Voter ID Bill Plows Ahead in NH

The voter photo ID bill, brew sales at farmers' markets, medical marijuana, rules of the road, and road improvements. It’s another busy week in the Legislature, and 'the pipes, the pipes' will be wailing: Annual Tartan Day is Wednesday. So don that plaid, ye Scots.

Voter Photos: The House Election Law Committee holds public hearings Tuesday for a handful of bills, including Senate Bill 289, which would require photo identification to vote in person. That bill is scheduled to be heard at 1:30 p.m. in Room 308 of the Legislative Office Building.

The Scripts: The House Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee hears Senate Bill 284, establishing a certified public health dental hygienist in New Hampshire, and Senate Bill 409, relative to the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. The latter bill hearing is Tuesday at 1 p.m. in LOB Room 205.

Smooth sailing? The House, when it convenes for session on Wednesday, will see Senate Bill 285 on its consent calendar. The bill would authorize suspension or revocation of a driver’s license for serious boating offenses and a loss of motorboating privileges for aggravated driving while intoxicated. The bill corrects an oversight related to time lost by motorboat operators in state law, according to Concord Rep. Robert Williams, writing for the House Transportation Committee, which unanimously recommends passage.

No -Mandering, Nor Meandering. The full House will also take up the bill apportioning congressional districts based on the 2010 Census headcount.

Brewing support: Senate Commerce will review House Bill 1172 on Tuesday, shortly after 9 a.m., in Room 102 of the LOB. That bill would authorize nanobrewery, beverage manufacturers and brew pub licensees to sell at farmers’ markets.

Abortion bills continue. The Senate gets its first look at three abortion-related bills this week. Its Health and Human Services Committee meets Thursday, starting at 1 p.m., to hear House Bill 1660, House Bill 1659, and House Bill 1679.

Going intermodal. The Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday at 9 a.m. will take up the state’s 10-year transportation improvement program.

About that Tartan Day: What’s that, you didn’t know there is an official state tartan? It dates to the mid-1990s, when lawmakers wanted to give proper due to the 20th anniversary of the New Hampshire Highland Games. The woven colors include green, white, black and purple – the purple for the Purple Finch and the Lilac.

Just another day: Friday, April 13, the legislative Fiscal Committee meets at 10 a.m. in LOB 210-211 for regular audits, including the Turnpike System and the PUC.

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