May 27, 2025 • 42 mins
The Democratic Leader of the NH House, Alexis Simpson, joins Liz to talk about how a bill becomes a law in New Hampshire - a very unique process because, well, it's New Hampshire.
Liz asks Alexis how much money state reps make in NH, and Alexis reminds Liz what social media platforms exist.
New episodes every Tuesday.
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Have an idea for an upcoming episode? Email Liz: newhampshirehasissues@gmail.com
Links:
- Democratic Leader of the House Alexis Simpson's Instagram
- Find your NH state representative(s) - most Granite Staters have more than one!
- NH House committees
- Sign in to support/oppose a bill with a public hearing in the House
- NH House schedule
- NH House YouTube channel (yes, a YouTube channel!)
- NH House passes budget plan that includes deep spending cuts, eliminates state jobs (NHPR)
- N.H. House votes to keep some Republican cuts, nixes others from state budget (Concord Monitor)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Liz (00:00):
Every year, I think we just double it.
So next year, it's 400 more.
The year after that, it's 800more until everyone is a state
representative in New Hampshire.
Alexis (00:09):
It's real direct democracy.
Liz (00:10):
Should I run for office just to run on that platform
alone?
No other issue.
That's the only thing I'm goingfor is adding more
representatives.
You could.
Alexis (00:18):
And then you could sponsor your own bill.
Yes, I could.
All your time building supportfor your position.
Liz (00:24):
I think we should walk through what a bill looks like
going through the statehouse andwe'll use that as the scenario.
Liz Canada maybe is running forstate representative.
I'm not.
But if I wanted to sponsor thisbill, like what it would look
like, let's hold that thought.
We're going to do that.
That's a good, safe, using itas an example.
And I don't know, maybe peoplewill write into the show and be
(00:46):
like, yes, that is the issue Imost care about too, is that we
need more, more state reps.
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask, do we need 400 morestate representatives?
(01:11):
What do you think, Alexis?
What's your tagline?
Alexis (01:15):
I think we're good.
Liz (01:16):
I think we're good with the 400 that we have.
I'm going to try to persuadeyou.
This episode, I'm going to tryto persuade you.
But what would your tagline be?
Alexis (01:22):
Welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that
dares to ask, how much do welove our neighbors?
Liz (01:30):
This feels like it might get into the state budget
conversation.
Perhaps.
Maybe a little bit.
Well, I am your host, LizCanada, and joining me today is
the Democratic leader of theHouse, Alexis Simpson.
Thank you,
Alexis (01:46):
Liz.
It's good to be
Liz (01:47):
here.
I'm looking forward to it.
when you have a team and youpick your captain and you're
(02:16):
like this is the person we wantout there to like talk to the
other side and talk to theirteam and like flip the coin and
you know all those things wouldyou say that that's an accurate
description of like what aleader does of a caucus like
you're sort of the aisle andthat's how i described it to a
13 and a 12 year old yes
Alexis (02:33):
exactly it's a great analogy i have an incredible
leadership team it's very big asyou would imagine there are 400
of us so we've got to have abig leadership team as well but
also just the Yeah.
town or they're trying tonavigate something complex or
(03:17):
it's a bill that's come throughtheir committee and they just
don't quite know how tounderstand it what to make of it
they just need a thoughtpartner they need a conversation
partner somebody who kind ofsees the big picture I have some
insight from around the statebecause I'm always listening to
people from different areas Ican help them see a bigger
picture but also I can be reallyresponsive when they say yeah I
(03:37):
get that you have the biggerpicture but also this is what my
constituents are saying in mylittle area too
Liz (03:44):
yeah
Alexis (03:45):
helping the team when we have to make hard decisions
together being
Liz (03:49):
a leader of any group no matter how small or big is
there's a lot of responsibilityon you yeah we joke sometimes
that leadership is none of thecredit and all of the blame
sometimes that's how it feels ohgoodness it's so it's hard but
I think it's true for anyonewho's like in the leadership
role that it's really reallychallenging you were chosen to
be the representative of yourside of the aisle yes because of
(04:12):
what my day job is.
Obviously, I work in statehouse, state policy worlds.
I do call you RepresentativeSimpson or Leader Simpson.
I'm wondering if just for thepurposes of this podcast alone,
I might call you Alexis.
Alexis (04:28):
Yes, please.
Will you?
Liz (04:30):
Thank goodness.
Because we'll add four minuteson to the podcast if I say
Democratic Leader of the HouseSimpson every time I mention
your name.
So I'm going to call youAlexis.
Some of the state reps andstate senators who I work with
will often say to me, can youjust call me by my first name?
And I'm like, I physicallycan't.
Alexis (04:48):
I mean, it's a sign of respect and it's helpful when
we're working at the statehouse,you know, and we're in our
professional lives and trying tosolve really hard problems and
to do it together withdifferences of opinion, whether
it's across the aisle or insidethe statehouse and outside the
statehouse.
It's not a bad idea for us toshow as much respect as we can
in the ways that we can.
(05:08):
That's right.
When we disagree, we're doingit agreeably.
That's a great point.
But since All of us are veryregular people.
Also very nice to be called bymy first name as well.
Liz (05:17):
On this podcast, this episode, I will refer to you as
Alexis.
Thank you for that.
All right.
I like to start every episodewith a simple question.
Alexis (05:25):
Okay.
Liz (05:26):
So here's a simple question.
We have 400 staterepresentatives in New
Hampshire.
The simple question is why?
Why do we have 400?
Can you explain to me
Alexis (05:40):
why it is we have 400 state representatives in New
Hampshire?
(06:04):
So having 400 of us means thatevery single state
representative represents about3,500 people.
Wow.
Yeah.
Liz (06:15):
Yeah.
That is so wild just on itsown.
Yeah.
Alexis (06:18):
Right?
So we're all very accessible.
Hopefully all of us do our jobsin getting our names out there
and making sure that ourneighbors know who we are and
know how to contact us and canreach out to us when they have
an opinion or need or aperspective that they want to
share.
Being
Liz (06:37):
a state representative is such an important part of our
political landscape, our statelandscape.
So I assume you must get paid alot of money to have this
really important job.
Is that true?
Alexis (06:50):
I'm so glad you asked.
Actually, no.
Actually, no.
Here in New Hampshire, we getpaid $100 a year, technically
$200 a session, which is twoyears.
So the Average, $100 a year.
Liz (07:07):
$100 a year.
What could you buy for $100?
So
Alexis (07:11):
what I tell people is I get paid enough to buy a dress a
year.
Or
Liz (07:20):
two really nice ties if you like to wear ties.
Wow.
$100 a year.
I would imagine some folksaren't able to run even if they
wanted to because you all arepaid almost nothing.
Alexis (07:33):
Yeah.
Liz (07:33):
Have you heard about people?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Alexis (07:37):
I mean, there are people who would be excellent
legislators who it's just offthe table for them.
They just won't ever be able toconsider it because they are
either the primary breadwinnerof their family, or they have a
significant income that theirfamily needs to live on.
And so it really does make forchallenges.
(07:58):
I know in my family, we relyprimarily on my husband's
income, and then I'm able towork some in the off-season.
But it also takes sacrifice.
You know, my kids also have tobe committed to this project.
And I think that's true for alot of people like your family
has to be on board.
Thankfully, they like to gettheir clothes from thrift stores
and are very generally veryfrugal.
(08:21):
So they don't see it as a hugesacrifice.
But it does mean a lot ofattention to the budget and the
finances if you're going to makea decision like this.
Liz (08:31):
You as the leader of your caucus, it's very full time, but
even for you, it's very fulltime.
Right.
Yeah.
Alexis (09:05):
So we do try to work it out with people so that we can
have representation from alldifferent walks of life.
But generally, no.
We have a lot of retirees.
Liz (09:15):
Yeah.
Majority of folks who areserving in the statehouse are
older.
Yes.
For sure.
Why did you choose to do this?
If it pays $100 a year and youhave to navigate 399 other
opinions, why did you do this?
Why did you run to be a staterepresentative in New Hampshire?
Alexis (09:35):
into state house politics because I was doing
advocacy and policy on federalissues related to sustainable
and organic agriculture.
And I love that work.
Food.
Yes, food.
Liz (09:48):
Food.
Yes.
Okay.
We can all find common groundon food.
Alexis (09:51):
Yes, it's the truth.
I love food systems work.
I love food policy work.
I love agriculture work.
I was doing that, like I said,at the federal level, and then I
got involved in state issues aswell.
And and realized, wow, so thisis how things work in New
Hampshire.
And I learned for myself thatif you want to make something
(10:13):
happen at the state level, youcan run for office and you can
hopefully win if you run a goodcampaign.
And then you can hopefully makethe change that you want to
make if you can convince 200other legislators to agree with
you.
Liz (10:28):
You need to have at least half of them agree with you on
the issues.
That's right.
Right.
