for example, and you have a young child — you may have been referred by your provider to our agency — we do an intake with that client, the age of the child, how many kids, what the needs are, what the income is, and we sort of wrap around and find out what it is needed. It's really trying to figure out what the needs of the client are and how it fits in. 

Melanie Plenda: 

Do you have an idea of how many people in New Hampshire use these services across the state?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Just in Strafford County alone, we have over 19,000, and if you look at the number of people for fuel assistance alone, it’s over 60,000 households. We’re really not talking about a couple of thousand, we’re talking close to 100,000 households that access a Community Action in some way shape or form.

Melanie Plenda:

Are there any services that residents are using more frequently than others? Over the past few years, rent has increased dramatically in New Hampshire. Are more people seeking housing assistance, for example?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

COVID really showed us what the housing instability was in the area, and that has remained. I know there's lots of conversations and different schools of thought about why it has remained, but the one thing that we saw is that when we stabilize families with the Rental Assistance Program, we saw other things stabilize. We saw people were able to feed their families. We saw people were able to pay for their child care. We saw that they were able to pay off some of their debts, and we saw that they were able to remain stably housed. They had better health care outcomes, and they just had better attendance in our programs. So that money went away — and that also included one-time things like moving expenses, security deposits, first-month rent — and since then we have seen that that has been one of the biggest requests right now.

 Melanie Plenda:

According to a recent study from the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly one in three individuals experiencing poverty in New Hampshire are disabled. What specific services does your organization provide for these residents?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

I think fuel assistance is the big one that comes to mind. I think that one of the best things that New Hampshire does is when our program is open for enrollment, we target the most vulnerable, the disabled, people 65 and older, and families with children under the age of 5 because we do know how hard it is to heat a home. That is one big service that people do come to rely on because that big nugget of filling your oil tank or having that reduction of your electrical rates — that's one way we do it, with fuel assistance. If you have heat included in your rent, you get a discount on your rent. 

It's a really big piece that people who have a disability have as one of their tools in their toolbox to help offset the other costs, such as healthcare, transportation and food. I mean, let's not forget that our food expenses have gone up, and that's one thing I forgot to mention — that Community Action agencies across the board have nutrition programs. Community Action also is a distributor of what’s called commodity food programs, and we coordinate the distribution of a lot of the government surplus food that comes through to all of our soup kitchens, food pantries and shelters in New Hampshire. I think nutrition for people who are disabled, WIC, SNAP, our senior programs, our food pantries, Meals on Wheels programs that are operated through Community Action. We also have a summer meals program too. So again, it captures a lot of things to help families.

Melanie Plenda:

In President Trump’s proposal for the 2026 budget, he aims to get rid of the Community Service Block Grant program, which funds Community Action Partnership programs — New Hampshire received $4 million from this grant in 2024. If this grant goes away, how will it affect your organization in the coming years?

Betsey Andrews Parker:

Again, I come back to what makes Community Action Community Action. One of them is the Community Services Block Grant. If we were to lose that, the Community Action agencies in New Hampshire will not be able to respond as quickly and effectively to community needs as we are right now.

Melanie Plenda:

How can residents who may not need services support your organization? 

Betsey Andrews Parker:

First of all, we have an amazing federal delegation right now that advocates for us in Washington, D.C. Residents could also talk to our local state reps and town and city councils about how important Community Action is and the role that we fulfill in the communities. 

I think people who don't need Community Action services should talk to our local elected officials about what would happen to your local tax bill, to your welfare bill, to your other budgets and things. Who would pick up the slack if we were gone? There aren't enough public education slots here in the state of New Hampshire for public preschool for all of our Head Start kids. There are not enough dollars in local cities and towns to pick up the amount of money that is in fuel assistance. There certainly aren't enough child care slots. So I think that people here could talk about why Community Action is very, very important to our community. And, as always, you can give money, you can volunteer, and you can find ways to get involved. 

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you, Betsey, we really appreciate it. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

Health insurance in New Hampshire: What do recent changes mean for you?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

What’s going on with health insurance in the Granite State? If you’re following the local news, you might be confused with talk of subsidies, changes and open markets. Insurance regulations and carriers operating in New Hampshire have been constantly changing within the past couple months, creating confusion for many residents. Here to help us understand everything is D.J. Bettencourt, commissioner of the N.H. Insurance Department.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you tell our audience a bit about the Insurance Department? What does it do? And what is your role as commissioner?

D.J. Bettencourt:

The Insurance Department is the referee of the insurance marketplace. We are tasked with enforcing the insurance laws of the state to make sure companies are playing by the rules, are treating customers fairly, and are financially sound, while at the same time not micromanaging or stifling innovation within our health insurance marketplace. My role as commissioner is to strike that balance. We set clear guidelines and guardrails and let competition do what it does best, which is to increase quality and drive affordability. 

Melanie Plenda:

What's new with the insurance marketplace? What changes will people see this year?

D.J. Bettencourt:

There are going to be a number of changes, but I think the highlight for this year is stability in a period of uncertainty. We still are seeing very strong carrier participation here in New Hampshire. There are new plan designs for consumers to choose from, and there is continued rate stability. We feel this is the result of fostering a level playing field in a competitive environment that has multiple insurers competing for consumers. 

So while consumers I know are hearing a lot about changes and challenges to affordability, we here in New Hampshire are in a fairly advantageous position, certainly as compared to the rest of the country. Some states use heavy regulation, and the result of that is volatility. What we do here in New Hampshire is take a different approach. We have fair rules, we have transparency, we have robust oversight where it's necessary, and the result is a marketplace where consumers are going to have choices, and insurers are going to have to earn their business by making their plans affordable and offering high-quality coverage.

Melanie Plenda:

What about people on Medicare? In October, the Insurance Department sent out a press release advising New Hampshire residents to be ready for Medicare Advantage market changes in 2026. What are some of these changes Granite Staters should be aware of?

D.J. Bettencourt:

The Medicare Advantage market here in New Hampshire is in a very, very challenging time. There is a lot of disruption in that market. Here in New Hampshire, we are seeing carriers withdraw from that market entirely, and we are seeing the carriers that remain in that market significantly narrowing their plan offerings. 

We have found that the more rural counties in our state are being more impacted. By that I mean fewer carriers in the market, fewer plans that are available for those seniors to choose from. It is a very frustrating situation.

The reason this has come about is complicated, but the federal government, in my opinion, has done a poor job over many, many years in terms of creating a stable market. There have been a lot of shifting regulations that have been damaging to the market. In addition, the insurance carriers have made some poor business decisions over the years that have contributed to the unfortunate condition of things at the present time.

It is my hope that Washington will bring the states to the table to offer our perspective as to what reforms are needed to make Medicare Advantage more widely available to make that market more healthy. Until that time, we're going to do our part here at the department to provide those impacted seniors with as much information as we can and to make them aware of the opportunities that they now must consider.

Melanie Plenda:

How have you seen the marketplace evolve during your time with the Insurance Department? What have you learned about navigating it and advising others?

D.J. Bettencourt:

When I arrived at the department, the marketplace was still recovering from years of federal policy swings, tax credits and changing rules that were shifting. There was a lot of uncertainty, and we focused on stability. We designed a state-designed reinsurance waiver that brought premiums down by approximately 25% to 30%. We focused on streamlining regulations and strong consumer protections that did not turn into burdensome red tape.

Now I'm not claiming that the government creates value. I think the competition in the market does that, but what the department can do, and what we have done, is to do our very best to foster an environment where companies want to participate, and as a result of that, consumers benefit from those companies fighting for their business.

Melanie Plenda:

What's going on with the Affordable Care Act subsidies? What are you advising people about them? 

D.J. Bettencourt:

I know there's a lot of confusion about the subsidies right now. So the first thing I really want to be clear is that the non-American Rescue Plan tax credits remain in place. All of the tax credits and financial support that were in place prior to the American Rescue Plan — which I believe came online sometime in either 2021-2022 somewhere in that time period — all of those financial supports are still in place.

