Rep. Heath Howard

Maddy summaryThis bill establishes a new funding formula for public schools in New Hampshire, setting a base cost of $4,404 per student to provide an adequate education starting in the 2025-2026 school year. It introduces two new types of financial assistance: relief funding for districts with high rates of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, and fiscal capacity disparity aid for municipalities with lower property values compared to a specific threshold. The legislation also adjusts how the state calculates total education grants by adding these new aid amounts and includes a hold harmless provision to protect certain districts from funding decreases during the transition.

Maddy summaryHB 1350 increases the legal amount of usable therapeutic cannabis that patients and their designated caregivers can possess from two ounces to four ounces. The bill allows qualifying patients and caregivers to hold up to four ounces of usable cannabis and any amount of unusable cannabis without facing arrest, prosecution, or penalties. It also updates the rules for alternative treatment centers, permitting patients to obtain up to four ounces of usable cannabis every ten days. These changes are set to take effect on January 1, 2025.

Maddy summaryThis bill allows people in New Hampshire to petition courts to erase arrest and conviction records for cannabis offenses, with automatic annulment for minor possession cases and a streamlined process for other related crimes once sentences are finished. It also enables individuals currently serving time for cannabis-related offenses to request re-sentencing to only the portion of their sentence they have already served, unless the prosecutor can prove the change would not be in the interests of justice. The legislation covers offenses involving cannabis or paraphernalia that would not have been crimes if marijuana were legal, and it waives all associated court fees for these petitions.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates how the state calculates funding for students with special education needs, directly affecting school districts and the families of these students. It establishes different funding levels based on the intensity of services a student receives, distinguishing between those who attend regular classes most of the day, those with partial inclusion, and those in separate schools or homebound settings. The legislation also introduces a new method for adjusting these costs in the future by applying specific numerical multipliers to a base funding amount. These changes are designed to ensure that financial support aligns more closely with the actual resources required to educate students with disabilities.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates the penalties for individuals who illegally sell cannabis to people who are not authorized medical patients or caregivers. It specifically removes a previous criminal penalty for such sales and instead mandates the revocation of the seller's registry identification card. The law applies to both qualifying patients and designated caregivers who violate these rules. These changes are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2025.