So the New Hampshire NewHampshire House is one chamber
of the legislature.
The other is the New HampshireSenate.
So I'm starting with the Housebecause I feel like that's the
most accessible part of ourstate government.
What does the New HampshireHouse as a chamber, as a body,
(10:50):
what do you all do?
What is your job?
Alexis (10:52):
Well, on the one hand, essentially everybody's job is
different because everycommunity has its own needs from
their legislator.
So everybody comes in with adifferent set of needs that
they're trying to represent inthe house.
Sure.
So there's
Liz (11:11):
that.
From like their town or theirregion even?
Alexis (11:14):
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
Exactly.
But then all of us serve oncommittees.
There are 22 committees in thestate house right now.
that all 400 of us are dividedinto these 22 committees and
each committee covers an issuearea.
And so we have about 800 billsfiled every year and those,
(11:36):
yeah.
Liz (11:38):
I mean, I know that from my day job and it's still shocking
to hear.
800 bills that you're all goingto, and we'll get into it more,
but 800 of them that you allhave to read and go through.
Yeah.
Okay.
Alexis (11:50):
Yeah, it's true.
And that's part of why we need400 people.
There's a give
Liz (11:56):
and take, right?
Like if you have 400 people,you end up with 800 bills.
Yeah, it's kind of a
Alexis (12:01):
cycle, I guess.
Right, right.
Yeah.
If you have 400, you end upwith 800 bills.
If you have 800 bills, youbetter have 400 people to help
break
Liz (12:08):
them down.
Yeah.
That's right.
So you're all in these smallgroups, committees.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And they're based on differentissue topics.
Alexis (12:18):
Right.
So we have a committee, forexample, on health, human
services, and elderly.
And so all the bills thatpertain to that issue area are
funneled to that committee.
And then there's also anEnvironment and Agriculture
Committee and an Election LawCommittee.
And so all those bills getfunneled into those different
committees.
And then the folks who are onthere study those bills closely
(12:41):
and decide whether they thinkthey will work and that they're
good policy or bad policy.
So that's really the meat ofthe work that state legislators
do every day.
week of the session, which isgenerally January through June.
Liz (12:57):
There's 400 state reps.
You break out into smallgroups.
You all have your groupproject.
The house...
Health, Human Services, andElderly Affairs Committee, they
get bills on things likevaccines.
Alexis (13:13):
Yes.
Liz (13:13):
The House Education Policy Committee will get bills in
there about what should betaught in schools or what types
of policies school boards shouldconsider implementing, like
those types of things happen inthe House Education Policy.
And then there's a differentone now that's House Education
Funding, something like schoolfunding.
(13:34):
Right.
And the episode I just had waswith Zach from New Hampshire
School Funding Fairness Project.
Those types of issues happen inthat committee.
Alexis (13:42):
Exactly.
Liz (13:43):
When state reps are on committees, do they have
expertise in these fields?
Are the people who are on theeducation committee all former
educators or current educators?
Are the house health committeemembers, are they all former
doctors?
What are the backgrounds of ourstate representatives?
Alexis (14:02):
More often than not, there is a mix of backgrounds on
every committee.
It's a really good idea to havepeople on each committee who do
have expertise in a given area,but it's also really helpful to
have people who aren't expertsin that area but can look at any
issue from the perspective thatthey do come from.
It's important to have peoplewho know what's going on in any
(14:25):
given field, but it's alsoimportant to bring in
perspectives that might havecreative solutions or
out-of-the-box solutions.
So it really is a mix, and wedefinitely have some health care
professionals on the healthcare committee which is great
Liz (14:40):
yeah
Alexis (14:40):
we definitely have some lawyers on election law but
often we'll also have folks whoare simply involved in city or
town government and so they helpwith elections at the polls
every year yeah so they havethat experience
Liz (14:56):
so you've got the 400 of you you're in your committees
and you get these bills and sothey all get sort of divided up
into the committees and thenwhat happens what like what does
it actually mean to be in thesecommittees getting these bills?
What do you do?
Alexis (15:10):
Well, what I think the most important thing that
happens in the state legislatureare the hearings on each and
every bill that comes forward inConcord.
So every single bill.
Yes.
Yes, Liz.
Every single bill gets ahearing in New Hampshire.
And that's really unique.
That's not true of all statelegislatures across the country.
(15:31):
That is true.
Yeah, it is true.
Liz (15:33):
All 800 of those bills, they're getting They're
Alexis (15:40):
getting public hearings, folks.
You can go talk about them.
(16:04):
And they need to have inputinto the conversation and the
policymaking.
And the hearings give a realopportunity for that.
Liz (16:16):
And so a public hearing is literally you all as state
representatives hearing from thepublic.
Yes.
It sounds like such a technicalterm, public hearing.
Like, what does it really mean?
Yeah.
Alexis (16:30):
So let me go through a little bit of the process first
so that there may be peoplelistening who have never been to
a public hearing.
Liz (16:36):
Good for them, frankly.
Alexis (16:38):
Yes.
But we never want people to beintimidated,
Liz (16:42):
right?
Yes, let's demystify thisexperience.
It's not so scary, actually.
It sounds so much scarier thanit actually is.
Alexis (16:47):
Exactly.
And the first time I did it, Iwas very nervous, I will admit.
Basically, there's a committeeroom of 12 to 20 people,
legislators, regular people whohave been elected to this job.
They have a bill in front ofthem.
And published on the Housewebsite is a time for when that
hearing will happen.
(17:08):
Anybody can arrive at the StateYeah.
Totally.
It's
Liz (17:41):
the people's house.
Yes, it sure is.
I think something that isimportant to remind folks is if
you go to a public hearing,you're not required to speak.
They're not going to be likeyou.
I saw that you haven't gottenup yet.
They don't cold call you fromthe room.
Alexis (17:58):
Thank goodness.
Oh my gosh.
I cannot imagine.
Liz (18:02):
Yeah, that would be pretty intimidating.
That does not happen.
So you actually have to go andsign and say, yes, I do want to
speak.
Yes.
And then they'll call you upbased on, you know, you're
saying that you're interested intalking about this.
(18:30):
That's
Alexis (18:40):
a great question.
Anybody who has an opinion.
Okay.
Liz (18:44):
Anybody who has any opinion on the matter, you do not need
to have a degree in what's beingtalked about.
You don't need to be in thefield.
You can literally be like, Ijust saw this and just showed
up.
You can do that.
Alexis (18:56):
Absolutely.
You could be a person who'slike, oh, that's interesting.
I actually do want twice asmany representatives than I
have.
And you could go in and justsay, I want twice as many
representatives as I have.
Or you could go in and say,What is this about?
I'm just going to
Liz (19:12):
listen.
That is a terrible idea.
I just sit there and look.
What are they talking about inhere?
So you don't need to have anyspecific background.
It could be a personal story,right?
Like I had Ken's on aboutchildcare.
And so it could be about I am achildcare worker or I was, or I
am a mom or a parent.
Or it could be like, I remembergrowing up and needing to go to
(19:35):
childcare and that's important.
And I think it should be moreaffordable.
Like any background.
is an okay background.
Absolutely.
Do you have to go to Concord tobe heard?
Alexis (19:44):
No, this is the great thing about technology and
living in the 21st century.
We now have a way that you canbe heard online through the
internet.
There's a website called theGenCourt website.
The old internet.
Liz (19:57):
The old internet.
Here it is.
So
Alexis (20:00):
you can go to the GenCourt website and you can
find the bill that you want toweigh in on and you can sign in
and you can either say yousupport or oppose the bill or
you can support or oppose thebill and include your written
testimony
Liz (20:18):
yeah there's an entry box there that says like if you want
to write something yes youcould just write it in in that
moment or you can upload adocument if you've already
written it i've heard some funnystories about people who have
uh they've gotten very involvedthis year in the past they
hadn't really like been in thestate house or maybe they
recently moved to new hampshireand one person said, I have so
(20:41):
many bills that I'm upset aboutthat I just started writing in
the box.
No.
It's like, okay, I think opposeis enough, but sure, if that's
what you want to write, it's onthe record.
You said it.
Exactly.
Okay, so you can go to Concordif you're able.
Yes.
Usually, I'm going to say it,Alexis, usually those public
(21:01):
hearings are during the day,during the workday.
Alexis (21:03):
Yeah, they are.
Liz (21:05):
That's difficult for people, I think, who are
working.
Alexis (21:07):
It's really challenging.
It really is.
Because even if you do have anemployer who lets you take off
work to come to a hearing, thatmeans you're using precious
resources.
time off that you might needfor a doctor's appointment or to
take care of your child whenthey're sick or, you know, it's
not always even time off thatyou can sacrifice to go up to
(21:28):
Concord and be there during theday.
I think that's why the onlineoption is so important.
Liz (21:34):
And folks can also, I mean, you can sign in on the website
and I'll add it in the shownotes of where you sign in.
