NH News

Today members of the New Hampshire Episcopalian dioceses are gathering to elect a successor to Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Bishop in the history of the church. 

The election of Robinson in 2003 tore a rift in the global Anglican community. In 2010, Robinson announced that he would retire next January, saying years of death threats and controversy had taken their toll.

The vice-chair of New Hampshire’s bishop search committee, Margaret Porter, says that sexual orientation did not figure in to the selection of candidates.

New Hampshire House lawmakers try and fail to revive a bill to ban late-term abortions.

The house first passed a ban on abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy in March. But that bill was quickly pushed aside by the senate. House lawmakers revived the proposal Thursday, tacking it on to bill related to health screening tests for newborns. Yet the narrowness  of the margin – it was adopted by just 4 votes -- prompted a quick change of heart. Lawmakers like Jennifer Coffey, a republican from Andover, told colleagues the abortion language put the newborn testing proposal at risk.

The Senate has all but killed a measure that would have given landlords greater flexibility to evict tenants.

Bill opponents say the move preserves some equity between tenants and the property owners.

Originally the legislation would have allowed large-scale landlords the ability to evict a tenant when a lease expires.

Owners already can remove a tenant for any number of reasons, including rent hikes or personal business needs.

New Hampshire Legal Assistance attorney Elliott Berry says tenants are entitled to not be arbitrarily evicted.

The state Senate has overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment to ban an income tax.

Lawmakers now must agree on the plan before it makes it to the ballot this fall.

Many Senate and House Republican leaders strongly favor prohibiting the state from collecting an income tax.

That’s why it’s likely the two sides will reach agreement on constitutional amendment language when they meet later this month.

Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley told his colleagues supporting this plan is noble and worthy.

For the first time in U.S. history, more babies are being born to minority parents than to non-Hispanic white parents. 

The Senate has unanimously voted against a bill that would have prohibited the use of International Baccalaureate curriculum in New Hampshire Schools.

The state's IB program became controversial after parents in Bedford and Merrimack complained that it has political, anti-american overtones.

But even Senators who have concerns, like Republican Jim Forsythe, decided Wednesday not to supersede local schools’ decision to use IB.

The state Senate has passed a plan that would give business a tax credit for donations to private and parochial schools.

The bill has strong legislative support.

In essence, this bill gives businesses incentives to support non-public schools.

Backers say wealthy people already have the resources to send their children wherever they want.

Sponsor Republican Senator Jim Forsythe says making more scholarship money available gives more families more choices.

New Hampshire's House has voted to move ahead with a new public pension system for state employees and wants the Senate to reconsider its decision to study the issue instead.

New Hampshire landowners who let the public use their land for hunting, hiking and other recreational activities wouldn't be required to keep the land safe under a bill passed by the state Senate.

The Senate voted Wednesday to expand liability protection for those who own, lease or manage land open to hunting, fishing, trapping, camping and other recreational activities. The bill would not protect landowners from malicious acts or if the injury happened while performing services for money.