Josh Rogers

It will be bottoms up in Concord on Saturday when a crowd gathers to toast the New Hampshire State House's 200th anniversary.

The "Toast to the Eagle" will feature a recitation of the 13 toasts made on July 18, 1818, the day the carved eagle was set atop the State House dome. The beer will come by Henniker Brewing Company. Its founder, Dave Currier, served in both the New Hampshire House and Senate. 

Governor Chris Sununu has signed a bill that eliminates the distinction between "residency" and "domicile" for voting purposes. The move comes a day after the state Supreme Sourt issued a split opinion finding the bill constitutional.

The governor said he sought the court's opinion on the bill to "put the issue to rest once and for all." 

A divided New Hampshire Supreme Court says a bill eliminating the distinction between residency and domicile is constitutional.

The governor sought the court's input on House Bill 1264, which aims to require people who vote here -- like college students -- to abide by other residency requirements, like getting a driver's license or registering their cars.

Newly released documents indicate that New Hampshire state Senate leaders reassigned a staffer under the supervision of Bedford senator and congressional candidate Andy Sanborn in 2014 amid concerns over inappropriate comments. 

The AG last month cleared Sanborn and found no wrongdoing when it investigated the possible bribing of a former Senate intern who had been the target of a suggestive joke.

Governor Chris Sununu has released the findings of his school safety task force, which include 59 recommendations that range from gun laws to school building design. (Scroll down to read the full report.)

The task force was asked to give "practical, actionable recommendations from areas of agreement" among its members. These include urging the legislature to pass a law mandating at least one annual fire drills be used to test emergency response to an armed assailant.

Democrat Molly Kelly says the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy should be a wake up call for Democrats.

Kelly says the threat to abortion rights and gay rights are reasons to back her over Governor Chris Sununu.

Molly Kelly still has a primary to win, but as she campaigned outside the superior court in Manchester, she was using rhetoric usually reserved for a the home stretch of a general election.

Standing before supporters holding signed with slogans like "Trust Women" and "Save Roe," Kelly said she always had, and always would, stand with women.

Governor Chris Sununu will call lawmakers back to Concord to fight any effort by other states to force New Hampshire businesses to collect sales taxes on customers who buy goods across state lines. 

Gym chain Planet Fitness is allowing teenagers from age 15 to 18 to work out for free this summer at all of its New Hampshire gyms.

The goal, says Planet Fitness CEO Chris Rondeau, is to encourage teens to get fit and do so at a time of year when gyms tend to be less crowded.

"The facilities are open, they are open 24 hours a day," he said.

A group of seven Republican state representatives is challenging the nonprofit status of the conservative policy group Americans for Prosperity.

AFP announced weeks ago that it would be conducting a campaign to call out lawmakers who voted against right-to-work, one of the group’s policy priorities for years. The state reps challenging AFP's status were all targets of mailers criticizing them for voting against right-to-work legislation.

The state reps say they want to the state to weigh whether AFP should be required to register with the state as a political committee.

An intern working for New Hampshire Senator Maggie Hassan was caught on video swearing at President Donald Trump last week.

Senator Maggie Hassan's intern yelled, "Mr. President………" followed by an expletive, across the Capitol Rotunda at President Trump as his entourage entered the building.

That Hassan decided to suspend the intern, Keene State College Student Caitlin Marriott, for one week was first reported late Monday.

The video of the incident has since gone viral. Governor Sununu says he hopes Senator Hassan will decide to do what he called "the right thing."

After 18 months on the job, Jeanie Forrester is stepping down as leader of the New Hampshire Republican Party.

Citing "an opportunity to work with local government" Forrester announced her resignation in a late afternoon letter sent to her party's executive committee. 

Her resignation comes as both parties gear up for election season. It also follows campaign finance filings showing the state Democratic Party out-raising the New Hampshire GOP by close to 9-1.

The Marsy's Law amendment aimed to spell out new rights for victims of sexual and domestic violence in New Hampshire.

And despite having the backing of Governor Chris Sununu, and key lawmakers in both parties, the measure failed badly in the New Hampshire House.

But according to state filings, money doesn't appear to have been the problem. The campaign behind the effort, Marsy's Law For New Hampshire, spent $367,000 to boost the proposal.