I know that we're past publichearings, but it's good for
people to see it, I think, thatit's there.
But you can also email and Yes.
Absolutely.
So let me ask you, Alexis, howaccessible are state
(21:55):
representatives?
I mean, you're one of mine,literally.
Alexis (21:58):
Yes.
Liz (21:59):
If I call you, how many staffers do I have to go through
to get to you?
Alexis (22:04):
Yeah.
None.
Literally zero.
Liz (22:09):
In a word, literally zero.
And not just because we knoweach other, right?
Like not just because we knoweach other.
Say more.
What do you mean none?
Alexis (22:16):
Yeah.
So it's another way that we'reunique here in New Hampshire.
We don't have individual staff.
So the state legislators acrossthe state, you would have to
raise money and hire your ownstaff person if you wanted to do
that.
Perhaps there are folks who do,but no.
I don't know of anyone.
is doing that right now.
(22:37):
Right.
So almost all of us publish ourhome phone numbers or our cell
phone numbers on the websitewhere our bio is.
So people can just look on thewebsite, look us up and call us.
It can be a challenge sometimesto get back to everybody.
But I also have a biggerdistrict than most people
because I have a floaterialdistrict.
So I receive calls frommultiple towns, which isn't true
(23:00):
of most legislators.
But even so, yeah, we do nothave staff people.
Liz (23:04):
You don't have staff.
I I will say that I have calledlawmakers and I get their
spouses because it is their homeline.
So I don't go through a staffmember, but I have gone through
spouses where I'm like, it's sonice to talk to you again, but I
need to actually talk to therepresentative if I can.
Or like, I know that I'mleaving a message on an
answering machine that's playingthrough the house.
(23:27):
And then the rep comes and islike, oh, hi, Liz.
It's like, hi, how are you?
How's dinner?
I'm sure I'm calling you adinner.
So very accessible.
And I may I made a joke on anearlier episode that you're
everywhere in this state becauseyou are.
Many of you, I feel like, serveon other elected boards.
Some of you serve on your localschool boards.
(23:47):
Yes.
Alexis (23:48):
Select boards.
You are everywhere.
We have select board membersserving in the legislature,
school board members.
Liz (23:53):
So this is an open invitation, it sounds like, to
call your state representativesif you have an issue that you
care about.
Alexis (23:59):
Yes.
Liz (24:00):
So the committee, you have your public hearing.
You've heard from the public.
What do you do next?
You think a bill is bad and youhide it what happens
Alexis (24:07):
so then the committee has to decide what they think
they've taken all this publicinformation in and they have
looked at the bill and they havethought through the technical
issues around the bill like howwould it actually work you know
if it involves one of our stateagencies could they really do it
Liz (24:24):
yeah
Alexis (24:25):
and is it something that we feel strongly enough that we
want to ask them to do it aslegislators and then the
committee takes a vote up ordown whether they would like to
pass the bill or stop the bill.
Liz (24:39):
So I have my bill to double the number of state reps.
I had my public hearing.
I got all my friends.
All three of them came to say,this is a great idea.
And then the committee has anexecutive session is the
official term.
And you all debate.
Then you make a recommendation.
Alexis (24:57):
Yes.
And I do know in this case thatone of the significant
considerations they would makefor this recommendation is based
on the fiscal note.
Because what you are proposingwould cost a significant amount
of money.
Because Liz, we did not talkabout the mileage.
Now there's the $200 times 400more legislators, right?
(25:18):
But also legislators receivecompensation for the mileage
that they drive up to Concord,which for 400 of us is not a
small number.
Liz (25:29):
That's where they roll in the big bucks, that mileage
money.
Alexis (25:33):
That's where it is.
We gotta to make sure
Liz (25:36):
our cars are in working order, Liz, so we can get to
Concord in the snow.
Okay.
So yes.
So my proposal, the bill that Iam putting forward, that would
probably be a topic ofconversation.
This is going to cost the statesome money to have twice as
many state reps as we had.
Alexis (25:52):
Yes.
And I guarantee that would comeup in the executive session.
I think you are right.
Liz (25:56):
And so then they will take a vote.
You know, someone will make amotion.
It sounds so fancy.
I move that this bill beI-T-L'd.
Inexpedient to legislate.
I'm just making a prediction,Alexis, that my bill is probably
not going to get through thechamber.
Alexis (26:14):
I agree with your prediction.
I
Liz (26:16):
just, you know, I just have a feeling that it won't go
through.
A motion is made and then youall take a vote around the room.
Yes.
And so then it's dead, right?
That's it.
It's over.
Alexis (26:26):
No.
Oh, no, no, no.
Again.
Oh, no, no, no.
New Hampshire's uniquelegislature.
Hey.
Yep.
Yes.
Every single bill.
Yes, that
Liz (26:37):
is true.
Even if that is
Alexis (26:48):
the decision, that bill will still come to the floor.
Liz (26:53):
It'll still go to the floor.
And then I, as the staterepresentative who has sponsored
it, I can get up there for thefloor and be like, look,
everyone, look around you.
Look how many friends we have.
Let's double it.
We can do this.
We can
Alexis (27:08):
have
Liz (27:08):
twice as many friends.
Alexis (27:10):
Yes.
And somebody else might get upand say, but Liz, we only have
400 chairs.
Liz (27:16):
Let's just make risers.
Just platforms, add peopleright on top.
It's totally fine.
You're right.
So every single bill, no matterhow, let's say silly, like this
idea, no matter how silly, doesget a public hearing, gets a
committee vote, and then it goesto the full chamber for a full
vote.
Yes.
Yeah, that's very unique to NewHampshire.
(27:38):
Other states do not do that.
All right, so we went through asilly scenario, but that's the
process.
So what are the actual debates?
You're all not talking aboutdoubling your size, but what are
the debates that you're takingup right now?
Alexis (27:52):
So one of the biggest ones right now is the budget.
Every two years, the budgetbills first start with the
governor and then come to theHouse and then move to the
Senate and the House and theSenate have to agree on a budget
and then the governor has toagree that they will sign that
(28:12):
budget and then we have abudget.
But that is a significantprocess and includes a lot of
debate over a lot of differentissues because while we talk
about everything, we talk abouteverything that the state spends
money on and whether that ishow we
Liz (28:30):
should be spending our money.
Part of those things, and we'vetalked about it in previous
episodes, I've talked about itwith other folks, folks are
things like child care andschool funding and we're going
to have a housing episode likeall of those issues can also be
part of the state budget how thestate prioritizes spending
money
Alexis (28:46):
yes
Liz (28:47):
we're recording this in mid-may so where is the state
budget what's happening with itright now
Alexis (28:53):
so april 10th the house voted out a budget and sent it
to the senate so right now thesenate finance committee is
working on the budget they'reworking multiple days a week on
coming up with a Senate versionof the budget, they will vote in
committee on that budget.
And then on the floor on June5th, that's the deadline for the
(29:14):
Senate to vote on a budget.
Liz (29:16):
You all did your process at the House level.
So the House had the statebudget.
You all had your committees andtalked about it and voted on
it.
And then you send it over tothe Senate and they're doing
that again, which is whathappens with any other bill,
just like the 400 to 800 reps,true for the state budget as
well.
In this moment, what's in thatbudget?
and what is not in that budget.
Alexis (29:37):
So we're at an interesting time where the...
I
Liz (29:40):
love when someone comes on here and says interesting
because it always meanssomething different.
What does it mean?
Yep.
We are at an interesting time.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Yep.
Alexis (29:51):
It's a good word to use when you want to disagree with
folks in an agreeable way.
Yes, that's right.
It's very
Liz (29:58):
interesting.
Yes.
Okay.
So we're in an interesting timewith the budget.
Yeah.
Alexis (30:02):
It's literally no surprise because I am on record
voting against the budget thatcame out of the House because
there was so much about it thatI disliked.
And then when it moved to theSenate, now the Senate is
starting to make changes,changes that will likely stick
through the Senate's vote on thebudget in early June.
(30:24):
So some of the things that weretaken out of the budget in the
House or that were changed mightalready be different because
the Senate has decided when theysend a budget back over to the
House It's going to be differentin XYZ ways.
Liz (31:05):
So many of the issues in the state budget received cuts,
but there's been a lot of cutsto the state budget.
One of the things that has hadan increase in money is the
education freedom accounts.
Is that accurate still or hasthat changed?
Alexis (31:21):
That is accurate.
Currently, folks who make 350%of the poverty level wages can
ask the state to support theireither homeschooling or private
or religious to school, and thestate gives money that partially
funds that education.
(31:41):
So that's not education in apublic school, right?
We have public schools.
We have public charter schools.
This is different.
So those vouchers that havebeen open to low-income folks so
that they would have anopportunity if they are really
struggling in their local publicschool.
Currently, there is in thebudget an increase in that
program.
