House “Breathtaking Disrespect” for N.H. Constitution

The New Hampshire House is moving forward with a plan to bypass the Governor and send its redistricting plan directly to the Secretary of State for implementation. Rep. Paul Mirski, chair of the House Special Committee on Redistricting, says lawmakers will accomplish this by submitting the plan in a House Concurrent Order rather than a House Bill.

Rep. Steve Winter, sponsor of the HCO, points to Article 9 of the New Hampshire Constitution.

“It says nothing about the Governor at all,” he said. “It is the duty of the Legislature. We have been doing it through a bill, making a law that these are the districts, but looking through the Constitution we cannot see where the Governor is supposed to play a role in that.”

Republican Rep. Steve Vaillancourt says the approach will “most certainly” result in a lawsuit.

“[I]t is both unconstitutional and unwise, is a slap at the separation of powers provision. It would set a dangerous precedent which could come back to bite the same Republican Parfty which is pushing it today.”

Democratic Rep. David Pierce gets the last word, calling it a “breathtaking disrespect for the constitution.”

Pierce argues those in favor of using an HCO are picking parts of the Constitution that work for them and ignoring the document as a whole, and added something as “vitally important” as redistricting should be subject to the same checks and balances as other legislation.