The current debate that Granite Staters are hearing about are, again, those American Rescue Plan enhanced tax credits. In New Hampshire, our preliminary review of the actuarial work and the carrier filings indicate that, on a statewide average basis, the loss of those enhanced tax credits would translate into roughly a 3% to 4% impact on premiums. That's going to vary, potentially significantly, based on the type of plan that you're looking at. That 3% to 4% is an average. 

Certainly, that 3% to 4% is meaningful for families living close to the margin, but it is a very different picture than the idea that everyone’s premiums are going to double and some of the catastrophic stories we’re hearing from other states. I always tell people to choose a plan that meets their long-term needs, with or without the subsidies, because federal policy can change quickly, and at the end of the day, the subsidies can help, but they're not a strategy. The real long-term protection for consumers is a market where insurers are competing on value and price, and that's what we have built here in New Hampshire, and what largely is preserved as we look to 2026.

Melanie Plenda:

As you mentioned, federal policies can change quickly. If Congress changes its mind in December or January about these subsidies, how will that affect people? 

D.J. Bettencourt:

We are going to be ready to implement whatever opportunities Washington makes available to the states, and we're going to leverage those opportunities to the maximum benefit of Granite Staters.

New Hampshire utilizes the federal exchange, the healthcare.gov platform, so how quickly we can leverage those opportunities will be dependent on how quickly the federal government opens up the systems that we're going to need to bring those supports online. We're going to be ready to educate Granite Staters about the potential benefit that will be available to them. We're going to make sure there's a lot of information out there. But here's the key point: While some states could face major volatility and major premium increases, New Hampshire is again better positioned than most, because we already have the lowest benchmark premiums, the lowest average premiums in the nation, and so we're going to certainly take advantage of those opportunities to create an even more competitive and affordable marketplace.

But whatever Washington does, again, it is absolutely still worth the while of the consumer to get onto the exchange and see what opportunities are out there.

Melanie Plenda:

Will these changes to insurance have any impact on the state budget or the average taxpayer? 

D.J. Bettencourt:

I think what you’re speaking to there is enrollment. We have seen significant increases in enrollment over the course of the past several years — we’re very happy about that. We like to see that people are getting more coverage. Our enrollment in the individual market is approximately 77,000, which is by far the most we have seen in terms of enrollment here in New Hampshire.

In terms of budget impact, obviously if we start to see a significant drop-off of people getting coverage, that could have an impact on uncompensated care, which are people who don't have coverage going into hospitals where the hospitals are obviously legally required to provide them with care, but the hospitals are not going to be paid for that care. The bill largely becomes the responsibility of the state, and so if we start to see a significant amount of people not getting coverage, driving up that uncompensated care cost, it could very well have an impact on future state budgets.

Melanie Plenda:

As someone who knows so much about the ins and outs of health insurance, in your opinion, are there ways to fix our insurance system as it relates to health care? What would you advise lawmakers, if asked?

D.J. Bettencourt:

If Congress were to ask my advice, I always recommend focusing on competition, innovation and consumer empowerment. I don't believe in heavy price controls — I do believe that sound consumer protections are always the way to go. Those heavy regulations — they sound good, but we find that often they rarely produce the results that you want to see. We find that prices fall naturally when the system rewards efficiency, preventative care and new innovations.

I certainly believe the government should intervene and get involved when there are true market failures. But I think the big gains in affordability come from letting companies compete and letting consumers vote with their feet, while again assuring appropriate consumer protection. 

We've got a good model here, and I think there are a lot of planks of our philosophy and model that the federal government could very seriously take a look at to improve the overall system.

Melanie Plenda:

What else should people know about getting insurance in New Hampshire? What do you hope our audience takes away from our conversation here?

D.J. Bettencourt:

It is so important to me that people know that they don't have to navigate this system alone. Again, New Hampshire has some of the most affordable coverage options in the United States, but it is still a very complex system, and we understand that. So, we as a department here at the Insurance Department, offer free, unbiased help to consumers. We get no commissions. There are no sales pitches. We are solely focused on making sure that people understand their choices and pick the plan that fits best for them, given their needs and given their budgets. 

I think that's the real story of insurance in New Hampshire. When you combine transparency, real consumer support and true competition, a lot of affordability follows from that. That's exactly what has made our state one of the most affordable places in the country for coverage — not only in 2026 but in previous years — and that is obviously something we're very proud of while fully appreciating that there is more work to do. There's going to have to be a lot of dialogue and communication between the states and the federal government to find reforms that are going to strike that appropriate balance between bringing innovation and market-driven solutions to bear to increase affordability while not compromising on consumer protection.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you, D.J., we really appreciate it.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visitcollaborativenh.org.

Tourism in New Hampshire: Where does it stand in wake of the falloff in number of Canadian visitors?

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Despite the state’s efforts to encourage tourism, New Hampshire saw a decrease in visitors this summer, especially when it comes to visitors from Canada. Tourism is one of New Hampshire’s main industries, and when there are fewer visitors to the state, its revenue suffers. What is going on, and what’s the state doing about it? Here to discuss that is Michelle Cruz, director of the N.H. Division of Travel and Tourism Development. 

Melanie Plenda:

Michelle, what can you tell us about how tourism has gone this past year here in New Hampshire? Let’s start with the summer season, but also talk about fall and look a little bit ahead to winter and ski season.

Michelle Cruz:

Right now we don't have research, so I won't be able to provide some real-time, up-to-date data for summer and fall, but I'll be able to provide what I'm hearing from the businesses and our partners. The way our contracts work is that we do need to have approval from the Executive Council. So right now, the Division of Travel and Tourism doesn't currently have an active research partner because we haven't received approval for that contract.

But what I do know from talking with our partners, around the state and in the White Mountains, there are 17 major attractions collectively welcoming visitors. This past season, what we've heard is that they welcomed about 1.3 million guests from May through October, and most reported being slightly up. There were some reported being flat or that they were a few percentage points lower compared to the previous year. What they shared with us is that food and beverage and retail performed well. Most attractions noted that there was an increase in spending in both areas. While we know that the beginning of the summer was a little bit of a challenge, just because of the consistent weekends of rain — it was a hard start and a slow start to the summer. But as that weather dried out, there were some upticks with visitors being here. They took advantage of the weather that was more in their favor, which helped to work out for vacations that were being planned. 

So while there were some moments where visitation may have been down, I think what happened is the season and the weather shift was in our favor for visitation.

Melanie Plenda:

I know that, especially at the beginning of the summer, there was a lot of concern that tourism was going to take a hit because of the issues between the U.S. and Canada. Did they play out this season? Were you hearing that from local businesses?

Michelle Cruz:

We did. We were hearing it from the Seacoast that they were about 30% down. We heard it from other areas too. I think what we were all trying to do was pivot. We were working with them to see what else could be done. We looked at our marketing initiatives and went beyond our core markets, which are the New England states, New York and eastern Pennsylvania. We were actually targeting about 60 million people east of the Mississippi, and this was based on why people are interested in visiting New England — so we went beyond to reach those visitors to entice them to come here.

Melanie Plenda:

What are your hearing and what are you seeing so far for the winter and skiing season?

Michelle Cruz:

Again, typically during this time, we would be releasing our winter seasonal forecast, and that includes project visitation numbers and estimated visitor spending. We don’t have that information right now because that would come with working with a research partner. But what we do know is that winter is an incredibly important season for New Hampshire's tourism economy. It consistently is the third busiest season, right behind summer and fall. It’s essential for businesses,  from ski areas to snowmobile operators to restaurants, lodging properties and retail. Winter brings a significant influx of visitors who support thousands of jobs, especially in our rural and northern communities

So we are looking for a positive winter, and I’m staying optimistic that we’re going to see snow.

Melanie Plenda:

Were there sectors or areas that were hit harder than others?

Michelle Cruz:

So there's always a challenge with weather. When we saw the rain hitting, there were attractions that might have been hit hard just because it was focused on outdoor recreation. When that happens, I hear from retail that they're doing well because people are staying inside. Same thing with dining, and vice versa.

