CONCORD — N.H. Senate Democrats on Tuesday touted their bills to protect reproductive rights, boost affordable housing, increase access to child care, raise the minimum wage, limit evictions and improve gun safety.

But they can’t pass these bills on their own. Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state Senate, 14-10.  

Sen. Rebecca Whitley, D-Hopkinton, said the legislative package is family oriented.

“While it’s clear that investments in children and families have obvious advantages for individuals, what is less understood is that there are also spillover effects that have positive social and economic effects on all Granite Staters and future generations,” she said in a news conference in the Legislative Office Building.

Senate Bill 308 would increase the $7.25-an-hour minimum wage, which is the lowest in New England, to $12 on Sept. 1 and $15 on July 1, 2025. New Hampshire is one of 15 states that rely on the $7.25 federal minimum. Republicans in the N.H. Legislature have killed bills to increase the minimum wage in recent years.

Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, said this and several other bills filed by Senate Democrats are aimed at ensuring “the economy works for everyone.”

“We are again advocating a living wage to make sure that individuals can live with dignity within our state,” he said. “And $15-an-hour is a living wage.”

The current minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15. It’s $14.15 in Maine, $15.69 in Connecticut, $14 in Rhode Island and $13.67 in Vermont.

Senate Bill 404 would allow child care workers to automatically qualify for a scholarship to help defray the cost of child care for their own children.

The fiscal note on the bill said there are believed to be at least 7,000 child care workers in the state, and about 20 percent of them have children who would benefit under the legislation. The average weekly benefit would be about $244, and this would cost the state about $19 million in its first year. 

The bill is intended to address the need for child care by those who work in the industry, and, in so doing, attract more workers to the field, increasing access to child care generally.

Another big priority of Senate Democrats will be reproductive rights.

“I don’t know about all of you, but when I go to my doctor, I expect it will be just the two of us in the exam room,” Sen. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua, said at the news conference. “We will make decisions about my health care jointly. There’s no room for a politician to elbow their way in. They don’t belong there.”

A Republican-led effort in 2021 created a state law that allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but bans them after that except to protect the life of the woman or in cases of fatal fetal defects. A section of the law says that nothing within the statute should be interpreted to create a right to abortion.

Senate Bill 461 would remove this wording. 

And, Senate Bill 567 seeks “to protect and expand access” to medications such as mifepristone, which is used in medication abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide this summer on whether to restrict access to the drug.

Senate Bill 519 addresses the eviction issue. It says that whenever an eviction notice is based on an owner’s intention to repair or rehabilitate a structure, tenants need to be given at least 60 days to vacate the premises. There is currently a 30-day notice requirement for such evictions. 

The owner would also have to specifically describe the work that is to be done, how long this will take and provide another unit, if available, similar in size and cost of the unit being vacated. 

Other bills backed by Senate Democrats include SB 538, which would provide tax relief for office building owners who want to convert the structures to housing, and SB 571, which would require a background check prior to any commercial sale of a firearm.

The 2024 legislative session began last week and is expected to last about six months.  

These articles are being shared by partners in The Granite State News Collaborative. For more information visit collaborativenh.org.