From our neighbors in Tamworth, Madison & Moultonborough
Legislative actions and news from a week of protests!
Dear Friends,
This week Carroll County braved the rain and turned out in force to protest state and national policies that threaten our Democracy. At the very end of the newsletter, we have pictures and brief summaries of our local events. These demonstrations are important and are noticed by our leaders, even if the press underreports them!
We want to thank everyone who helped spread the word about the Hands Off! rallies, and all those folks who attended!
Tamworth, Madison & Moultonborough Democrats
Follow us on Instagram: Tamworth_Democrats.
THIS WEEK’S TOP POLICY ACTIONS
Contact your state representatives and tell them to save state funding for the arts!
On Monday, March 31st, the New Hampshire House Finance Committee voted to not only defund the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts but remove it from state law. If this measure passes the House on April 10, is approved by the State Senate, and signed by the Governor, New Hampshire would be the only state to not have a state arts council.
The full House of Representatives will vote on this and many other proposals next week on Thursday, April 10th. The NH State Council on the Arts has supported the work of the Arts Council of Tamworth, as well as many other wonderful arts organizations and programs, and its defunding and removal would negatively impact the arts statewide.
Action shared via Tamworth Arts council
Stop the Mandatory State-Wide School Budget Cap
The House Finance Committee’s budget proposal also includes an extreme school budget cap that would be mandated on local school districts, effectively freezing or decreasing school budgets in perpetuity unless they could muster a 2/3 supermajority override vote. If this mandate is forced on school districts against voter will, it will make negotiating any future educator contracts with pay increases nearly impossible without having to layoff existing staff, slash benefits, or cut programs.We can’t let out-of-touch politicians undermine local control and jeopardize the future of public education in New Hampshire. Act now to STOP the mandatory statewide school budget cap by telling you state representative(s) to remove this mandate from the budget! |
Contact your Congress Representative:
Oppose the Save Act!
We sent an action on this bill last week, but Open Democracy would like folks to continue to apply pressure.
Defeat SAVE Campaign Update
On the heels of the unlawful executive order and attempted power grab, the SAVE Act will be up for a vote in the House this week. Today, the bill is in mark-up in the House Rules Committee, and is scheduled for a vote this coming Thursday. With this in mind, let us still continue to fight to stop the bill with the actions down below:
- Coalition-Wide Call-In Campaign: We’re hearing that calls matter!! Please join us in driving calls into Member offices. Folks can use our Call-In line ( 833-346-1779) which will connect the caller to their congressmen’s office and prompt them to share why they oppose the SAVE Act.
- Stop the SAVE Toolkit includes all of the resources you need to keep your members informed of all actions that they can take to stop the SAVE ACT.
- LTE Guide: Our friends at GenVote created this handy guide for drafting Letters to the Editor Guide urging Members of Congress to reject the SAVE Act. Find the LTE Guide here.
Call Governor Ayotte!
The GOP controlled legislature is threatening to take away local control of schools and libraries. Remind Kelly Ayotte that citizens disapprove of governmental override of our local control! If you use social media, please share these 20 second videos.
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1CCagQ8gv6/ and
Youtube: https://youtu.be/QKlUGzsbRqA
Weekly Legislative Priority Actions
Weekly Legislative Action
| Week of , 2025 : NH Bills of High Interest | |||||
| Public Hearing:
Date, Time, Location |
Committee
Name |
Bill
Number |
Bill Title
(Relative to…) |
Position
|
Description/Comments |
| Thursday
April 10 9:30 |
Senate Education | HB 324 Sign in to Senate | Book Ban Legislation | Oppose | HB 324 is unnecessary. We already have an objectionable materials law for our public schools which allows ANY parent to opt their child out of any required coursework, curriculum, or material. Like a lot of culture war bills, HB 324 would go way beyond parental opt-out by potentially imposing one parent’s objections on others. Additionally, this bill imposes potential criminal and licensure penalties for educators in what is otherwise another vaguely-established process written by national interests attempting to pass this cookie-cutter legislation in other states. (NEA) |
| Wednesday April 9
10:00 |
Senate Health and Human Services
Public Hearings |
HB 679
Sign in to Senate |
Relative to immunization requirements | Oppose | This harmful bill mandates a threshold of 100% efficacy for vaccines to be included on children’s vaccine schedule. This unscientific and unreasonable requirement would leave off lifesaving vaccines from the schedule which would lead to an increase in childhood diseases. It is scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Wednesday, April 9 at 10 AM in Room 100, SH. Please contact the committee, sign in to oppose and share testimony. |
