NH General Court: Working at breakneck speed
Three bills expedited in response the opioid crisis in the state were passed in the N H Senate yesterday. They’re expected to go to the House Floor for a vote on January 20th, after which Governor Margaret Wood Hassan is expected to sign them into law if passed. The bills, which we’ve linked to from this news read, include:
S B 3 6 9-FN – which requires public schools to include drug and alcohol education as part of their health education curriculum, starting in Kindergarten
S B 5 7 6–FN-A – relative to the penalty for possession and use of fentanyl-class drugs, insurance coverage for substance use disorders, the funding of the controlled drug prescription health and safety program, the membership of the board of medicine, and prescribers of controlled drugs, among other items, and
S B 4 4 7-FN – relative to the controlled drug prescription health and safety program and establishing a commission to study Narcan.
Banfield: Not so fast!
Not all of the bills are being embraced as positive steps. Drawing sharp criticism is S B 3 6 9. Cornerstone Action’s Education Liason Ann Marie Banfield published an article on social media hammering the senate, saying it quote
“voted to FORCE your school to teach YOUR 5 year old about drugs and alcohol…with NO provision to inform YOU or require your consent.”
In an article published on Girard at Large’s Oh My BLOG!, Banfield cited published investigative news reports from places like P B S, hardly a member of Evil Conservative dot com, about the failure of the DARE Program and how it backfired by creating curiosity in children about drugs. She also cited an investigative report from 20/20 on Death Education. The result of the program? Students began considering suicide. We’ve linked to the article from this news read.
Stiles: The younger the better
The bill’s sponsor, Senator Nancy Stiles, Republican from Hampton, praised the bill for expanding K through 12 drug and alcohol education, saying quote
“Ensuring that our students are receiving preventative drug and alcohol instruction consistently starting at a young age effectively decreases the likelihood of substance abuse by our students later on.”
Yet, Banfield, who attended the hearing, wrote quote
“During the Senate and House (joint) hearing Tuesday, no one asked to see what a drug and alcohol program looks like for five year old children. Children who are still learning to read, watching cartoons and playing with dolls.”
Rep. Victoria Sullivan: Can she block the bill?
In addition to raising very valid questions about the loss of local control, Banfield needled the process writing quote:
“The joint session on Tuesday included no public testimony from parents whose young children will now be exposed to this drug and alcohol problem…Like me, I suspect most parents didn’t know this Bill would have limited input from the public and would be rushed through without thoughtful debate.”
Banfield said the House Education Committee is set to address the bill in Executive Session today, which means there will be no public hearing on it before it hits the House Floor next week for a vote.
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Timmons: Coming to St. A’s
Saint Anselm College in Manchester will host the first event of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) nationwide tour on January twenty-eighth. NAM’s President and C E O Jay Timmons will kick off the 2016 State of Manufacturing Tour along with Neil Levesque, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics and Political Library and Jim Roche, President of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire. The event will take place at the Institute of Politics.
St’A’s: Hosts tour kick off
Timmons will stress the significance of manufacturing to the U S economy, its profitability and current status and the opportunities, nationally and globally, for the future. Timmons will also visit local manufacturers, employees, students, community leaders and elected officials across New Hampshire and other states to discuss solutions that will allow the economy and manufacturers to thrive. For more information visit N A M dot org slash state of M F G.
40 Days For Life is inviting believers to join them this coming Tuesday, January 19th to help plan their Lenten Campaign, which will run this year from February 10th to March 20th. The pro-Life group hosts an annual prayer vigil outside of the Planed Parenthood facility on Pennacook Street in Manchester during the forty days of Lent. The planning session will be held at 7:00 P M in the Ste. Marie School, adjacent to the parish on Cartier Street. You may RSVP by
- sending an email to 40 days for life manchester at gmail dot com,
- calling 9 7 8 -2 2 6 -3 2 4 0,
- joining their Facebook event, which we’ve linked to
- Or stopping by their table at the N H March for Life in Concord tomorrow.
We’ve also linked to their Web site, 40 Days for Life dot com slash Manchester where you can get more information about them and their planned activities.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour___ is next.
[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/242101075″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