When the weather changes to be more favorable for sunny, cooperative weather days, people are staying outside more. They're enjoying nature and the beauty and the reason why they come to New Hampshire. We're very weather-dependent, but we are a four-season vacation destination, so it's always looking at what's ahead, and how to be able to work with the weather that we're provided.

Melanie Plenda:

Why is tourism so important here in the state? Can you explain that to our audience? 

Michelle Cruz:

Tourism is the second largest revenue-generating industry. It plays a central role in driving the state's economy and quality of life. We hear that a lot about people being here because of the work-life balance. Every year, millions of people visit the state of New Hampshire from all over the country and around the world. They come for our natural beauty, outdoor experiences. They're looking for the rich history and that small-town charm is what they love, and it's what we can provide. And we have unique attractions that make this state so special.

So in our fiscal year 2024, what we were able to see is that we had about 14.6 million visitors who generated $7.5 billion in spending. So that's money spent at restaurants, hotels, shops, attractions, ski areas, our campgrounds, arts and culture venues and businesses all throughout the state. We're talking about our large and small businesses.

Another thing about tourism is that tourism supports 70,000 jobs in the state of New Hampshire, so that includes our seasonal and year-round hospitality jobs — restaurant employees, guide services, retail staff, lodging operators. Again, it impacts all of those small and large businesses, and it helps to keep the communities vibrant.

But what's really important for us to all keep in mind is that tourism doesn't just benefit visitors. It's going to benefit us — everybody who lives here in the state, because with the visitor spending, it helps keep the local businesses open, supports towns and the cities, and also strengthens our rural communities. So it helps to reduce that tax burden for our New Hampshire residents in many communities.

Tourism dollars make the difference between a business keeping their doors open or not. So tourism is definitely very important to the state of New Hampshire

Melanie Plenda:

You mentioned that research piece, and it sounds like maybe that might be in flux. What do you do if you don't have that research? How do you kind of make that plan going forward, and do you have a sense of what that plan is going to be going forward, even without the research?

Michelle Cruz:

We're looking at how to manage that and stay connected with our businesses and our tourism partners and leaders throughout the state. It is challenging — research is a key component when you're marketing. You're looking at effectiveness, but you're also looking at where people are traveling from, where they're going to, where they're staying, how long they're staying for, how much money they're spending, what that economic impact is. So it's a really key component in understanding visitation to any area in New Hampshire.

Melanie Plenda:

You’re kind of flying blind without a research partner, but going forward, what is your plan into 2026?

Michelle Cruz:

It would be great to be able to have a solid plan for research, so looking at having a research partner is going to be really key in being able to know if our marketing plan is working. It supports the state to stay front and center. We have momentum right now, and it helps to keep us moving forward, supporting our industry, supporting the business community and the residents of the state. It's something that's really crucial in making sure that we're staying ahead.

You know, there are reports of states who have had contracts like this pulled or are unable to market their state as need be, and it was a tremendous impact of not being in the markets they needed to be in and being able to promote their state. and the recovery from it would be years. We want New Hampshire to be front and center. We want to be able to support the tourism that helps to support our economy and then provides the quality of life for residents.

Again, this is something that’s not just bringing visitors here, but it's looking at when visitors come here, they're making their memories, they make their traditions, and then they come here year after year. Eventually, some relocate here, some may take the opportunity to move their business here, and that's through marketing the right way. It's through being able to have research and making sure that we're hitting on all those components to be a strong, competitive state, to be an innovative state, and that's what's really important.

Melanie Plenda:

Is there anything else that can be done, or any other help that's needed?

Michelle Cruz:

It's definitely getting the research, because this maximizes the impact of the strategy that we need to have reliable and up-to-date data. It's the research that tells us about traveling and where people are coming from. It's something that helps to look at the spending — where money is being spent, and the amount of money that's being spent that’s coming into the state.

That's really important, and we're doing the best we can with the tools that we have right now. We're dedicated, but having a dedicated research partner would really allow the work to be next-level. It helps to ensure every decision that we make is grounded in data and helps to keep New Hampshire continuing as a strong tourism destination. It's really important to be able to keep that message and move forward with that. 

Melanie Plenda:

What happens if New Hampshire can’t generate that interest, and bring people back?

Michelle Cruz:

Like I mentioned, I think the amount of the $7.5 billion in spending, which was such a support and it's a revenue generator, and if we don't see that, we take a hit as a state, and we're hoping that that doesn't happen.That's not what we want to see — we want to work towards being able to market and generate the revenue, but also keep New Hampshire front and center. It's not just tourism for visitors, but it's for our residents too.

Melanie Plenda:

Michelle, thank you so much for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

The ‘invisible’ hunger: The burden of food insecurity on Granite Staters

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Food insecurity. According to the 2025 Feeding America Report, one in nine New Hampshire residents face hunger. What does that mean? And how did those who rely on government assistance find help in the midst of the government shutdown? Here to discuss this and more is Elsy Cipriani, executive director of the New Hampshire Food Bank.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you explain what the New Hampshire Food Bank is and how it functions?

Elsy Cipriani:

The New Hampshire Food Bank is the only food bank in the state. The simplest way to think about us is that we are the center of a network to relieve hunger. We are a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, and at the same time, we are one of more than 200 food banks across the United States that partner with Feeding America.

Something that probably people don't know about the New Hampshire Food Bank is that we don't do a lot of direct service because we are part of a big network of partner agencies, and these partner agencies are soup kitchens, emergency shelters and food pantries. Most of the food distribution takes place through our partner agencies, and we are making sure that they have enough food to feed their communities.

Melanie Plenda:

How did the Food Bank operate during the government shutdown? Did things change? Did you have to pivot in some way? 

Elsy Cipriani:

It was an incredible, challenging few weeks for us. When the federal shutdown occurred, the state's SNAP benefits, which is the food stamp program, were in jeopardy for the month of November. Thousands of families who relied on SNAP were in a state of confusion. One of the things that the state of New Hampshire did, specifically the Department of Health and Human Services, was put together a contingency plan, and they asked the New Hampshire Food Bank to execute this plan.

Then we rallied all our partner agencies across the state. We put together SNAP distribution points, either through mobile food pantries or through specific pantries and different communities, making sure that we cover different corners of the state. We did this for two weeks. 

This crisis showed just how many of our neighbors are just one emergency away from suffering from hunger, and from suffering from poverty or entering into poverty. We continued these efforts for another week, just to make sure that we provide extra relief for families and individuals in New Hampshire. But again, this is something that happens all year-round. Hunger is something that people in New Hampshire are experiencing.

As you mentioned in the beginning of the show, one in every nine people in New Hampshire are facing food insecurity, and the number is even worse for children. We are talking about one in every seven children in the state facing food insecurity. When we look at the North Country, we are talking about more than 20% of children are facing food insecurity.

Melanie Plenda:

What can you tell us about food insecurity in New Hampshire? How have things changed at all in recent months? 

Elsy Cipriani:

Food insecurity means that someone doesn't have consistent access to enough food to live a healthy lifestyle. What has changed is the pressure on families. Families and individuals across the state are faced with impossible challenges. They have to choose between heating, food, clothing for their children, and more. One of the things that we have seen, particularly this past year, is that all these challenges, federal cuts, cuts to the SNAP program and the government shutdown are just creating an incredible amount of stress and confusion for our most vulnerable populations. The people that are most affected by all these changes and all these events are our children, senior citizens and people living with disabilities. 

Melanie Plenda:

What does food insecurity look like, and who does it affect?

Elsy Cipriani:

One of the things about food insecurity is that it can be very invisible for people. Let's think about our family budget when we are going through financial hardship, the first thing that we cut from our budget is food, because it's the most flexible thing that we can play around with. We have to pay rent or mortgage, we have to pay utilities, but food is something that we can play around with. So a lot of people go to the stress of eating less, sacrificing themselves —- especially for parents, sacrificing themselves by not eating so their children have some food. We don't see that — they can be our friends, our neighbors, people in our community — but just because we don’t see it, it doesn't mean that they are not suffering from food insecurity. 