Governor Chris Sununu signaled he'd veto the death penalty repeal long before lawmakers sent one to his desk. So, at the event his press team billed as an announcement on the repeal bill, the only real suspense was over how many police officers Sununu could squeeze into his office to witness his veto.

With a political resume that includes twenty years in New Hampshire Senate, three terms on the Executive Council, time in the New Hampshire House and a run for governor, Manchester’s Lou D’Allesandro can, at this point, rightly claim to being something of a New Hampshire political institution. 

Democrat Steve Marchand made his run for governor official. The former Portsmouth mayor says he sees himself as the frontrunner.

Marchand says he hopes to bring progressive values and an auditor's sensibility to the corner office. After he filed his campaign, he said 200 plus campaign events he's held and the thousands of voters he's talked to have taught him a valuable lesson: dDmocrats  want a candidate who is capable of being frank and getting specific.

State Democrats are gearing up to try do something they haven’t had to do in 14 years: reclaim the governor’s office from an incumbent Republican.

But before they get to the general election, the Democrats will have to select a nominee, a choice between former state senator Molly Kelly and former Portsmouth mayor Steve Marchand.

Joining Rick Ganley to discuss that race is NHPR’s Josh Rogers. 

Governor Chris Sununu says he's concerned by the public feud between the largest state employees union and the top managers of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission.

But, as NHPR's Josh Rogers reports, he says the commission's top manager has his confidence.

New Hampshire's Attorney General's office says it has few details on a deal that could transfer ownership of Mount Sunapee Resort to Colorado-based Vail resorts.

When Vail resorts announced an agreement to buy Triple Peaks LLC, the company that owns the Sunapee Resort, Okemo Mountain in Vermont, and Crested Butte in Colorado, Vail said the land lease transfers for the properties in New Hampshire and Vermont will require permission from state regulators.

U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan is the latest high-profile Democrat to back Molly Kelly in her bid to unseat Governor Chris Sununu.

According to Hassan , Kelly's record in the state senate -- where Kelly served five terms -- and her life story -- Kelly put herself through school while raising three children as a single mother -- prove she understands the challenges faced by New Hampshire families.

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says his fight against gerrymandering is a partisan attempt at good governing. Holder was in New Hampshire Friday, promoting what he calls "fair redistricting."

With lawmakers gone from Concord, the 2018 political season is now officially on, and one New Hampshire politician making a quick shift to campaign mode is Gov. Chris Sununu. 

New Hampshire’s first Republican governor in more than a decade is hitting the trail with a mixed record at the Statehouse but plenty of enthusiasm.

Businesses that focus on generating human organs won't have to pay state business taxes for ten years under a bill signed into law today by Governor Chris Sununu. Backers of the bill, including companies set to benefit, say it could mean great things for New Hampshire. 

Second District Congresswoman Ann McLane Kuster is promoting the latest version of what she calls her Jobs and Opportunity Agenda.

Kuster talked up ways to develop the state's workforce during a visit to Nashua Community College. 

Supporters of a man being held in the secure psychiatric unit at New Hampshire State Prison, despite never being convicted of a crime, marched in Concord today. As NHPR’s Josh Rogers reports, the protest comes as a federal judge considers Andrew Butler’s request to be transferred to an accredited mental health facility.

New Hampshire House and Senate negotiators have reached agreement on a bill that would boost pay for state workers, end litigation with New Hampshire's hospitals, fix decaying bridges and fatten the state's rainy day fund.

And top lawmakers are confident the bill will win passage next week.

The $102 million dollar package pays for what negotiators considered musts: the new state employees contract and the Medicaid settlement.

But it also spends on a few pet initiatives, like recovery friendly workplaces. Governor Sununu wanted that one.

Negotiators have reached agreement on a proposal to eliminate cash bail for most New Hampshire offenders. The plan won strong support from lawmakers but was reworked to address concerns of prosecutors and police.

Senate Bill 556 aimed to eliminate cash bail for people charged with misdemeanors so long as a judge ruled them not dangerous. In its current form, the elimination of bail with cash or conditions would only apply to Class B misdemeanors, crimes which carry no jail time.

Lawmakers in the New Hampshire House and Senate will meet Tuesday to hash out differences over an $87 million dollar spending bill.

The plan would boost pay for state workers, settle a lawsuit with New Hampshire hospitals, and fix decaying bridges, among other things.