Allow Public Discourse

HB340

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Allow Public Discourse - Veto HB 340

Email Subject:

Dear [Your Elected Official],

I am writing to urge you to veto House Bill 340, just as you vetoed Senate Bill 213 last year. This bill goes far beyond preventing political misuse of public office, and instead criminalizes the everyday professional communications of teachers, police chiefs, fire chiefs, and other public servants who are simply doing their jobs.
 Under HB 340, a teacher leading a civics lesson using a mock election, or a fire chief informing the public that the department needs a new engine and that a ballot measure would fund it, could face a misdemeanor charge and a $1,000 fine. These are not partisan actors, they are professionals with a duty to keep their communities informed. And the harm this bill creates does not stop with the individual. When a public employee must spend time and money defending a misdemeanor charge, it is the taxpayers who pay twice: once for the legal fight, and again in the form of underfunded schools, understaffed police departments, and fire departments that cannot speak up for what they need. Students lose out on civic education. Towns lose out on public safety resources. The communities this bill claims to protect are the ones who suffer most.
 You said it yourself when vetoing SB 213: your goal was to ensure that public employees can engage in public discourse without misusing their official positions for political purposes. That is a reasonable and important standard. HB 340 goes well beyond that, turning good-faith professional communication into a criminal act.
 The New Hampshire Municipal Association has noted that no change to the existing law is even necessary. The current law already governs how public officials conduct themselves. HB 340 does not strengthen that standard, it weaponizes it against the very people our communities depend on.
 I respectfully ask that you veto HB 340 and protect New Hampshire's public servants, students, and towns from the very real harm this bill would cause.
 Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your City & State]

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Summary

HB 340 would expand New Hampshire's anti-electioneering law to make it a misdemeanor and/or punishable by a $1,000 fine for public employees to advocate for their professional needs in front of voters. A fire chief asking the public to support a ballot measure for a new engine, a police chief making the case for a new cruiser, or a superintendent explaining how a school budget vote works in a message to parents, could all face criminal charges for simply doing their jobs and advocating for the needs of their community. Governor Ayotte vetoed a nearly identical bill last year, SB 213, recognizing that the existing law already governs how public employees conduct themselves. HB 340 doesn't strengthen that standard, it simply weaponizes it. When public servants are forced to stay silent, it's the towns, the students, and the taxpayers who pay the price. Urge Governor Ayotte to veto HB 340 and protect New Hampshire's public employees and the communities that depend on them.

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Governor Kelly Ayotte Governor