Melanie Plenda:

Can you tell us more about the programs of the Food Bank? Let’s start with the New Hampshire Feeding New Hampshire Program, which purchases food from local farms. What does this process look like across the state?

Elsy Cipriani:

New Hampshire Feeding New Hampshire is one of our favorite programs. It's definitely a win-win situation. We use funds to help our partner agencies buy fresh and nutritious food, like produce, protein and dairy directly from local New Hampshire farms.

One of the things that we do besides buying nutritious food and supporting local farmers in New Hampshire, is that we also provide small grants to our partner agencies so they can do their own purchasing because we know that many of these local food pantries and soup kitchens already have their own partnerships and they all work in relationships with people in their community and the farmers in their community. So besides us purchasing all these nutritious food for local farmers, we also give small grants to our partner agencies so they can decide what to buy, how to buy it, and support the local communities.

Melanie Plenda:

What about the Cooking Matters program?

Elsy Cipriani:

This is a hands-on program that really empowers families and individuals to learn how to cook or to improve their cooking skills, and is mostly targeted to SNAP recipients. One of the great things about this is that we try to use, during our cooking demonstrations and our classes, anything that families will buy with their benefits. We try to show people that even if they are on a budget, on a limited budget, they can still cook healthy, affordable and nutritious meals. 

Melanie Plenda:

In September, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was cutting the annual food insecurity survey across the nation. Since this data usually assists in predicting hunger demand and securing funding, how will the New Hampshire Food Bank pivot in the future without it?

Elsy Cipriani:

That was a significant loss — not just for us, for all food banks across the United States and for Feeding America, because the data that they produce every year relies a lot on the survey.

As a network, we have had some discussions this past September with Feeding America and many food banks across the United States about how we can overcome this challenge. One of the unique things about food banks is that we are in a position where we already gather a lot of data from the people we serve. We have the technology and we have the capacity to gather day-to-day data of how many people our partner agencies are serving and where the need is. So one of the things that we need to get better in New Hampshire is using that data now that we are not going to have resources from the USDA. But that's going to take time, so definitely, there is going to be a gap in information, and there is going to be a challenge until we can reach the point that we can make better use of our own data.

Melanie Plenda:

Is it true that in November and December that the Food Bank receives the most support and donations, due to the holidays? Is it enough? And what about the rest of the year?

Elsy Cipriani:

Yes, that’s true. We receive the most donations, volunteer requests and food drives during November and December. But the truth is, hunger is a 365-day-a-year problem. The need for food relief and hunger relief doesn't end on Jan. 1. In fact, our donations often drop significantly in the beginning of the year.

I also want to highlight the summer, because the summer is a very tricky and challenging time for us when we talk about food insecurity and the different causes for food insecurity. One of the main causes of food insecurity is disruption of some systems, and the school system is a great example. Many children rely on going to school to eat, and when the summer months come they don't have that access, and they may face food insecurity. So we do see donations usually drop during the summer, so we’d really welcome the community to take a look at that and think about that during the summer we do run a good number of summer programs across the state. We partner with the school districts to make sure that even during the summer, children still have access to nutritious meals.

Melanie Plenda:

What can New Hampshire residents do to support the New Hampshire Food Bank and their neighbors facing hunger, now and in the future?

Elsy Cipriani:

There are three specific ways in which people can help the New Hampshire Food Bank or their local food programs. Donate funds — go to our website or to the local food pantries. Volunteer — you can look at our website. We have many volunteer opportunities every week, and you can also host a food drive, and that food drive can benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank. You can contact us and you can drop the food drive items at our location, and you can also support your local food programs.

Melanie Plenda:

Thank you Elsy, for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

New report gauges how New Hampshire women are faring amid the barriers they face

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

The N.H. Women’s Foundation has released the fourth edition of its biannual report, “The Status of Women in New Hampshire 2025.” This report provides data on barriers women face in the Granite State and highlights several programs that aim to support New Hampshire’s women. How are New Hampshire women faring, according to the report? Here to discuss some of their findings is Devan Quinn, director of policy at the N.H. Hampshire Women’s Foundation. 

Judi Currie:

Why does the N.H. Women’s Foundation feel it’s important to release this biannual report? 

Devan Quinn:

The Women's Foundation invests in opportunity and equality for the women and girls of the Granite State through research, education, advocacy and grantmaking. We know that when communities, individuals, leaders and our legislature have adequate data broken down by gender, race, ethnicity, age, geography, income and parenting status, people can make better decisions about how to support women and girls in our community. We are focused on being a trusted source of data that people can rely on — not just our community members and our leaders, but also the organizations that are directly serving women and girls that we also provide grants to as well.

Judi Currie:

Why should all residents care about the status of women in New Hampshire?

Devan Quinn:

Half of New Hampshire is women. Women are vital to our economy, to our care economy, and to the thriving communities all across our state. Investing in women is investing in our state, and we know that there is an under-investment in women and girls. A very small percentage of philanthropic grantmaking goes to women and girls. So when we can uplift what's going on just below the surface of some headlines, we can see where those needs are and opportunities for investment.

Judi Currie:

Last year, we discussed the “Status of Girls in New Hampshire” report, and this year we’re discussing the status of women. What are some of the main differences in what women in New Hampshire face versus what girls face? 

Devan Quinn:

What we are seeing actually is, unfortunately, a parallel between what women and girls are facing. We reported last year that we were facing a mental health crisis, and particularly for girls. This year, in the release of the “Status of Women,” we're also seeing that women are much more likely than men to experience poor mental health, specifically depression and anxiety. The factors that go into poor mental health for girls are uniquely gendered, and the factors that go into that for women are also uniquely gendered. And so in fact, we want to highlight the opportunity to focus on the issues that we see with a gender lens.

Some of the differences in the report, of course, is that the “Status of Girls” also talks about education and how girls are doing in K through 12 and in college, and the “Status of Women” covers leadership in our elected representation of women.

Judi Currie:

Some things are still the same. The gender wage gap is still present, abortion laws are in flux, and child care remains expensive. What are some of the biggest differences in this report from the last “Status of Women” report, in 2023?

Devan Quinn:

It's important to notice the trends that have not changed. Things that have changed, I would say, are the outside impacts on these inequities on women.

We've heard the high cost of living impacts people across the Granite State, but it has a disproportionate burden on women. So what we know, from a headline type of standpoint, is that New Hampshire has a very low poverty rate. The poverty rate for adults in the nation is low, but when you look at the cost of living, that actually indexes New Hampshire much lower, to 11th, so that high cost of living is having a disproportionate burden on New Hampshire women because the costs of things are much higher, including child care, and it's more likely that women are paying those high child care costs, particularly among single moms. 

Also, it's a cost to women and their careers, because women are much more likely to leave the workforce entirely if they can't access or afford child care at all. We also know that access to programs that support families, and particularly women, are not being taken advantage of as much as we would like to see. There's an under-enrollment — the number of women who qualify for programs like WIC or SNAP, we don't have all those who qualify actually enrolled, which could really help them.

And then, of course, women are doing that all along the gender wage gap. So whatever men are earning, women who are in the same type of job and role and responsibility are earning less than men. So when all these things are combined, the new thing this year that we're talking about, is the high cost of living, that burden particularly being on women.

Judi Currie:

Why are these statistics important to highlight, especially during the government shutdown?

Devan Quinn:

It's so important to focus on the precarious position we are in when our systems are not working in a federal government shutdown. Certainly, we're feeling the impact of not having access to SNAP or the potential instability of WIC, or the lack of income from all furloughed workers. 

So one thing that we also want to highlight is that SNAP, WIC or Medicaid — none of these programs cover the cost of menstrual products. So when families have additional burdens of not having their SNAP benefits and having to pay out of pocket for things that SNAP would normally cover, that exacerbates the tightness on their budget and they already can't access menstrual products through SNAP, WIC and Medicaid. Now it's an additional thing in their budget. These are the things that particularly impact women when we talk about menstrual product insecurity or “period poverty.”

