Wow! What a day in Concord, and beyond. . .

March 14, 2024: New Hampshire House of Representatives

Criminal Justice Committee:

HB 1204, “ relative to government agent entries into secured premises.” passed with an amendment, and about which I twice voted “YEA”, and in support of Ought-to-pass, (228-139). The bill seeks to prevent ‘government agents’ from entering properties posted with "no trespassing signs” without a warrant and to protect constitutional privacy rights outside of a person’s curtilage. See: Open Fields Doctrine’ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... The bill now goes to the Senate, and hopefully on to the Governor for signature.

HB 1204 w/A: https://www.gencourt.state.nh....

The House also passed HB 1276-FN " relative to repealing the prohibition on the possession or sale of blackjacks, slung shots, and metallic knuckles except by or to minors.” (198-175). The majority of the committee believed that with possession currently a misdemeanor, the current ban on these weapons is unconstitutional with the understanding of the 2nd amendment in the US Supreme Court, with the committee chair stating that these items are simply ‘ harm reduction tools’, that can be used in the defense of oneself, and no different from owning and possessing a knife or a gun. A woman jogging alone along a trail should have the right to possess brass knuckles, which may be preferred to carrying a gun, for example. A similar bill failed last year. Will have to see what happens in the Senate.

HB 1276-FN: https://www.gencourt.state.nh....

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Danbury Board of Selectmen
23 High Street
Danbury, NH 03230

March 15, 2024

Dear Board Members:

First, welcome to Town government, Mr. Farmer! For your information, I am a Right-to-Know advocate and activist. You may want to refer to and become familiar with RSA 91-A, and a Memorandum from the Attorney General which explains the public’s right to know under statute and the NH Constitution. From page one of the memo:

March 20, 2015

To the People of New Hampshire:

I am proud to issue this updated Memorandum on New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know law, RSA Chapter 91-A. This Memorandum describes the statute and the judicial decisions that further define and explain the people’s right to know.

The public’s right to know what its government is doing is a fundamental part of New Hampshire’s democracy. New Hampshire’s Constitution and the Right-to-Know law ensure that the public has reasonable access to meetings of public bodies and to governmental records.

When New Hampshire’s Constitution was adopted on June 2, 1784, accountability of public servants to the people was established in Part 1, article 8, which reads:

All power residing originally in, and being derived from, the people, all the magistrates and officers of government are their substitutes and agents, and at all times accountable to them.

In 1976, the people of New Hampshire amended Part 1, article 8 of our Constitution, reinforcing the existence of a right of access to public meetings and records, by adding the following two sentences:

Government, therefore, should be open, accessible, accountable, and responsive. To that end, the public’s right of access to governmental proceedings and records shall not be unreasonably restricted.

An integral part of the constitutional right of access to government is the protection of the freedom of speech and press guaranteed by Part 1, article 22 of the New Hampshire Constitution:

Free speech and liberty of the press are essential to the security of freedom in a state: They ought, therefore, to be inviolably preserved.

Therefore, relative to the $50,000.00 that was appropriated by the Legislative Body in 2023 pursuant to Article 5, I presume no additional costs will be incurred, and that no expenditures (other than outstanding invoices) will be made from said capital reserve fund as of March 13, 2024, since there is no authorization by the Legislative Body (i.e. voters) to do so.

Making a public record request on March 15, 2024 to review town records to help determine an ‘ending balance’ for the fund as of March 14, 2024, and the types and amounts of expenditures the results will be made available to interested citizens.

Also requesting to review ‘all’ written records relevant to the ’safety services center’, I further requested that these records become bound and housed on the shelf at Town Hall for public inspection as soon as possible and for complete transparency.

I would not have had to make this request had the records been bound and made available prior to public hearings, and the Deliberative Session for complete transparency.

In the future, for any plan subject to voter approval, I believe voters expect that all such records are to be made available for public inspection before the commencement thereof, and in keeping with the spirit of RSA 91-A.

Thank you for your kind consideration of my request.

Sincerely,
Deborah Aylward

Deborah Aylward is a resident of Danbury, N.H., and engaged citizen and state lawmaker representing the towns of Andover, Danbury, Salisbury, and Webster.

Attorney General 2015 Memorandum: https://www.doj.nh.gov/civil/d...

RSA 91-A: https://www.gencourt.state.nh....