It would be offered to peopleregardless of the income that
(32:03):
they make.
The state would would beinstead of putting that money
into public schools, publiccharter schools, or any of the
other critical needs that thestate has at this moment, giving
that to folks who make anyamount of money, including a
million dollars, they wouldstill be able to apply and get a
(32:23):
voucher from the state forprivate school.
Liz (32:25):
So even if a family makes more than a Yes.
And that's
Alexis (32:40):
one of the huge disagreements in this budget,
because there are a lot ofpeople who disagree that money
should be spent that way, thatthat money should be reserved to
the most critical needs in ourstate, which doesn't include
supporting private schools forfolks who make a large income.
Liz (33:04):
tried your best.
It's now in the Senate's hands.
There's nothing you can do.
Do you all have another shot atit?
Alexis (33:09):
Well, the Senate will come back with their bill and
the House has three options.
Liz (33:14):
Ooh.
Alexis (33:15):
Yeah.
Liz (33:15):
Choose your own adventure.
Okay.
What are those three options?
I'm excited.
Alexis (33:18):
We can concur, which means we say, looks good.
Let's go with the Senateversion of the budget.
Liz (33:24):
Okay.
Alexis (33:25):
We can non-concur, which is to say, nope, no thank you.
We don't like that budget.
We're not taking it.
Liz (33:31):
Boo.
We don't like this.
It's your profession.
Professional elected boo is thenon-concern.
Yes, it is.
Yes, exactly.
Actually, sometimes I hear youall booing.
I do sometimes hear booing.
I am sure that you have heardbooing.
Okay, so there's the concur,meaning yes, we agree, this
looks good to us.
Non-concern, this looks bad,it's a no for us.
(33:53):
And that's a drastic
Alexis (33:55):
move.
I would be very surprised ifthe House would do that.
That basically would kill thebudget bills.
So we're not going to go downthat scenario right now.
Liz (34:04):
These three options are true for any bill that's
changed, but we're talking aboutthe state budget specifically,
but that can happen for any billthat is changed by the other
chamber.
It comes back to the first oneand concur, non-concur.
And what is the third?
Alexis (34:17):
Non-concur and request a committee of
Liz (34:20):
conference.
Ooh, what an exciting phrasethat is.
Non-concur with a committee ofconference.
So many words.
Very
Alexis (34:28):
exciting.
Liz (34:29):
What does that mean in language of regular people?
Alexis (34:33):
Yes, regular people.
right so it means we do notlike this but We think we can
work with you.
Okay, okay.
So let's get into a room andlet's talk about what we like
the least and see if we cannegotiate something that both
chambers agree to, the Senateand the House.
Liz (34:56):
Okay, it's a no, not yet.
Alexis (34:59):
Right, that's good.
Yeah, not yet.
Liz (35:01):
So the Committee of Conference, these terms are so
interesting.
Let's go back to our classicword.
It's so interesting.
It's literally lawmakers fromboth chambers, the House and the
Senate, they get chosen by theleadership and they literally
like sit in a room and just talkit out and have amendments
(35:21):
flying around like, let's do itthis way, this way, this way.
Yeah, that's it.
You have your not yet, yournon-concur with committee of
conference.
They get in the room.
They duke it outprofessionally.
And then it's over?
No.
Alexis (35:32):
Then those people in the room, if they've done their
job, both chambers will agree towhatever came out of that room,
or at least the majority ofboth chambers will agree.
But there does have to be avote in each chamber on what
comes out of the committee ofconference.
Liz (35:50):
So with the state budget, the Senate is going to, they're
working on it right now as wespeak.
They're working on it.
And then they're going to vote.
They're going to send it backto all of you because they're
going to change somethinginevitably they've already made
some changes yeah sure and thenthey'll send it back to you
probably there'll be some sortof committee of conference and
then you all have to vote againyou have one more vote it's a
(36:13):
lot of votes you all have totake for a hundred dollars It is
a
Alexis (36:16):
lot of votes.
Liz (36:17):
It's a lot of votes.
It's a lot of votes.
Alexis (36:19):
And for $100, I mean, they're votes that affect a lot
of people's lives.
Liz (36:22):
Yeah.
Alexis (36:22):
Right?
A lot of granite staters'lives.
Liz (36:25):
Boy, oh boy.
What about the other chamber?
Do you all talk?
Or is it truly like, well,they're the other ones?
How does that work?
Alexis (36:34):
Yeah.
I mean, we do talk.
The bulk of our work reallytakes place in our own chambers,
you know, when we're studyingthose bills and all of that.
But we do talk, especially whena bill that we like has gone to
the other chamber.
And that's a great thing aboutour Senate.
It's only 24 people, so it'smuch easier to educate all the
(36:54):
senators on any given issue.
Liz (36:56):
So should we double the size of the New Hampshire
Senate?
You know what?
Maybe I need to run for Senate.
Maybe I have to do that.
Who knows?
Maybe
Alexis (37:04):
that's what you should
Liz (37:07):
do.
I'm coming up with great ideas
Alexis (37:08):
today.
Liz (37:10):
First idea, best idea.
Here we go.
No bad ideas in a brainstorm.
Do senators and representativesGet along with you all.
Or is it like you see them,you're like, oh, it's the other
side of the wall.
Like,
Alexis (37:21):
how does it work?
Well, I can't speak for everylegislator.
Yeah, of course.
And sometimes people will saythings about the other chamber
and sometimes I don't know ifthey mean it or if it's just
kind of a joke, you know, orcertainly there's a level of
frustration when the House wantsto do something and the Senate
wants to do something
Liz (37:40):
drastically different.
Yes, of course.
That is
Alexis (37:42):
incredibly frustrating.
And I'm sure the same is truefor the Senate, right?
When they have an idea, theyall agree on and they send it
And we're like, no, thanks.
I mean, they must get veryfrustrated, right?
I bet that that is true.
I bet that is very true.
(38:12):
two towns or whatever.
Yeah.
But they have to work for andunderstand a larger region.
So it's important to listen tothem too.
Liz (38:27):
Right.
What do you all do when you'renot in Concord January through
June?
Like hibernation?
Do you just like go off intothe woods and reemerge?
What do you do in the offseason?
There are
Alexis (38:42):
a lot of legislators on our team and the other team who
work full-time jobs or part-timejobs.
Oh, yeah.
But they're Right.
Right.
to the finish line or thegovernor's desk next year.
(39:21):
So we'll do a lot of that inthe off season.
Liz (39:23):
So it doesn't actually stop.
It doesn't.
It
Alexis (39:26):
slows down.
It
Liz (39:27):
definitely slows down, but it doesn't stop.
Alexis, thank you so much forindulging me in my legislative
idea and for walking me throughthe statehouse process.
In some ways, very literallywalking through the process and
answering these questions.
Thank you so much for makingthis accessible for folks who
(39:49):
maybe have never been to
Alexis (39:52):
Concord at all.
make sure that everybody feelswelcome in the process of making
the laws that make our staterun.
Liz (40:06):
And if there was one thing you wanted people to do, what
would it be?
Alexis (40:09):
So I think it's really important that people figure out
how to get information aboutwhat's happening at the state
house.
On social media, people shouldbe paying attention to the New
Hampshire House Democrats, whichis our social media out of the
House Democratic Office.
I know we talked about, I don'thave personal staff, but we do
have three incredible staffpeople in the New Hampshire
(40:32):
House Democratic Office who workvery hard to get our message
out there.
We want people to be able tohear from us and learn from us
and speak back to us on all thedifferent platforms, whether
it's...
Liz (40:46):
We're going to be quizzed on all the social media.
Let's see.
How many different ones arethere?
Let's
Alexis (40:50):
see if I can do it.
Okay.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,Blue
Liz (40:55):
Sky,
Alexis (40:56):
X.
Liz (40:57):
Oh, my God.
Are
Alexis (40:58):
there
Liz (40:58):
any more?
I don't know.
I don't know either.
I honestly don't know.
There's so many.
But we try to
Alexis (41:02):
be on all of them, Liz, because there are Granite
Staters everywhere.
I just...
Liz (41:08):
It's fine.
We can do it.
Alexis (41:09):
We can.
Liz (41:10):
We can do it.
We can do hard things.
Yes.
And some of those hard thingsis the social media.
Alexis (41:14):
Yes.
And we can learn from youngerGranite Staters.
Liz (41:17):
Yes, of course.
They will teach us and theywill help us.
Of course.
I think you got all of them.
You got all the ones that Iknow about, at least.
So that's a good place to be.
New Hampshire House
Alexis (41:24):
Democrats.
Liz (41:25):
New Hampshire has issues with...
Many social media pages to lookthrough.
Thank you for listening to NewHampshire Has Issues.
If you'd like to support theshow, click the link in the show
notes and thank you, of course,for doing that.