What we also want to highlight is that these are not luxury items. These are absolute requirements to live. We would never have this conversation about toilet paper or paper towels in public bathrooms and having access, but we do have to advocate for access to menstrual products, which are health and a dignity issue.

Judi Currie:

Another focus of the report is women in leadership positions. The report states that “39% percent of towns have zero women on their select board.” This percentage has decreased from the 2023 report by 3%, but it still is a prevalent issue. Why is there such a significant gender gap in women being elected for local-level municipal representation?

Devan Quinn:

So what we know, and what we're very proud of, is the women's representation we have at the federal level. At the top of our leadership is a lot of women — our two senators, one of two of our congresspeople and our women governor. We are so proud of that in New Hampshire. But, unfortunately, what we see is that as we look at the more local levels — at the state level and then the municipal level — that drops off. The trend actually reverses, and that is very important for our pipeline of women serving in office. 

One of the reasons we see that is because women need to be encouraged to run for office. It is more likely that women don't see themselves as potential elected leaders, and they are more likely to run when people encourage them to run. So that's something that we all can do right now. To take action is to think about the women in your life and encourage them to run for office.

This is especially important for all these issues we just talked about — from child care to SNAP benefits to mental health — because we know that when women are elected to office, regardless of what party they're in, they are more likely to support policies that benefit women and girls. They're more likely to support policies in health care, in education, in support of the things that we're talking about. We also know that women are more likely to reach across the aisle and be bipartisan and get things done. So it's not just about seeing women in office, which is very important for girls, to see women leading, but it's also important because women can fix these issues.

Judi Currie:

The report also highlights programs that are doing important work to support women in New Hampshire. What were some of the programs highlighted, and how are they helping women?

Devan Quinn:

Because of this opportunity to increase women's leadership we run the Women Run! program, which is the Granite State's only nonpartisan program that encourages and trains women to run for office at the local and state level. We actually had 15 alums this year run for municipal or citywide office, and we're so proud of all the positions they are in and have earned to be in and all of the people who are more likely to run in the future after attending our program.

This is something that we can all be part of. We can encourage women to run for office. Think about the women in your life — ask them to run. Oftentimes, the women who are looking for people to run for office and saying, “You should run for office” actually need a mirror to look at themselves and say that they should run for office.

Judi Currie:

What else can be done to help support women in New Hampshire? 

Devan Quinn:

We need to first be aware, and part of this report is an education effort. It is for people making decisions about investments in the programs that support women and girls. We will give this report to every single legislator. We'll send it around to many partner organizations, state agencies and our grantees. We provide grants to support women and girls, and they use this data as well to apply for grants, and that's how we can encourage more philanthropic giving to organizations that support women and girls. 

If you want to take action right now, give to the organizations in your community that are serving women and girls. Not enough money goes to organizations supporting women and girls. Reach out to your legislators and tell them about the issues that you care about. We have a volunteer legislature who wants to hear from you and really values your thoughts and is accessible to you via call or an email. They usually absolutely respond and think about what you have to say and consider running for office. 

We need more representation, more diverse representation, because we know that when a diversity of perspectives are in a room — whether it’s a hearing room or a community organization — the group is going to come up with better solutions when there is diversity of perspectives. So jump in and get involved and run for office.

Judi Currie:

Thank you Devan, for joining us today. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

How will changes to federal health and welfare programs affect Granite Staters?

[Click here to watch the full conversation on The State We’re In]

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

What are the impacts of federal policy changes on health and welfare benefits and what changes we expect to see in New Hampshire? The N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute has issued briefs on health care cuts and other changes that affect New Hampshire residents, and here to discuss that is Phil Sletten, research director at the Fiscal Policy Institute. 

Melanie Plenda:

On Oct. 24, the N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute hosted an all day event that focused on the high cost of living in New Hampshire, titled “Working Hard and Falling Behind.” What is it that makes New Hampshire so expensive?

Phil Sletten:

What we really wanted to examine both at the event and in research that was led by my colleague Nicole Heller, was what has happened to the cost of living in New Hampshire over a 20-year period. So we looked at data from 2005-2015 and 2024. We looked at some key living costs, particularly housing, child care, health care, food and gasoline.  We also looked at what a median price single-family house would cost, including interest rates and property taxes, etc.

So those data allowed us to have insight into what these core living costs mean for Granite Staters, and how they have changed for Granite Staters over time. We see that, particularly in the last 10 years, it has become substantially less affordable to live in New Hampshire, especially for a household with median household income, than it was 10 years ago. 

Melanie Plenda:

There were four areas of concern presented at the conference. What is the connection between health care, housing, caregiving and a new term, “rurality”?

Phil Sletten:

We examined these four areas, because these are all cost areas that affect people in ways that, I would say, are difficult to avoid. All of us get sick at some point, so health care is going to be an expense that many of us face. Having health insurance is something that, because of the high cost of basic care and specific expenses, health insurance is something that people — either in conjunction with their employer, through individual means, or through public support — try to maintain. 

Caregiving is a cost that households with children often face or they take the tradeoff of, if you’re not active in child care of some form, then you’re maybe not in the labor force as much but we’re all going to need care at some point or provide care at some point, whether it’s to someone younger or someone older or whether we need care when we’re older ourselves, for example.

Housing is another one. Everyone needs a place to live, whether it’s owning a home or renting.

Then living in rural areas presents particular challenges as well. Some of those costs, particularly transportation costs and also the access to goods and services — not just moving them, but also what happens to them in the process of getting there, or do even often make it to where you live in a rural area. Those are all costs that are difficult to avoid, and all ones that we consider relatively core. There are some costs that you can sort of find inventive and creative ways around, and people do. But we wanted to focus on those areas, because we think there was a lot to unpack there in terms of both cost drivers and some of the potential solutions that our panelists brought forward in the conference.

Melanie Plenda:

Is there a connection between housing accessibility and health? 

Phil Sletten:

Absolutely. If we think about the social determinants of health — which is a fancy way of saying all the things that are sort of upstream of getting sick that may happen to you before you might consider yourself sick, having an illness or some form of disability. All those things are what researchers would call the social determinants of health, and that includes your built environment. Does your housing have all of the things that it needs? Something as simple as having the plumbing fixtures or kitchen fixtures available. Is there mold in the home? Is it difficult to keep your home at temperature when it's very cold outside, because it may not be as well-insulated? Those are all built environment characteristics that could interact with health and social determinants of health, which can also include access to food and other services such as education.

Melanie Plenda:

The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which became law in July, makes significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program known as SNAP. Who is most affected by these changes?  

Phil Sletten:

The changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the federal reconciliation law that passed back in July are ones that are direct, but some of them we're going to have to see how they shake out at the state level. That's because SNAP is a program in which all the benefits are federally funded, but there is a split in administrative costs and administrative responsibility between the federal government and the state governments, and that cost split is actually going to change. Both those administrative costs and states are more likely going to have to carry most of the cost of paying for those benefits. 

Melanie Plenda:

What is the state of New Hampshire doing to fill the gap in funding?

Phil Sletten:

Right now, the SNAP program is facing a gap in funding that's associated with the federal government shutdown. So there's two components here. One is the long-term reduction in funding associated with the federal reconciliation law. The other is what's happening immediately and has been happening since Oct. 1, which is that the federal government isn't technically open, or at least not all of it is technically open and funded. 

So the federal government pays for SNAP benefits in monthly installments, and the state will not be receiving its monthly installment for November. That means that the roughly 76,000 people in New Hampshire, including about 26,000 children, who are enrolled in the SNAP program in the state won't receive assistance to afford food from the federal government in November, at least until the federal government reopens. So what the state is doing is finding ways of additional resources and contracting with the New Hampshire Food Bank. 

[Editor’s note: Since this interview took place, the Trump administration agreed to partially fund SNAP, providing 50% of the normal amount.]

