How to follow a bill and share your thoughts with NH lawmakers

Below is written by Annmarie Timmins and reprinted from the State House Bulletin Board.

Lobbyists, advocacy groups, and state agency heads are not the only ones who can influence the fate of legislation at the State House. The public can, too. Here’s how to find bills, stay up to date on hearings and votes, and tell your lawmakers your thoughts and concerns.

Find a bill: Visit the Legislature’s website, gencourt.state.nh.us, and enter a bill number if you have it from the home page. If not, use “advanced search” to find legislation by topic, sponsor, House or Senate committee, or something more general, such as all bills that include state spending.

Terry Spahr for NH

Weigh in on a bill: There are two primary ways to share your thoughts with lawmakers. From a bill’s homepage, the sponsors’ names are hyperlinked to their legislator page, where you’ll find their contact information. You can upload written testimony to a full committee or just indicate whether you oppose, support, or are neutral on a bill from the Legislature’s home page, under “meeting resources” box at the bottom of the page.

Listen to debate: The House and Senate broadcast their committee hearings and full sessions via their YouTube channels. Visit YouTube and search “NH House of Representatives (or Senate) Committee Streaming”. Or you can find the streaming links under the “calendars and meetings schedule” box on the Legislature’s homepage, under the links for House or Senate streaming video.