Some episodes that I havecoming up have to do with
housing affordability, abouteducation freedom accounts,
which you might know as schoolvouchers, and about how tariffs
(41:45):
are impacting the cost ofchocolate.
Yes, an episode aboutchocolate.
New episodes every Tuesday.
If you're wondering, Liz, whydidn't you explain that it's a
CACR, not a bill you would fileto double the number of reps?
Oh, boyfriend, just take a deepbreath.
It's okay.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Every year, I think we just double it.
So next year, it's 400 more.
The year after that, it's 800more until everyone is a state
representative in New Hampshire.
Alexis (00:09):
It's real direct democracy.
Liz (00:10):
Should I run for office just to run on that platform
alone?
No other issue.
That's the only thing I'm goingfor is adding more
representatives.
You could.
Alexis (00:18):
And then you could sponsor your own bill.
Yes, I could.
All your time building supportfor your position.
Liz (00:24):
I think we should walk through what a bill looks like
going through the statehouse andwe'll use that as the scenario.
Liz Canada maybe is running forstate representative.
I'm not.
But if I wanted to sponsor thisbill, like what it would look
like, let's hold that thought.
We're going to do that.
That's a good, safe, using itas an example.
And I don't know, maybe peoplewill write into the show and be
(00:46):
like, yes, that is the issue Imost care about too, is that we
need more, more state reps.
Welcome to New Hampshire HasIssues, the podcast that dares
to ask, do we need 400 morestate representatives?
(01:11):
What do you think, Alexis?
What's your tagline?
Alexis (01:15):
I think we're good.
Liz (01:16):
I think we're good with the 400 that we have.
I'm going to try to persuadeyou.
This episode, I'm going to tryto persuade you.
But what would your tagline be?
Alexis (01:22):
Welcome to New Hampshire Has Issues, the podcast that
dares to ask, how much do welove our neighbors?
Liz (01:30):
This feels like it might get into the state budget
conversation.
Perhaps.
Maybe a little bit.
Well, I am your host, LizCanada, and joining me today is
the Democratic leader of theHouse, Alexis Simpson.
Thank you,
Alexis (01:46):
Liz.
It's good to be
Liz (01:47):
here.
I'm looking forward to it.
when you have a team and youpick your captain and you're
(02:16):
like this is the person we wantout there to like talk to the
other side and talk to theirteam and like flip the coin and
you know all those things wouldyou say that that's an accurate
description of like what aleader does of a caucus like
you're sort of the aisle andthat's how i described it to a
13 and a 12 year old yes
Alexis (02:33):
exactly it's a great analogy i have an incredible
leadership team it's very big asyou would imagine there are 400
of us so we've got to have abig leadership team as well but
also just the Yeah.
town or they're trying tonavigate something complex or
(03:17):
it's a bill that's come throughtheir committee and they just
don't quite know how tounderstand it what to make of it
they just need a thoughtpartner they need a conversation
partner somebody who kind ofsees the big picture I have some
insight from around the statebecause I'm always listening to
people from different areas Ican help them see a bigger
picture but also I can be reallyresponsive when they say yeah I
(03:37):
get that you have the biggerpicture but also this is what my
constituents are saying in mylittle area too
Liz (03:44):
yeah
Alexis (03:45):
helping the team when we have to make hard decisions
together being
Liz (03:49):
a leader of any group no matter how small or big is
there's a lot of responsibilityon you yeah we joke sometimes
that leadership is none of thecredit and all of the blame
sometimes that's how it feels ohgoodness it's so it's hard but
I think it's true for anyonewho's like in the leadership
role that it's really reallychallenging you were chosen to
be the representative of yourside of the aisle yes because of
(04:12):
what my day job is.
Obviously, I work in statehouse, state policy worlds.
I do call you RepresentativeSimpson or Leader Simpson.
I'm wondering if just for thepurposes of this podcast alone,
I might call you Alexis.
Alexis (04:28):
Yes, please.
Will you?
Liz (04:30):
Thank goodness.
Because we'll add four minuteson to the podcast if I say
Democratic Leader of the HouseSimpson every time I mention
your name.
So I'm going to call youAlexis.
Some of the state reps andstate senators who I work with
will often say to me, can youjust call me by my first name?
And I'm like, I physicallycan't.
Alexis (04:48):
I mean, it's a sign of respect and it's helpful when
we're working at the statehouse,you know, and we're in our
professional lives and trying tosolve really hard problems and
to do it together withdifferences of opinion, whether
it's across the aisle or insidethe statehouse and outside the
statehouse.
It's not a bad idea for us toshow as much respect as we can
in the ways that we can.
(05:08):
That's right.
When we disagree, we're doingit agreeably.
That's a great point.
But since All of us are veryregular people.
Also very nice to be called bymy first name as well.
Liz (05:17):
On this podcast, this episode, I will refer to you as
Alexis.
Thank you for that.
All right.
I like to start every episodewith a simple question.
Alexis (05:25):
Okay.
Liz (05:26):
So here's a simple question.
We have 400 staterepresentatives in New
Hampshire.
The simple question is why?
Why do we have 400?
Can you explain to me
Alexis (05:40):
why it is we have 400 state representatives in New
Hampshire?
(06:04):
So having 400 of us means thatevery single state
representative represents about3,500 people.
Wow.
Yeah.
Liz (06:15):
Yeah.
That is so wild just on itsown.
Yeah.
Alexis (06:18):
Right?
So we're all very accessible.
Hopefully all of us do our jobsin getting our names out there
and making sure that ourneighbors know who we are and
know how to contact us and canreach out to us when they have
an opinion or need or aperspective that they want to
share.
Being
Liz (06:37):
a state representative is such an important part of our
political landscape, our statelandscape.
So I assume you must get paid alot of money to have this
really important job.
Is that true?
Alexis (06:50):
I'm so glad you asked.
Actually, no.
Actually, no.
Here in New Hampshire, we getpaid $100 a year, technically
$200 a session, which is twoyears.
So the Average, $100 a year.
Liz (07:07):
$100 a year.
What could you buy for $100?
So
Alexis (07:11):
what I tell people is I get paid enough to buy a dress a
year.
Or
Liz (07:20):
two really nice ties if you like to wear ties.
Wow.
$100 a year.
I would imagine some folksaren't able to run even if they
wanted to because you all arepaid almost nothing.
Alexis (07:33):
Yeah.
Liz (07:33):
Have you heard about people?
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Alexis (07:37):
I mean, there are people who would be excellent
legislators who it's just offthe table for them.
They just won't ever be able toconsider it because they are
either the primary breadwinnerof their family, or they have a
significant income that theirfamily needs to live on.
And so it really does make forchallenges.
(07:58):
I know in my family, we relyprimarily on my husband's
income, and then I'm able towork some in the off-season.
But it also takes sacrifice.
You know, my kids also have tobe committed to this project.
And I think that's true for alot of people like your family
has to be on board.
Thankfully, they like to gettheir clothes from thrift stores
and are very generally veryfrugal.
(08:21):
So they don't see it as a hugesacrifice.
But it does mean a lot ofattention to the budget and the
finances if you're going to makea decision like this.
Liz (08:31):
You as the leader of your caucus, it's very full time, but
even for you, it's very fulltime.
Right.
Yeah.
Alexis (09:05):
So we do try to work it out with people so that we can
have representation from alldifferent walks of life.
But generally, no.
We have a lot of retirees.
Liz (09:15):
Yeah.
Majority of folks who areserving in the statehouse are
older.
Yes.
For sure.
Why did you choose to do this?
If it pays $100 a year and youhave to navigate 399 other
opinions, why did you do this?
Why did you run to be a staterepresentative in New Hampshire?
Alexis (09:35):
into state house politics because I was doing
advocacy and policy on federalissues related to sustainable
and organic agriculture.
And I love that work.
Food.
Yes, food.
Liz (09:48):
Food.
Yes.
Okay.
We can all find common groundon food.
Alexis (09:51):
Yes, it's the truth.
I love food systems work.
I love food policy work.
I love agriculture work.
I was doing that, like I said,at the federal level, and then I
got involved in state issues aswell.
And and realized, wow, so thisis how things work in New
Hampshire.
And I learned for myself thatif you want to make something
(10:13):
happen at the state level, youcan run for office and you can
hopefully win if you run a goodcampaign.
And then you can hopefully makethe change that you want to
make if you can convince 200other legislators to agree with
you.
Liz (10:28):
You need to have at least half of them agree with you on
the issues.
That's right.
Right.
So the New Hampshire NewHampshire House is one chamber
of the legislature.
The other is the New HampshireSenate.
So I'm starting with the Housebecause I feel like that's the
most accessible part of ourstate government.
What does the New HampshireHouse as a chamber, as a body,
(10:50):
what do you all do?
What is your job?
Alexis (10:52):
Well, on the one hand, essentially everybody's job is
different because everycommunity has its own needs from
their legislator.
So everybody comes in with adifferent set of needs that
they're trying to represent inthe house.
