Legislative Updates by Rep. Maureen Mooney for August, 2022

Greetings!

This month’s Legislative Updates summarize my attendance at the National Conference of State Legislators (NCSL) Summit earlier this month. This conference brought together state legislators in both parties from all over the country. Here were just some of the sessions I attended:

- Why Does College Cost So Much? – This session explored the reasons and factors that college tuition at state colleges and universities is so high. The discussion focused on the next generation of learners and how to prevent debt from reaching astronomical levels. Several legislators from across the country mentioned ways they are attempting to contain costs.

- Cracking a Cold Case – This session explored the latest technology to solve cold cases. In New Hampshire, we have close to 100 cold cases. Here is a list of victims: https://www.doj.nh.gov/criminal/cold-case/victim-list/index.htm This session reviewed Othram technology that can analyze even the smallest fragment of DNA. Othram has proven effective to solve cases in Texas, Mississippi and Virginia. See the Othram website here: https://othram.com/

- Mason’s Manual 2022: What’s New, What’s Next – Most state legislatures use Mason’s Manual for rules of procedure and operation. It is important to know the latest rules as it ultimately assists constituents when it comes to passing or blocking bills. This session also covered the unique term our State of New Hampshire had recently including the drive-in session at UNH, and meeting in various locations throughout the state as the nation’s largest state legislature.

- Community Happenings:

The primary for federal, state and county offices is Tuesday, September 13, 2022. Polls are open from 7am-7pm. For information on where to vote, and how to obtain an absentee ballot, click here: https://www.merrimacknh.gov/elections-voting

Here is the sample Republican primary ballot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RL9m6VOiMIRjAavgk8TP3Dzh5_h1br_Q/view?usp=sharing

Here is the sample Democrat primary ballot: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fJnJFRKrh1_bxazvL1zjrbDXGsN9Ey7M/view?usp=sharing

See you at the polls!

Rep. Maureen Mooney is in her fourth term as a NH State Representative serving Merrimack. She serves on the House Finance Committee, is co-chair of the Speaker’s Advisory Group, and is an Assistant Majority Whip. Her website is: www.votemooney.com and Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/maureenmooneynh.