David Meuse is a state representative, serving the people of Portsmouth, Newington, and New Castle in Rockingham District 37 during the 2025/2026 legislative session

He posts frequent legislative updates. I found the latest one very helpful in trying to understand where we are as the legislative session winds down over the next few weeks.

You can read his full update here, but I’ve pulled out a few highlights if you are pressed for time:

As the 2025 legislative session nears the end, the New Hampshire House and Senate will vote this week on bills that have already passed in the other chamber. But to get to the governor’s desk for signature, both chambers must agree on and then pass identical versions of a bill—or the bill dies. Here’s a progress report on some of the more controversial bills.

• THE BUDGET

  • HB 1 and HB 2, the two state budget bills, are in the hands of the Senate Finance Committee.

  • The Senate has until June 5 to pass a budget, after which negotiations will begin with the House on a final version.

  • Republicans control all major NH government branches but don’t agree on spending priorities or on how much the state will actually be able to collect in revenue over the next two years.

  • Federal money coming into NH is uncertain as the Trump administration attempts to downshift the cost of disaster relief, key education programs, nutrition programs, and a growing number of other services to the states.

• IMMIGRATION

  • Headed to the governor for her likely signature are:

    • HB 511, a bill that requires law enforcement agencies to comply with immigration detainers issued by ICE. This bill puts that decision into the hands of local law enforcement officials themselves and prohibits other elected officials from intervening. More.

    • SB 62, a bill that explicitly authorizes law enforcement executives to pursue cooperation agreements on their own with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. On Thursday, the Senate concurred with the House’s amendment, which sends the bill on to the governor for signature. More.

    • HB 71, a bill reminiscent of the Jim Crow laws of the pre-civil rights would prohibit using public school and public higher education facilities as shelters for undocumented immigrants—an issue that has never come up in New Hampshire.

  • Thankfully, two anti-immigrant bills failed last week in the Senate:

    • HB 452, which would have created a number of new hurdles for undocumented people and those without U.S. citizenship to obtain driver’s licenses, was re-referred to committee by the Senate for additional work and could come back next year.

    • HB 461, which would have required that all New Hampshire driver’s license examinations and related materials be “distributed in the English language only,” was killed in the Senate on a voice vote.

• BOOK BANNING

  • HB 324, a bill that allows a parent or guardian to file a complaint about books or materials in public schools if they believe they are obscene, harmful or inappropriate for the grade level now moves on to the governor. More.

• “PARENTS RIGHTS”

  • SB 72, under the guise of supporting “parent’s rights”, would compromise the rights of NH teachers and children. The bill will come up for a vote this coming Thursday on the House floor. It requires school staff respond to “any and all” parental inquiries, regardless of their appropriateness and requires ritten permission before doctors can treat children.The amended bill would strip the rights of teenagers to access birth control or receive pre- and postnatal care without written parental permission.

  • HB10, a similar bill, passed the House in March and is now in the hands of the Senate Education Committee.

• SCHOOL VOUCHERS

  • Both the New Hampshire House and Senate have passed bills to remove the income eligibility requirement for the Education Freedom Account (EFA) program.

  • SB 295, passed both the Senate and the House is now awaiting a recommendation from the House Finance Committee. The bill would remove income limits immediately but would include a 10,000-student cap on the program for the first year.

  • HB 115, which passed the House in April, would temporarily increase the program’s income cap will to 400% of the federal poverty level before it’s done away with entirely. The cost of the bill for the first year alone is projected to be $17.5 million more than Gov. Kelly Ayotte proposed in her budget for the program. The bill is awaiting a recommendation from the Senate Education Committee.

• ANTI-TRANSGENDER LEGISLATION

  • HB 148, an anti-transgender bathroom bill which makes a mockery of New Hampshire anti-discrimination laws, will receive a vote in the Senate on Thursday. More.

  • HB 377, passed the House and is awaiting a recommendation vote from the Senate Health and Human Services Committee. The bill would ban the use of hormone replacement therapy and puberty blockers as part of gender-affirming care for people who are younger than 18. and medical professionals providing such treatments to transgender youth could face criminal charges. More.

  • HB 712, would ban gender-affirming breast surgeries for minors, has passed the House but has yet to come to the Senate floor for a final vote.

• ABORTION

  • HB 191-FN, which imposes criminal and civil penalties for the transporting of an unemancipated minor in order to obtain a surgical procedure without parental permission, will receive a vote in the Senate on Thursday.. The bill would apply to friends and even siblings aged 18 or over.

• CHILD MARRIAGE

  • HB 433, a bill that would have created an exception to NH’s minimum marriage age of 18 if one of the parties is a member of the military on active duty was killed by voice vote last Thursday.

• CAR INSPECTIONS

  • HB 649, which would have ended annual vehicle inspections, is seemingly dead for 2025. More.