Sure.
So there's
Liz (11:11):
that.
From like their town or theirregion even?
Alexis (11:14):
Right.
Yeah.
Okay.
Exactly.
But then all of us serve oncommittees.
There are 22 committees in thestate house right now.
that all 400 of us are dividedinto these 22 committees and
each committee covers an issuearea.
And so we have about 800 billsfiled every year and those,
(11:36):
yeah.
Liz (11:38):
I mean, I know that from my day job and it's still shocking
to hear.
800 bills that you're all goingto, and we'll get into it more,
but 800 of them that you allhave to read and go through.
Yeah.
Okay.
Alexis (11:50):
Yeah, it's true.
And that's part of why we need400 people.
There's a give
Liz (11:56):
and take, right?
Like if you have 400 people,you end up with 800 bills.
Yeah, it's kind of a
Alexis (12:01):
cycle, I guess.
Right, right.
Yeah.
If you have 400, you end upwith 800 bills.
If you have 800 bills, youbetter have 400 people to help
break
Liz (12:08):
them down.
Yeah.
That's right.
So you're all in these smallgroups, committees.
Exactly.
Exactly.
And they're based on differentissue topics.
Alexis (12:18):
Right.
So we have a committee, forexample, on health, human
services, and elderly.
And so all the bills thatpertain to that issue area are
funneled to that committee.
And then there's also anEnvironment and Agriculture
Committee and an Election LawCommittee.
And so all those bills getfunneled into those different
committees.
And then the folks who are onthere study those bills closely
(12:41):
and decide whether they thinkthey will work and that they're
good policy or bad policy.
So that's really the meat ofthe work that state legislators
do every day.
week of the session, which isgenerally January through June.
Liz (12:57):
There's 400 state reps.
You break out into smallgroups.
You all have your groupproject.
The house...
Health, Human Services, andElderly Affairs Committee, they
get bills on things likevaccines.
Alexis (13:13):
Yes.
Liz (13:13):
The House Education Policy Committee will get bills in
there about what should betaught in schools or what types
of policies school boards shouldconsider implementing, like
those types of things happen inthe House Education Policy.
And then there's a differentone now that's House Education
Funding, something like schoolfunding.
(13:34):
Right.
And the episode I just had waswith Zach from New Hampshire
School Funding Fairness Project.
Those types of issues happen inthat committee.
Alexis (13:42):
Exactly.
Liz (13:43):
When state reps are on committees, do they have
expertise in these fields?
Are the people who are on theeducation committee all former
educators or current educators?
Are the house health committeemembers, are they all former
doctors?
What are the backgrounds of ourstate representatives?
Alexis (14:02):
More often than not, there is a mix of backgrounds on
every committee.
It's a really good idea to havepeople on each committee who do
have expertise in a given area,but it's also really helpful to
have people who aren't expertsin that area but can look at any
issue from the perspective thatthey do come from.
It's important to have peoplewho know what's going on in any
(14:25):
given field, but it's alsoimportant to bring in
perspectives that might havecreative solutions or
out-of-the-box solutions.
So it really is a mix, and wedefinitely have some health care
professionals on the healthcare committee which is great
Liz (14:40):
yeah
Alexis (14:40):
we definitely have some lawyers on election law but
often we'll also have folks whoare simply involved in city or
town government and so they helpwith elections at the polls
every year yeah so they havethat experience
Liz (14:56):
so you've got the 400 of you you're in your committees
and you get these bills and sothey all get sort of divided up
into the committees and thenwhat happens what like what does
it actually mean to be in thesecommittees getting these bills?
What do you do?
Alexis (15:10):
Well, what I think the most important thing that
happens in the state legislatureare the hearings on each and
every bill that comes forward inConcord.
So every single bill.
Yes.
Yes, Liz.
Every single bill gets ahearing in New Hampshire.
And that's really unique.
That's not true of all statelegislatures across the country.
(15:31):
That is true.
Yeah, it is true.
Liz (15:33):
All 800 of those bills, they're getting They're
Alexis (15:40):
getting public hearings, folks.
You can go talk about them.
(16:04):
And they need to have inputinto the conversation and the
policymaking.
And the hearings give a realopportunity for that.
Liz (16:16):
And so a public hearing is literally you all as state
representatives hearing from thepublic.
Yes.
It sounds like such a technicalterm, public hearing.
Like, what does it really mean?
Yeah.
Alexis (16:30):
So let me go through a little bit of the process first
so that there may be peoplelistening who have never been to
a public hearing.
Liz (16:36):
Good for them, frankly.
Alexis (16:38):
Yes.
But we never want people to beintimidated,
Liz (16:42):
right?
Yes, let's demystify thisexperience.
It's not so scary, actually.
It sounds so much scarier thanit actually is.
Alexis (16:47):
Exactly.
And the first time I did it, Iwas very nervous, I will admit.
Basically, there's a committeeroom of 12 to 20 people,
legislators, regular people whohave been elected to this job.
They have a bill in front ofthem.
And published on the Housewebsite is a time for when that
hearing will happen.
(17:08):
Anybody can arrive at the StateYeah.
Totally.
It's
Liz (17:41):
the people's house.
Yes, it sure is.
I think something that isimportant to remind folks is if
you go to a public hearing,you're not required to speak.
They're not going to be likeyou.
I saw that you haven't gottenup yet.
They don't cold call you fromthe room.
Alexis (17:58):
Thank goodness.
Oh my gosh.
I cannot imagine.
Liz (18:02):
Yeah, that would be pretty intimidating.
That does not happen.
So you actually have to go andsign and say, yes, I do want to
speak.
Yes.
And then they'll call you upbased on, you know, you're
saying that you're interested intalking about this.
(18:30):
That's
Alexis (18:40):
a great question.
Anybody who has an opinion.
Okay.
Liz (18:44):
Anybody who has any opinion on the matter, you do not need
to have a degree in what's beingtalked about.
You don't need to be in thefield.
You can literally be like, Ijust saw this and just showed
up.
You can do that.
Alexis (18:56):
Absolutely.
You could be a person who'slike, oh, that's interesting.
I actually do want twice asmany representatives than I
have.
And you could go in and justsay, I want twice as many
representatives as I have.
Or you could go in and say,What is this about?
I'm just going to
Liz (19:12):
listen.
That is a terrible idea.
I just sit there and look.
What are they talking about inhere?
So you don't need to have anyspecific background.
It could be a personal story,right?
Like I had Ken's on aboutchildcare.
And so it could be about I am achildcare worker or I was, or I
am a mom or a parent.
Or it could be like, I remembergrowing up and needing to go to
(19:35):
childcare and that's important.
And I think it should be moreaffordable.
Like any background.
is an okay background.
Absolutely.
Do you have to go to Concord tobe heard?
Alexis (19:44):
No, this is the great thing about technology and
living in the 21st century.
We now have a way that you canbe heard online through the
internet.
There's a website called theGenCourt website.
The old internet.
Liz (19:57):
The old internet.
Here it is.
So
Alexis (20:00):
you can go to the GenCourt website and you can
find the bill that you want toweigh in on and you can sign in
and you can either say yousupport or oppose the bill or
you can support or oppose thebill and include your written
testimony
Liz (20:18):
yeah there's an entry box there that says like if you want
to write something yes youcould just write it in in that
moment or you can upload adocument if you've already
written it i've heard some funnystories about people who have
uh they've gotten very involvedthis year in the past they
hadn't really like been in thestate house or maybe they
recently moved to new hampshireand one person said, I have so
(20:41):
many bills that I'm upset aboutthat I just started writing in
the box.
No.
It's like, okay, I think opposeis enough, but sure, if that's
what you want to write, it's onthe record.
You said it.
Exactly.
Okay, so you can go to Concordif you're able.
Yes.
Usually, I'm going to say it,Alexis, usually those public
(21:01):
hearings are during the day,during the workday.
Alexis (21:03):
Yeah, they are.
Liz (21:05):
That's difficult for people, I think, who are
working.
Alexis (21:07):
It's really challenging.
It really is.
Because even if you do have anemployer who lets you take off
work to come to a hearing, thatmeans you're using precious
resources.
time off that you might needfor a doctor's appointment or to
take care of your child whenthey're sick or, you know, it's
not always even time off thatyou can sacrifice to go up to
(21:28):
Concord and be there during theday.
I think that's why the onlineoption is so important.
Liz (21:34):
And folks can also, I mean, you can sign in on the website
and I'll add it in the shownotes of where you sign in.
I know that we're past publichearings, but it's good for
people to see it, I think, thatit's there.
But you can also email and Yes.
Absolutely.
So let me ask you, Alexis, howaccessible are state
(21:55):
representatives?
I mean, you're one of mine,literally.
Alexis (21:58):
Yes.
Liz (21:59):
If I call you, how many staffers do I have to go through
to get to you?