Melanie Plenda:

Let’s turn now to Medicaid. More than 180,000 New Hampshire residents are on Medicaid. Who is at greatest risk of losing their benefits with changes to Medicaid enrollment eligibility?

Phil Sletten:

There are both federal and state changes here. The state passed its state budget on June 27, and the federal government passed the federal reconciliation law on July 4. The two pieces of legislation didn't really have a clear vision of what each other was doing as they were being changed. Indeed, the federal changes were happening relatively late in the process, and they weren't watching all the state budget changes. 

So there's a couple of different layers of changes here. The largest one is work requirements. Medicaid, unlike SNAP — which has work requirements currently to maintain enrollment — doesn't have work requirements. Arkansas, New Hampshire and Georgia have all conducted experiments with work requirements in the past, over the last seven years or so, but those have been stopped because of federal law or have been maintained as just a small pilot component because of federal law.

Now that federal law has changed, there are work requirements that are part of the Medicaid program and they affect particularly Medicaid expansion enrollees, who are adults with poverty-level or near poverty-level incomes who are enrolled in what we call in New Hampshire, the Granite Advantage program. The state version of those requirements would have about 100 hours a month of work or community engagement requirements that fit the approved list. The federal government has a somewhat different approved list and identifies 80 hours per month as the threshold for maintaining coverage. It's not clear exactly which of these versions is going to be the dominant one in New Hampshire. 

But that's not the only change for enrollees. There are also going to be co-payments for Medicaid enrollees, and the state passed a version of premiums — payments that people make to the state to remain enrolled in Medicaid, when previously they didn't have to make payments, or at least not payments of this scale. The state implemented premiums, and the federal government implements co-pays in its new law, and those will probably override at least some of the premiums for some populations. 

There are also some certain lawfully present immigrants in the United States who are currently eligible for Medicaid as well as Medicare, SNAP and health care premium assistance tax credits that will no longer be eligible for those services. This includes refugees, asylees, victims of domestic and sexual violence and human trafficking who are lawfully present in the U.S., currently eligible, who will no longer be eligible starting next year.

There are also limits on what are called provider taxes, in this case taxes on hospitals. It's very complex, but the basic upshot of it is that the state raised about $280 million in the state fiscal year 2024 through these provider taxes and federal matching funds to fund the Medicaid program. When the federal limits that are new are fully put into place, that $280 million wouldn't have been able to be raised that way, so it would have to be raised through some other fashion. So that will likely change the Medicaid program in New Hampshire, but we don't know how.

Melanie Plenda:

Do we have a sense or there data that might show, with all of these changes, what might happen as a result in our state?

Phil Sletten:

There are two categories of what might happen. One is disenrollment, and the estimates that I’ve seen from KFF projected that with, all the changes in the federal reconciliation law — just what happened federally, not counting what we might see with the federal-state policy interactions that are a little harder to predict at this point — that was about 27,000 fewer people would have health coverage in New Hampshire in 2024 than would have otherwise if the federal reconciliation law had not passed. That number changes if you include the premium tax credits that are up for discussion at the federal level currently. That would boost it to about 32,000 people.

There’s also a set of unknowns related to fiscal pressures on the state that may prompt state policy decisions because of changes at the federal level.. We don’t know how those are going to shake out in the coming years because those will be a series of state policy decisions that will be implemented at the time those provisions are implemented.

Melanie Plenda:

Phil Sletten, research director at the N.H. Fiscal Policy Institute, thank you for joining us today. 

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

New Hampshire startups: How Launch 603 has connected small businesses

 By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, about 97% of New Hampshire's businesses are small businesses that together employ nearly half of the state's private-sector workforce. A relatively new annual event, Launch 603, brings key startup resources into one space for a half-day of learning and connecting, while also recognizing some of the leading startups in the state. To talk about Launch 603 is Matt Mowry, co-publisher and executive editor of Business NH Magazine.

Melanie Plenda:

The 2025 Launch 603, which took place on Oct. 28, was the second time that you have brought together startups and key service providers. What inspired you to go from writing about startups to creating this event? 

Matt Mowry:

We saw an explosion of startups during the pandemic. It was “The Great Reassessment.” People were stuck at home, and they were wondering, “Is this really what I want from my life?” For some, that meant changing jobs, some for changing careers, and for others, it was taking control of their own destiny and finally starting that new business. 

One of the things that I was commonly hearing from these startups as they moved along is that they didn't realize the resources that we had here in New Hampshire that were either free or low-cost, that could provide them with everything from funding to coaching. So we started producing a guide for startups in our July issue, which is our Business Resource Directory. It's chock full of great information and statistics about the state for businesses. We thought that was a perfect place to put our startup guide, and it received such a phenomenal response, we thought, “Let's take this rich learning we're providing out of the magazine and put it into the real world, where people can interact with these experts and ask questions and have just a full day learning experience that they can emerge from to move their startups to the next level.”

Melanie Plenda:

You had as one of your featured speakers, Brian Gottlob, director of the Economic and Labor Market Information Bureau. When startups are often at the mom-and-pop stage, how important is it to understand the labor market? 

Matt Mowry:

Well, it's one aspect of the economy, and even if you don't have employees, it's good to understand what your customers are going through and what those indicators mean for the economy. Brian's a well -known economist in our state, and he offers an overall look at the economy of New Hampshire to really give some context to our startups about what they're going to be facing in the coming year.

We're entering a stage of economic uncertainty that's going to be a challenge for any business, but particularly for startups who are vulnerable, who don't have the history, the capital and the customer base built quite yet. So we want to give them all the arsenal that they can have at their disposal and Brian's helped set the table for our discussion for the day.

Melanie Plenda:

What about New Hampshire’s business climate makes it a good place to launch a startup?

Matt Mowry:

One is access to people. You have access to things like the Small Business Administration and the Small Business Development Center, SCORE. There's a lot of organizations, and some of them are national, but here in New Hampshire it's very easy to get in touch with them, to get access to experts. We're a state where you can have access to our leaders. If you're having a problem, it's easy to reach out and find someone that can help you solve it. So I think that's one of the really key advantages that we have here in New Hampshire. 

That isn't to say we aren't without challenges but we do have a rich startup culture. We;re ranked 13th overall, according to U.S. News and World Report, for business creation. So we have a lot of entrepreneurial spirit here in the state. But Wallet Hub ranked New Hampshire 45th for conditions that support startups, due to our business environment, business costs and our access to resources, such as funding. So there are challenges of being in a small state and doing a startup, but because of the access that we have to folks to help a startup succeed, I think that makes us a really great place to be.

Melanie Plenda:

We hear often about the “New Hampshire Advantage,” mainly touting lower business taxes, being a draw. Does this really make a difference for small shops?

Matt Mowry:

When you are starting up, you are resource-poor and expense-rich. You're spending a lot of money and at the same time you're not bringing in probably as much as you would like. So any savings is a help, especially when it comes to tax situations. But it's not the only advantage here in New Hampshire. It's the access to people being able to make those connections that can get you to whatever it is that you need.

Melanie Plenda:

It seems as though new banks are entering the New Hampshire market every week. Are they all after the big fish or does this translate to capital startup? 

Matt Mowry:

New Hampshire has been a rich market for banks. We have attracted a lot of out-of-state banks. We've seen a lot of mergers and acquisitions. There's a reason they're attracted to what would appear to be a small marketplace, but we have a lot of businesses here. There's a lot of opportunity. We have a lot of wealth here in our state. So banks are attracted to that.

But different banks are attracted for different reasons. Some of them are going after those big fish, but big fish are a small part of the New Hampshire economy. Small- and medium-sized businesses are an important part of the marketplace in who they want to attract. Startups, depending on the bank, may not be on their radar yet. Startups come with a lot of risk, and especially with the economic uncertainty that we are entering, banks are not going to be willing to take as many risks without some backups. So that's where it's important, where startups can make those connections to things like the Small Business Administration that can provide loan guarantees that make it more attractive for banks to want to do that.