| Tuesday
April 8 1:15 |
House Children and Family Law | SB 72
Sign in to House |
Establishing a parent’s bill of rights in education | Oppose | This unnecessary parental rights bill pits parents and educators against each other, ignoring the mechanisms currently in place to ensure open lines of communication between school staff, students and families. It is scheduled for a public hearing in House Children & Family Law, LOB 206-208, on Tuesday, April 8 at 1:15 PM. Please contact the committee, sign in to oppose and share testimony. You can use this link to copy and paste the committee members’ emails. |
| Wednesday April 9
11:30 |
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety | SB 62
Sign in to House (or use highlighted tab) |
Relative to law enforcement participation in federal immigration program | Oppose | This bill states that no state, county, city, or local government can stop or prevent law enforcement agencies from applying to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to join a federal program. sign in to oppose and share testimony. |
| Wednesday April 9
12:00 |
House Criminal Justice and Public Safety | SB 71
Sign in to House (or use highlighted tab) |
Relative to immigration: (local vs state/federal laws) | Oppose | OPPOSE SB 71, providing that unless expressly prohibited by state or federal law, local governmental entities may not prohibit or impede any state or federal law enforcement agency from complying with federal immigration laws, and provides for remedies for violations. sign in to oppose and share testimony. |
Instructions
Pick a bill from the table above. Information you’ll need about the bill (committee name, hearing date, bill number) is provided there. Then browse to the appropriate Online Testimony Submission page:
House: gc.nh.gov/house/committees/remotetestimony/default.aspx
Senate: gc.nh.gov/remotecommittee/senate.aspx
If you need more detailed instructions, use these links:
THIS WEEK’S
RALLIES & VISIBILITY EVENTS
April 6th: Center Harbor: Signs and flags at the intersection by E. M. Heaths, 2:00 to 3:00 pm
Sign holding (#Demand a Better Budget) and flag waving, sponsored by our Moultonborough Dems
April 9th: Concord NH Protest and Press Event
Demand a Better Budget
- Time: Wednesday, April 9, 12 – 1:30pm EDT
- Location: NH State Capital, 107 N Main St, Concord, NH
https://www.mobilize.us/nhdp_events/event/769714
This is an opportunity to speak out about the budget. For more information, read the Op Ed below. Op-Ed: “Cutting Taxes, Republican Style”. This excellent op-ed by Mark Fernald, former NH State Senator gives you the skinny about why our present NH budget is such a MESS. https://indepthnh.org/2025/03/23/op-ed-cutting-taxes-republican-style/
THIS WEEK’S
EVENTS
April 6th: Protecting Freedom Event, Runnells Hall Chocorua 4:00 to 5:30 pm
April 14th at 6PM – Andru Volinsky
Moultonborough Dems are SUPER pleased to be able to present a lecture by Andru Volinsky, author of the recently published book, “The Last Bake Sale: The Fight for Fair School Funding”.
Andru’s book can be purchased in advance at https://www.lastbakesalebook.com/ and you can bring it to the lecture for signing.
April 15: Cheese Louise North Conway Village Social time followed by Speakers: How a Bill Becomes Law
Come early to purchase food and drinks! Speakers at 6:00 pm
Contact Kim Fudge for more info:
SAVE THE DATE
April 24th at 6:30-7:30 PM – Protecting Our NH Lakes
A Presentation by Andrea LaMoreaux President and Policy Analyst, NH Lakes
- Are you concerned about the quality of water in Squam and our regional lakes?
- Do you have worries about cyanobacteria or fertilizer runoff?
- What pollutants in Squam Lake negatively impact our loons?
- Do you know what actions you can take to help keep our waters clean?
The Benz Center
18 Heard Road Sandwich,NH
April 24, 2025 6:30pm-7:30pm, Doors open at 6:00pm.
Consider writing a Letter to the Editor.
to inspire you, we have included a letter penned by JoAnne Wilhelm from Moultonborough:
News and Pictures from our Recent Events!
Many of us attended rallies in Conway, Concord and even Washington DC!
Despite the rain, people turned out in force for the Concord demonstration. It was a peaceful and happy crowd, determined to voice concerns for our state and nation. I saw many folks from Carroll County in the crowd which In Depth NH estimated at 2,000 people. (Photo InDepth NH)
Read about it:
https://indepthnh.org/2025/04/05/hands-off-crowds-grow-in-concord-and-around-the-state-and-nation/
- Farnum
“What an uplifting day joining the nationwide wave of “Hands Off” protests, with a record showing of at least 700 passionate participants (by my conservative estimate; others said more) at the Four Corners in Conway!
The energy was phenomenal. There were rousing, bullhorn-enhanced chants, a banjo-slinging song leader (“We shall not, we shall not be moved…”), a brandished phone playing “Do you hear the people sing, singing the songs of angry men…” on a loop, somebody further south along the sidewalk leading “Solidarity Forever,” all punctuated by hundreds of happy honks and cheering waves from automotive passersby.