Alexis (22:04):
Yeah.
None.
Literally zero.
Liz (22:09):
In a word, literally zero.
And not just because we knoweach other, right?
Like not just because we knoweach other.
Say more.
What do you mean none?
Alexis (22:16):
Yeah.
So it's another way that we'reunique here in New Hampshire.
We don't have individual staff.
So the state legislators acrossthe state, you would have to
raise money and hire your ownstaff person if you wanted to do
that.
Perhaps there are folks who do,but no.
I don't know of anyone.
is doing that right now.
(22:37):
Right.
So almost all of us publish ourhome phone numbers or our cell
phone numbers on the websitewhere our bio is.
So people can just look on thewebsite, look us up and call us.
It can be a challenge sometimesto get back to everybody.
But I also have a biggerdistrict than most people
because I have a floaterialdistrict.
So I receive calls frommultiple towns, which isn't true
(23:00):
of most legislators.
But even so, yeah, we do nothave staff people.
Liz (23:04):
You don't have staff.
I I will say that I have calledlawmakers and I get their
spouses because it is their homeline.
So I don't go through a staffmember, but I have gone through
spouses where I'm like, it's sonice to talk to you again, but I
need to actually talk to therepresentative if I can.
Or like, I know that I'mleaving a message on an
answering machine that's playingthrough the house.
(23:27):
And then the rep comes and islike, oh, hi, Liz.
It's like, hi, how are you?
How's dinner?
I'm sure I'm calling you adinner.
So very accessible.
And I may I made a joke on anearlier episode that you're
everywhere in this state becauseyou are.
Many of you, I feel like, serveon other elected boards.
Some of you serve on your localschool boards.
(23:47):
Yes.
Alexis (23:48):
Select boards.
You are everywhere.
We have select board membersserving in the legislature,
school board members.
Liz (23:53):
So this is an open invitation, it sounds like, to
call your state representativesif you have an issue that you
care about.
Alexis (23:59):
Yes.
Liz (24:00):
So the committee, you have your public hearing.
You've heard from the public.
What do you do next?
You think a bill is bad and youhide it what happens
Alexis (24:07):
so then the committee has to decide what they think
they've taken all this publicinformation in and they have
looked at the bill and they havethought through the technical
issues around the bill like howwould it actually work you know
if it involves one of our stateagencies could they really do it
Liz (24:24):
yeah
Alexis (24:25):
and is it something that we feel strongly enough that we
want to ask them to do it aslegislators and then the
committee takes a vote up ordown whether they would like to
pass the bill or stop the bill.
Liz (24:39):
So I have my bill to double the number of state reps.
I had my public hearing.
I got all my friends.
All three of them came to say,this is a great idea.
And then the committee has anexecutive session is the
official term.
And you all debate.
Then you make a recommendation.
Alexis (24:57):
Yes.
And I do know in this case thatone of the significant
considerations they would makefor this recommendation is based
on the fiscal note.
Because what you are proposingwould cost a significant amount
of money.
Because Liz, we did not talkabout the mileage.
Now there's the $200 times 400more legislators, right?
(25:18):
But also legislators receivecompensation for the mileage
that they drive up to Concord,which for 400 of us is not a
small number.
Liz (25:29):
That's where they roll in the big bucks, that mileage
money.
Alexis (25:33):
That's where it is.
We gotta to make sure
Liz (25:36):
our cars are in working order, Liz, so we can get to
Concord in the snow.
Okay.
So yes.
So my proposal, the bill that Iam putting forward, that would
probably be a topic ofconversation.
This is going to cost the statesome money to have twice as
many state reps as we had.
Alexis (25:52):
Yes.
And I guarantee that would comeup in the executive session.
I think you are right.
Liz (25:56):
And so then they will take a vote.
You know, someone will make amotion.
It sounds so fancy.
I move that this bill beI-T-L'd.
Inexpedient to legislate.
I'm just making a prediction,Alexis, that my bill is probably
not going to get through thechamber.
Alexis (26:14):
I agree with your prediction.
I
Liz (26:16):
just, you know, I just have a feeling that it won't go
through.
A motion is made and then youall take a vote around the room.
Yes.
And so then it's dead, right?
That's it.
It's over.
Alexis (26:26):
No.
Oh, no, no, no.
Again.
Oh, no, no, no.
New Hampshire's uniquelegislature.
Hey.
Yep.
Yes.
Every single bill.
Yes, that
Liz (26:37):
is true.
Even if that is
Alexis (26:48):
the decision, that bill will still come to the floor.
Liz (26:53):
It'll still go to the floor.
And then I, as the staterepresentative who has sponsored
it, I can get up there for thefloor and be like, look,
everyone, look around you.
Look how many friends we have.
Let's double it.
We can do this.
We can
Alexis (27:08):
have
Liz (27:08):
twice as many friends.
Alexis (27:10):
Yes.
And somebody else might get upand say, but Liz, we only have
400 chairs.
Liz (27:16):
Let's just make risers.
Just platforms, add peopleright on top.
It's totally fine.
You're right.
So every single bill, no matterhow, let's say silly, like this
idea, no matter how silly, doesget a public hearing, gets a
committee vote, and then it goesto the full chamber for a full
vote.
Yes.
Yeah, that's very unique to NewHampshire.
(27:38):
Other states do not do that.
All right, so we went through asilly scenario, but that's the
process.
So what are the actual debates?
You're all not talking aboutdoubling your size, but what are
the debates that you're takingup right now?
Alexis (27:52):
So one of the biggest ones right now is the budget.
Every two years, the budgetbills first start with the
governor and then come to theHouse and then move to the
Senate and the House and theSenate have to agree on a budget
and then the governor has toagree that they will sign that
(28:12):
budget and then we have abudget.
But that is a significantprocess and includes a lot of
debate over a lot of differentissues because while we talk
about everything, we talk abouteverything that the state spends
money on and whether that ishow we
Liz (28:30):
should be spending our money.
Part of those things, and we'vetalked about it in previous
episodes, I've talked about itwith other folks, folks are
things like child care andschool funding and we're going
to have a housing episode likeall of those issues can also be
part of the state budget how thestate prioritizes spending
money
Alexis (28:46):
yes
Liz (28:47):
we're recording this in mid-may so where is the state
budget what's happening with itright now
Alexis (28:53):
so april 10th the house voted out a budget and sent it
to the senate so right now thesenate finance committee is
working on the budget they'reworking multiple days a week on
coming up with a Senate versionof the budget, they will vote in
committee on that budget.
And then on the floor on June5th, that's the deadline for the
(29:14):
Senate to vote on a budget.
Liz (29:16):
You all did your process at the House level.
So the House had the statebudget.
You all had your committees andtalked about it and voted on
it.
And then you send it over tothe Senate and they're doing
that again, which is whathappens with any other bill,
just like the 400 to 800 reps,true for the state budget as
well.
In this moment, what's in thatbudget?
and what is not in that budget.
Alexis (29:37):
So we're at an interesting time where the...
I
Liz (29:40):
love when someone comes on here and says interesting
because it always meanssomething different.
What does it mean?
Yep.
We are at an interesting time.
I'm sorry to interrupt.
Yep.
Alexis (29:51):
It's a good word to use when you want to disagree with
folks in an agreeable way.
Yes, that's right.
It's very
Liz (29:58):
interesting.
Yes.
Okay.
So we're in an interesting timewith the budget.
Yeah.
Alexis (30:02):
It's literally no surprise because I am on record
voting against the budget thatcame out of the House because
there was so much about it thatI disliked.
And then when it moved to theSenate, now the Senate is
starting to make changes,changes that will likely stick
through the Senate's vote on thebudget in early June.
(30:24):
So some of the things that weretaken out of the budget in the
House or that were changed mightalready be different because
the Senate has decided when theysend a budget back over to the
House It's going to be differentin XYZ ways.
Liz (31:05):
So many of the issues in the state budget received cuts,
but there's been a lot of cutsto the state budget.
One of the things that has hadan increase in money is the
education freedom accounts.
Is that accurate still or hasthat changed?
Alexis (31:21):
That is accurate.
Currently, folks who make 350%of the poverty level wages can
ask the state to support theireither homeschooling or private
or religious to school, and thestate gives money that partially
funds that education.
(31:41):
So that's not education in apublic school, right?
We have public schools.
We have public charter schools.
This is different.
So those vouchers that havebeen open to low-income folks so
that they would have anopportunity if they are really
struggling in their local publicschool.
Currently, there is in thebudget an increase in that
program.
It would be offered to peopleregardless of the income that
(32:03):
they make.
The state would would beinstead of putting that money
into public schools, publiccharter schools, or any of the
other critical needs that thestate has at this moment, giving
that to folks who make anyamount of money, including a
million dollars, they wouldstill be able to apply and get a
(32:23):
voucher from the state forprivate school.
Liz (32:25):
So even if a family makes more than a Yes.