But startups are having to bootstrap more. They're having to go to friends and family. There's crowdsourcing. There's a lot of different options that startups have to look at before maybe they get to the stage where banks are going to take a closer look at them,

Melanie Plenda:

From cybersecurity to the potential for violence in the workplace, how are these challenges different for a small business?

Matt Mowry:

For small businesses, cybersecurity is actually a huge issue. Most people think that it's the big guns out there that really have to worry about it, and while they are targets, they also are more savvy. They have better protection against cyber threats. That's why we're seeing an increase in cyber attacks on small- and medium-sized businesses that don't have as many resources to protect themselves against such attacks. So as a startup, it's something that they really have to consider and look at what they can do to protect themselves. 

Violence in the workplace is an issue for any business. That may not be as much of an issue for a small business because they just don't have employees as a startup, or have a small number of them. But, those attacks are coming from all over. Any concern that a larger or medium-sized business may have, startups are going to have those same concerns. It's just more compounded because they are just getting off the ground, and they just don't have the resources, perhaps, to address all those issues yet.

Melanie Plenda:

What do businesses need to know about AI?

Matt Mowry:

For startups, it's a real opportunity here, and for small businesses, AI can become that extra employee that fills in some of the talent gaps you may not have or expedite some of the things that you're doing as a startup, as an entrepreneur. It can be a real advantage, but there's a lot of pitfalls to AI that people need to know about. There's legalities involved with it too. So there's a lot of catching up to do in a market that's changing very quickly due to AI.

Melanie Plenda:

Can you talk about some of the startups honored at your event? 

Matt Mowry:

So in our July issue, we did in addition to providing information, we wanted to be aspirational, and so we selected some startup stars from those who applied to us for it, as well as working with our partners, the SBA, the SBDC and the New Hampshire Tech Alliance, to identify great startups that are here in the state.

There is a real range of them. Everything from Big Dog Sauce Company, which makes a variety of barbecue sauces and hot sauces and we have New England Sports Hub, which is a large sports dome in Somersworth. That came out from an idea of someone seeing a hole in the marketplace where such a facility might be needed. 

We also have The Printing Press in Dover, started by a woman who used to work for more corporate ‘big box’ printing and copying providers. She wanted to do better for her customers, and decided that she could do so and started her own little, small, independent business.

We had a lot of great companies that we honored as examples of the type of startup and entrepreneurial spirit we have in New Hampshire.

Melanie Plenda:

Matt Mowry, co-publisher and executive editor of Business NH Magazine, thank you for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

Radically Rural: What the summit’s 2025 edition looks like

The Radically Rural summit is back. The annual event brings together those who love rural life, but also want to solve small-town challenges. Radically Rural is a grassroots movement founded in 2018 in Keene that connects people who are passionate about small-town life with those who are pioneering innovative solutions to common problems. It’s back for 2025 with new ideas and new solutions. To preview the summit are Executive Director Julianna Dodson and Lillian Chase, program and development coordinator, both from the Hannah Grimes Center for Entrepreneurship and part of the planning team for the summit.

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

Melanie Plenda:

Julianna, can you tell us a bit about the background of Radically Rural and its connection to the Hannah Grimes Center? 

 Julianna Dodson:

The Hannah Grimes Center started as the marketplace on Main Street about 28 years ago, and has continually evolved to kind of meet the moment that we're in as a region and to meet needs that we have through innovation, collaboration and gathering together.

 About 18 years ago, they started an annual event called Connect and met annually, and it worked really well for our region to kind of come together and shape and share ideas and increase connections, share solutions and making sure folks weren't duplicating efforts, things like that. 

 When The Keene Sentinel got involved in that effort in 2016, the event just continued to grow. At one of the events, someone stood up during an idea jam, and said, “Rural places shouldn't be kept out of being able to host large gatherings just because we don't have large convention centers. We should be able to use our whole downtown as a convention center.” And everyone was like, “We should do that.” So a group got together and really did some brainstorming around what that could look like. 

 Melanie Plenda:

How has it evolved over the years?

 Julianna Dodson:

We had two years before the pandemic of hosting in downtown Keene, and it was hugely successful. Then when the pandemic hit, we moved everything online. Then they received a Northern Border Regional Commission grant to hire a Radically Rural director, and that's where I came on the scene. 

 When I started, we had our first hybrid year, and from that point forward, having someone who is dedicated to this work, we were able to actually expand to year-round programming through virtual roundtables. Over time, we have also evolved to include small town trips every year where we visit one small town and learn all about them and what they're doing and make what makes them unique, what models they have to offer, what challenges they're grappling with. We've also started last year with an annual correspondence to Congress to help communicate some of the needs that we're hearing about from the grassroots community that we steward. 

 I would say also, I think what has evolved the most, in my view, is the relationships in the community, which gets stronger and stronger every year, and that has really allowed us to individually and in groups, kind of customize our support relationally and with connections to resources.

Melanie Plenda:

Lillian, tell us about the theme this year, which is “resonance,” and how that will play out. 

 Lillian Chase:

After last year's summit, based on some feedback from our advisory group, we knew we wanted to do some radical imagination exercises and just look at the stories we're telling about rural communities — and if we could have a perfect rural community, what it would look like and how we could get there. So we started by finding a partner for that work, and we started working with the Resonance Network. They're going to be speaking at several of our sessions

 They explained to us kind of what their name means, and this idea that it's a single force that makes a single vibration something greater. We loved that because it resonated with us. We thought that's what we do at Radically Rural. We take a single idea or thought or model, and we bounce it off everyone else in the room to create a solution, to create ideas that can spark rural innovation across the country. 

 This year, we're diving into that with more cross-sector collaboration than ever. We really want people in public health to be able to bounce ideas off of people in the arts and see what creative solutions can come from.

 Melanie Plenda:

Lillian, what’s new this year at the summit?

 Lillian Chase:

More cross-sector collaboration than ever. Our Wednesday and Thursday sessions are all going to touch on more than one track. So it might be the arts, it might be clean energy, it might be land, but it's going to be multiple of those every single time.

 The other new thing that we're doing is adding a day, so Tuesday, the first day of the summit, is going to be focused on staying in your track, collaborating, making connections with people who are doing similar work to you, so that you can have those bonds and a place to start before you dive into more cross sector collaboration. 

 We're having field trips. We're having track specific sessions. One of the really cool things we're going to do is our Land and Community track is going to Yellowbud Farm in Massachusetts. They're going to talk with the folks that are farming there and just have a chance to really kind of be immersed in the agriculture and the ideas behind the things that are going to be on panels that we're going to talk about in the next few days. 

Melanie Plenda:

Julianna, what kind of an impact do you think the summit has had over the years? 

 Lillian Chase:

This is a fun one, because I am 100% certain that I have not even remotely been able to keep track of all of the impacts and all the mycelium under the soil that has just spread like wildfire. But there are a couple of really tangible things that I can point to. We've had other people start conferences, replicating Radically Rural, and that's been really fun, because we just like to share. So we’re like, “Take everything.” For our programs, we share them freely with anyone who wants to use them and replicate them and change them. 


My favorite part, honestly, is that people have become really good friends through this, and they connect during the year. They support each other during the year. I personally have at least three of my best voice memo friends through Radically Rural, and it's just been delightful to see how it's grown and strengthened over the years.

 Melanie Plenda:

Lillian, who comes to Radically Rural? How do they find out about it?

 Lillian Chase:

We like to say that anybody who hears a problem and wants to solve it comes to Radical Rural — people with that spark of “I could contribute.” Those are the kind of people that come, and then obviously people who love their rural communities. That's why we get together — to celebrate rural, to solve problems for rural areas. So if you live, work or recreate in rural areas, Radically Rural is really the place for you to come meet your people, and people find out about it at this point from previous attendance. 

 Melanie Plenda:

Julianna, what do you hope people take away from attending the summit?

 Julianna Dodson: 

I would say two things. The first one is something else that we haven't done and that we're doing this year is an Education track, and so I'm really hoping that folks can kind of come together from different perspectives as educators and really kind of like work on issues together.

