In their final acts of the spring legislative session on June 27, the N.H. House and Senate voted on a number of bills vetoed by Gov. John Lynch over the last couple of months. They upheld about half of those vetoes, but overturned the others, including controversial bills related to voting laws and school choice.

The legislature overrode Lynch’s veto of Senate Bill 289, which requires voters to show photo ID at the polls or sign a qualified voter affidavit, as well as SB 318, which modifies certain forms and procedures related to voter registration.

Lynch said he opposed the voter ID law because it allows for only a handful of valid forms of identification at the polls. He said both new election laws will create confusion and potentially reduce voter participation. But the Republican majorities in the House and Senate disagreed, saying the new laws will ensure clean elections.

The House and Senate also overrode Lynch’s veto of SB 372, which establishes an education tax credit for businesses that donate to organizations that provide scholarships to private or religious schools. Lynch expressed concerns about pulling public money away from public school districts and using it toward private institutions, but supporters say the bill will promote school choice for parents.

Republican gubernatorial candidates Ovide Lamontagne and Kevin Smith both support the education tax credit, while Democratic candidates Maggie Hassan and Jackie Cilley said they oppose the plan. 

The legislature also overrode the governors’ vetoes of House Bill 1679, which prohibits partial-birth abortions (already prohibited under federal law); SB 326, which eliminates certain taxation of trusts; and SB 406, which establishes an “early offer” program for malpractice claims.

But the legislature sustained Lynch’s vetoes of SB 409, which would have legalized medical marijuana; HB 1666, which would have required legislative approval of any collective bargaining agreement; HB 217, which would have allowed the state to prosecute people for causing the death of an unborn child; HB 1549, which would have prohibited the use of motor vehicle records for federal identification databases; SB 175, which would have allowed heirs of celebrities to control the commercial use of their identity for 70 years after death; and SB 356, which would have limited the authority of state delegates at constitutional conventions.

In order to override a veto from the governor, both the House and Senate must vote to do so with two-thirds majorities.