And that's
Alexis (32:40):
one of the huge disagreements in this budget,
because there are a lot ofpeople who disagree that money
should be spent that way, thatthat money should be reserved to
the most critical needs in ourstate, which doesn't include
supporting private schools forfolks who make a large income.
Liz (33:04):
tried your best.
It's now in the Senate's hands.
There's nothing you can do.
Do you all have another shot atit?
Alexis (33:09):
Well, the Senate will come back with their bill and
the House has three options.
Liz (33:14):
Ooh.
Alexis (33:15):
Yeah.
Liz (33:15):
Choose your own adventure.
Okay.
What are those three options?
I'm excited.
Alexis (33:18):
We can concur, which means we say, looks good.
Let's go with the Senateversion of the budget.
Liz (33:24):
Okay.
Alexis (33:25):
We can non-concur, which is to say, nope, no thank you.
We don't like that budget.
We're not taking it.
Liz (33:31):
Boo.
We don't like this.
It's your profession.
Professional elected boo is thenon-concern.
Yes, it is.
Yes, exactly.
Actually, sometimes I hear youall booing.
I do sometimes hear booing.
I am sure that you have heardbooing.
Okay, so there's the concur,meaning yes, we agree, this
looks good to us.
Non-concern, this looks bad,it's a no for us.
(33:53):
And that's a drastic
Alexis (33:55):
move.
I would be very surprised ifthe House would do that.
That basically would kill thebudget bills.
So we're not going to go downthat scenario right now.
Liz (34:04):
These three options are true for any bill that's
changed, but we're talking aboutthe state budget specifically,
but that can happen for any billthat is changed by the other
chamber.
It comes back to the first oneand concur, non-concur.
And what is the third?
Alexis (34:17):
Non-concur and request a committee of
Liz (34:20):
conference.
Ooh, what an exciting phrasethat is.
Non-concur with a committee ofconference.
So many words.
Very
Alexis (34:28):
exciting.
Liz (34:29):
What does that mean in language of regular people?
Alexis (34:33):
Yes, regular people.
right so it means we do notlike this but We think we can
work with you.
Okay, okay.
So let's get into a room andlet's talk about what we like
the least and see if we cannegotiate something that both
chambers agree to, the Senateand the House.
Liz (34:56):
Okay, it's a no, not yet.
Alexis (34:59):
Right, that's good.
Yeah, not yet.
Liz (35:01):
So the Committee of Conference, these terms are so
interesting.
Let's go back to our classicword.
It's so interesting.
It's literally lawmakers fromboth chambers, the House and the
Senate, they get chosen by theleadership and they literally
like sit in a room and just talkit out and have amendments
(35:21):
flying around like, let's do itthis way, this way, this way.
Yeah, that's it.
You have your not yet, yournon-concur with committee of
conference.
They get in the room.
They duke it outprofessionally.
And then it's over?
No.
Alexis (35:32):
Then those people in the room, if they've done their
job, both chambers will agree towhatever came out of that room,
or at least the majority ofboth chambers will agree.
But there does have to be avote in each chamber on what
comes out of the committee ofconference.
Liz (35:50):
So with the state budget, the Senate is going to, they're
working on it right now as wespeak.
They're working on it.
And then they're going to vote.
They're going to send it backto all of you because they're
going to change somethinginevitably they've already made
some changes yeah sure and thenthey'll send it back to you
probably there'll be some sortof committee of conference and
then you all have to vote againyou have one more vote it's a
(36:13):
lot of votes you all have totake for a hundred dollars It is
a
Alexis (36:16):
lot of votes.
Liz (36:17):
It's a lot of votes.
It's a lot of votes.
Alexis (36:19):
And for $100, I mean, they're votes that affect a lot
of people's lives.
Liz (36:22):
Yeah.
Alexis (36:22):
Right?
A lot of granite staters'lives.
Liz (36:25):
Boy, oh boy.
What about the other chamber?
Do you all talk?
Or is it truly like, well,they're the other ones?
How does that work?
Alexis (36:34):
Yeah.
I mean, we do talk.
The bulk of our work reallytakes place in our own chambers,
you know, when we're studyingthose bills and all of that.
But we do talk, especially whena bill that we like has gone to
the other chamber.
And that's a great thing aboutour Senate.
It's only 24 people, so it'smuch easier to educate all the
(36:54):
senators on any given issue.
Liz (36:56):
So should we double the size of the New Hampshire
Senate?
You know what?
Maybe I need to run for Senate.
Maybe I have to do that.
Who knows?
Maybe
Alexis (37:04):
that's what you should
Liz (37:07):
do.
I'm coming up with great ideas
Alexis (37:08):
today.
Liz (37:10):
First idea, best idea.
Here we go.
No bad ideas in a brainstorm.
Do senators and representativesGet along with you all.
Or is it like you see them,you're like, oh, it's the other
side of the wall.
Like,
Alexis (37:21):
how does it work?
Well, I can't speak for everylegislator.
Yeah, of course.
And sometimes people will saythings about the other chamber
and sometimes I don't know ifthey mean it or if it's just
kind of a joke, you know, orcertainly there's a level of
frustration when the House wantsto do something and the Senate
wants to do something
Liz (37:40):
drastically different.
Yes, of course.
That is
Alexis (37:42):
incredibly frustrating.
And I'm sure the same is truefor the Senate, right?
When they have an idea, theyall agree on and they send it
And we're like, no, thanks.
I mean, they must get veryfrustrated, right?
I bet that that is true.
I bet that is very true.
(38:12):
two towns or whatever.
Yeah.
But they have to work for andunderstand a larger region.
So it's important to listen tothem too.
Liz (38:27):
Right.
What do you all do when you'renot in Concord January through
June?
Like hibernation?
Do you just like go off intothe woods and reemerge?
What do you do in the offseason?
There are
Alexis (38:42):
a lot of legislators on our team and the other team who
work full-time jobs or part-timejobs.
Oh, yeah.
But they're Right.
Right.
to the finish line or thegovernor's desk next year.
(39:21):
So we'll do a lot of that inthe off season.
Liz (39:23):
So it doesn't actually stop.
It doesn't.
It
Alexis (39:26):
slows down.
It
Liz (39:27):
definitely slows down, but it doesn't stop.
Alexis, thank you so much forindulging me in my legislative
idea and for walking me throughthe statehouse process.
In some ways, very literallywalking through the process and
answering these questions.
Thank you so much for makingthis accessible for folks who
(39:49):
maybe have never been to
Alexis (39:52):
Concord at all.
make sure that everybody feelswelcome in the process of making
the laws that make our staterun.
Liz (40:06):
And if there was one thing you wanted people to do, what
would it be?
Alexis (40:09):
So I think it's really important that people figure out
how to get information aboutwhat's happening at the state
house.
On social media, people shouldbe paying attention to the New
Hampshire House Democrats, whichis our social media out of the
House Democratic Office.
I know we talked about, I don'thave personal staff, but we do
have three incredible staffpeople in the New Hampshire
(40:32):
House Democratic Office who workvery hard to get our message
out there.
We want people to be able tohear from us and learn from us
and speak back to us on all thedifferent platforms, whether
it's...
Liz (40:46):
We're going to be quizzed on all the social media.
Let's see.
How many different ones arethere?
Let's
Alexis (40:50):
see if I can do it.
Okay.
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok,Blue
Liz (40:55):
Sky,
Alexis (40:56):
X.
Liz (40:57):
Oh, my God.
Are
Alexis (40:58):
there
Liz (40:58):
any more?
I don't know.
I don't know either.
I honestly don't know.
There's so many.
But we try to
Alexis (41:02):
be on all of them, Liz, because there are Granite
Staters everywhere.
I just...
Liz (41:08):
It's fine.
We can do it.
Alexis (41:09):
We can.
Liz (41:10):
We can do it.
We can do hard things.
Yes.
And some of those hard thingsis the social media.
Alexis (41:14):
Yes.
And we can learn from youngerGranite Staters.
Liz (41:17):
Yes, of course.
They will teach us and theywill help us.
Of course.
I think you got all of them.
You got all the ones that Iknow about, at least.
So that's a good place to be.
New Hampshire House
Alexis (41:24):
Democrats.
Liz (41:25):
New Hampshire has issues with...
Many social media pages to lookthrough.
Thank you for listening to NewHampshire Has Issues.
If you'd like to support theshow, click the link in the show
notes and thank you, of course,for doing that.
Some episodes that I havecoming up have to do with
housing affordability, abouteducation freedom accounts,
which you might know as schoolvouchers, and about how tariffs
(41:45):
are impacting the cost ofchocolate.
Yes, an episode aboutchocolate.
New episodes every Tuesday.
If you're wondering, Liz, whydidn't you explain that it's a
CACR, not a bill you would fileto double the number of reps?
Oh, boyfriend, just take a deepbreath.
It's okay.
Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
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