It was the right kind of raucous, and several sign-holders told me of how buoyed up they felt by these two hours of democratic expression. And we were just one drop in a glorious national bucket!” I’m grateful to all who helped get people out, and the 12 peacekeepers who helped keep orderly people orderly. Let’s keep this going!”
Andy Davis, organizer
What an uplifting experience to be in Washington D.C. on Saturday! The metro was filled with folks streaming in with signs headed to the National Mall. By the time the rally was well under way, we were tens of thousands of people strong – a sea of flags and signs in every direction! The mood was buoyant, peaceful, and full of good will. People were helping each other climb up on low walls to sit, find bathrooms and navigate through the crowds. Everyone was stopping and taking pictures of each other’s signs. It was a rousing, heartfelt time, with senators, singers chant leaders, and All The People’s voices expressing their outrage, calling for unity and calling for change. Sue Vatnick
WANT TO RESPOND TO
MORE BILLS?
Click on the links for more information for signing in to more legislation. These resources for actions are updated weekly.
- New Hampshire Network https://www.newhampshirenetwork.org/NH-bills
- American Friends Service Committee State House Watch-Scroll down and find 3-23-25 https://afsc.org/state-house-watch
- Open Democracy Action https://www.opendemocracyaction.org
- National Education Association https://neanh.org/2025/04/05/4-5-25-nea-nh-legislative-update/
- 5 Calls: Contact your Congress https://5calls.org/
FURTHER RESOURCES &
NEWS ARTICLES
- Op-Ed: “Cutting Taxes, Republican Style”. This excellent op-ed by Mark Fernald, former NH State Senator gives you the skinny about why our present NH budget is such a MESS. https://indepthnh.org/2025/03/23/op-ed-cutting-taxes-republican-style/
- Explore events – Political Revolution https://events.pol-rev.com/search?search&contentType=EVENTS
- Representative Anita Burroughs substack:
https://digginginnh.substack.com/p/ten-bills-that-question-your-faith - Fair Funding: https://fairfundingnh.org/ D. 603 Forward https://www.603forward.org
- Red, Wine and Blue https://redwine.blue/troublenation/
- Andru’s Substack (education)
- NAMI NH. https://www.naminh.org/
- NH Campaign for Voting Rights https://www.nhvotingrights.org
- New Hampshire Democratic Party:NHbudget.nhdp.org,
- For NH State news: InDepthNH.org,
- Health Policy: https://new-futures.org/current-legislation
- Food Security: https://nhhungersolutions.org/take-action/
- Doge Privacy Act Requests: more info and the request document: https://jamieraskin.com/doge-privacy-act-requests/
Additional Democracy Comms Updates & Resources:
- Democracy Forward, Public Citizen, ACLU, and many others have coordinated to draft a broad coalition letter to Attorney General Bondi regarding protecting the legal profession. The letter is HERE (and attached); the form to sign on is HERE. We invite everyone in the legal community to sign on, whether individually or on behalf of your organization.
- DOGE & Democracy Messaging Guide from us about stopping DOGE, Elon Musk’s government, and protecting our democracy.
- POGO has a new piece about Trump’s Administration heading into Authoritarianism.
- The Guardian has a piece about the US Supreme Court striking down Louisiana’s new congressional map because of a new second black majority district.
- America’s Voice has a press release about Trump’s Administration about the Alien Enemies Act. In particular, AV highlights how the attacks on immigrants, free speech, and our right to protest is a thread to our democracy itself.
- The Brennan Center has created a list of updated summary of events about Donald Trumps’ Administration.
Additional Resources
- Congressional Calendar
- Brennan Center: SAVE Act One-Pager for legislators
- Stand Up America’s SAVE Act One-Pager
- The Brennan Center How the SAVE Act would devastate voter registration
- Polling by Navigator Research Americans View Tech CEO Influence in the Trump Administration
- 5 Rights Federal Workers Have
- Voting Rights & Democracy Testimonials
- Post Election 2024 Memo
- DFAD Messaging Guide_Project 2025 and Democracy
- Voting Rights Lab: The Truth about False Claims of Noncitizen Voting
- Growing Racial Disparities in Voter Turnout, 2008–2022
- ACE Act Polling
- ACE Messaging Guide
- FTVA Explainer Graphics
- Evergreen campaign toolkit
- Narrative Guide, Handbook, and Slides, as well as a Spanish version of the guide
- Mireya Navarro’s Spanish-language column about the SAVE Act, published in La Opinión.
- Voter Suppression, Climate Justice, and the Polluter-Industrial Complex
- Brennan Center Freedom to Vote Act Fact Sheet
- Subscribe to Common Cause’s Democracy Download Newsletter
- ACE Act from Brennan Center
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Tamworth, Madison & Moultonborough