 Then the second thing I would say is we've always been known as very solutions-based, upbeat, positive. As one of our founders, Mary Ann  Kristiansen, would say, “No wringing of the hands, let's actually move forward.” That hasn't changed. However, I would say as we've matured as programming and as we've grown over time, we are more interested, not in what could be considered like low-hanging fruit, we're more interested in really grasping at the roots. 

 Every year we've gotten more and more kind of intentional in addressing how entangled everything really is, ecologically, economically, socially. And that's one of the reasons that we have more sessions that are cross-pollinating this year, and why we're kind of bringing up topics that we really haven't before.

 Melanie Plenda:

And Lillian, where do people go if they want more information about this? 

Lillian Chase:

Go to Radicallyrural.org and you can check out our agenda there. You can sort by track. You can get your tickets there. Definitely go to our website.

Melanie Plenda:

So interesting. Julianna and Lillian, thank you for joining us today.

“The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication at Franklin Pierce University. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org.

State House update: Upcoming issues, possible legislation, and how that could affect you

By Rosemary Ford and Caitlin Agnew

This article has been edited for length and clarity.

A new session of the Legislature won’t begin until next January, but lawmakers are already filing new legislation. What issues and bills might come up? How will they affect you? To discuss this is Anna Brown, executive director of Citizens Count, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to educating voters about the political process. Brown is also executive director of the Warren B. Rudman Center for Justice, Leadership, and Public Service at the University of New Hampshire’s Franklin Pierce School of Law.

 Melanie Plenda:

Anna, ‘tis the season for lawmakers to file new bills that may eventually become laws here in New Hampshire. 

 Anna Brown:

We're entering the second year of the legislative session, which usually means we dig into some thornier policy debates that were put off during the first-year budget process, and that's still true. But we also saw House and Senate leaders explicitly say, please put in fewer bills this year, because there's a lot of logistical challenges — parking challenges and some renovations at the Legislative Office Building. So far, it does look like there are significantly fewer bills, but still lots to talk about.

 We're definitely going to see continued debate over housing-related legislation and zoning issues as well as social issues, particularly related to gender and free speech. I've got my eyes on bills related to school funding, because there were those recent New Hampshire Supreme Court rulings which told the Legislature it needs to act.

 Melanie Plenda:

Let’s dig a little deeper. What’s going on in the perpetual struggle between local and state control over zoning? What’s going on in that realm? 

 Anna Brown:

Just this past year, the Legislature passed several laws related to state limits on zoning. For example, expanding accessory dwelling units by right, limiting parking requirements, and so on. There's definitely a group of Republican legislators who are not happy with these changes. I've been watching the fights play out on social media over the summer, so I'm not surprised to see some bill proposals that basically want to repeal what was done last year.

 Melanie Plenda:

When it comes to spending priorities, local towns have been trying to get the state more involved in education — by sending more money — for years. In fact, there have been three, I believe, successful lawsuits that point out the state isn’t meeting its obligations for education funding, yet little seems to change. Will this come up again? What do you expect? 

 Anna Brown:

The debate is already happening. We've seen legislators meeting in committees and talking about what solutions might be brought forward, and they haven't really made much progress. The most recent New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling said the state has to spend more on that base per-pupil amount. It didn't say how. It didn't say when. There's also a group of Republicans who argue the Supreme Court overstepped its bounds. It's a major separation of powers power struggle. 

 I'm curious to see how it's going to play out in the Legislature, and realistically, there will be a lot of debate. But this is another one of those issues where I wouldn't be surprised if any changes are pushed off until the next legislative session, after the following election, because if they do increase base funding, they're going to have to come up with new revenue. Right now, the budget is looking very tight. 

 Melanie Plenda:

What about funding for child care? Is that another issue we might see tackled this session? If so, how?

 Anna Brown:

It's interesting to me, because whenever I go to chambers of commerce or other business groups, they bring up child care as a workforce issue. It's no secret there's a major shortage of child care in New Hampshire, and the speaker of the House even made a special committee on child care not too long ago, but we haven't seen the policy momentum around this issue that we saw around housing. 

 Now, more funding for child care — that's tough because, as I alluded to, we're on a very tight budget right now. There's not that free -flowing money from huge business tax revenue or Covid money from the federal government. That being said, Rep. Katelyn Kuttab from Windham has put in a bill that would create a child care tax credit program. We don't know what that looks like yet — we’ll have to wait for the bill text. I've seen similar ideas get floated before, so maybe momentum is building.

 Melanie Plenda:

As you mentioned, state revenues are already down this year, for a variety of reasons. Is this something the Legislature will have to address this term? Why? 

 Anna Brown:

Realistically, we're operating on a two-year budget. It would have to be a really huge crisis for the Legislature to reopen the budget and make changes like that until 2027, the next usual budget cycle.

 That being said, the first two months of the fiscal year, July and August, business tax revenue came in below projections. If that continues, we might enter the election year with a budget deficit, and it would be up to the governor and legislators to sort of speak to that during their election campaigns. So we already have a really lean state budget and there were some major cuts in this previous budget. For example, positions in the office of the child advocate were getting cut. Republicans also did vote to raise various fees, such as car registration, to help cover the budget. So it's too early to speculate what legislators might do two years from now, but certainly, like the economy, our budget is in a bit of an uncertain pocket.

 Melanie Plenda:

What happens if there is a major deficit? What does that mean?

 Anna Brown:

When we last saw something like that happen, it was during the Great Recession, and that ultimately resulted in some really huge cuts to the university system, for example. Now what's interesting here is we actually saw a big cut to the university system this most recent budget cycle. How deep can you cut? 

 At that point, do you have a conversation about maybe bringing back the interest in dividends tax, which was phased out. I'm sure Republicans don't want to do that? Then again, if we do enter a budget crisis going into that election year, maybe that would give the Democrats something to argue for.

 Melanie Plenda:

Will we see anything related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk?

 Anna Brown:

We're already seeing one big piece of legislation from House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, and he's sponsoring a bill named the CHARLIE Act, which is an acronym for countering hate and revolutionary leftist indoctrination in education. We haven't seen the text of this bill, but you can tell from its name, it's looking to add penalties for teachers who are teaching certain subjects, certain ways of thinking.

 We don't really know how that would be defined. It could result in fines. It could potentially revoke teacher licenses. I will say if it did pass, it would almost certainly face a court challenge, because we've seen court challenges on bills that looked to restrict teaching related to diversity, equity and inclusion, critical race theory, and so on. And if it's not really clearly defined, and how that would be determined, that's when you start to run into trouble with the courts. Also Governor Ayotte has not come out in support of this. Her line so far in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination is that “We need to lower the temperature. We need more civil dialogue. Free speech is important.”

 Melanie Plenda:

What about gender issues? Will we see anything like that come out of the Legislature this term?

 Anna Brown:

This is another one that I think is teeing up tension between Republicans in the Legislature and Governor Ayotte, who is also a Republican. This past summer, she vetoed a bill that would allow some discrimination based on biological sex — locker rooms, bathrooms, and so on. Republicans, it appears, are putting forward pretty similar limit legislation again. Once again, we don't have the bill texts, so we don't know how much movement there is. 

Then there's a couple of bills that are looking at other ways gender is in state law. For example, a bill to eliminate or restrict the ability to change the gender on your driver's license, and then also maybe removing references to gender identity in state law. Will those have enough momentum? Will they move forward? I mean, prior to the Charlie Kirk assassination, this looked like it was going to be the most passionate social issue debate that was going to be happening in the Legislature, so I still expect that to be a very intense topic that legislators are grappling with.

Melanie Plenda:

Fascinating as always. Anna, thank you for joining us today. 

These articles are being shared by partners in the Granite State News Collaborative. For more information, visit collaborativenh.org. “The State We’re In” is a weekly digital public affairs show produced by NH PBS and The Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communications. It is shared with partners in the Granite State News Collaborative, of which both organizations are members.