My first year in the New Hampshire Legislature has allowed me a chance to research, observe and network. I spent my time learning the lay of the land, listening closely to the debates that precede every vote and researching the background and intent of each piece of legislation. As a freshman representative, I am also a member of the New Hampshire General Court, as well as a delegate to our county government. Representatives are also members of standing committees within the House, and we discuss and “exec” bills (decide their fate in committee). We amend them; we set a budget and we vote, a lot.

This submersion in government and its internal view of politics has been enlightening. I have followed politics for as long as I can remember because it was a dinner table topic throughout my childhood, and much discussed in our household. The fact that I still have the invitation my parents received to JFK’s inaugural ball and one of my own, to President Barack Obama’s, tells you how those discussions went. I grew up in Alaska, which prepared me a little for New Hampshire politics, but the first session of my first term in the Legislature provided me with many opportunities to learn not only how unique politics in our state are, but also how challenging politics are in general.

The Legislature handled over 200 bills last session, and I’ve heard that over 500 were filed this year. I spent the legislative session observing the polarization between the parties and the importance of the individual vote in a body where members of those parties are basically equal in number. I also witnessed some remarkable bipartisan achievements, like the biennial budget, and a bill regarding the siting of landfills that will be coming out of the committee on which I serve, Environment and Agriculture. I was fortunate to sub on two other committees, and was able to vote to advance the legalization of cannabis with the Finance Committee (in an almost unanimous bipartisan vote), as well as on important legislation on issues like Medicaid extension and mental health on two occasions when I served on the Health and Human Services Committee.

The partisan divisions in our country are almost as extreme in the New Hampshire House as they are in the U.S. House. During any given session of the New Hampshire Legislature, the outcomes were determined solely by the success of party leadership in convincing their caucus members to attend the vote. I didn’t miss a single vote in the general session, nor a meeting of my committee, so I can tell you that voting days felt like attending a sports event, one between close rivals, winner-take-all. The fate of bills each day was easy to determine after the first vote, when we could all see who had the most seats filled that day. Roll call votes are on the public record at gencourt.state.nh.us/nhgcrollcalls.

A colleague from across the aisle explained to me that the fundamental difference between parties is what they believe the role of government to be. This both clarified and confused my understanding of the bills we voted on, and the way this colleague’s side of the aisle voted. I became alarmed by the insertion of religion into the arguments, and am more resolved than ever to promote the separation of church and state in New Hampshire. I detected a fixation on people who are non-binary in their gender or sexuality and how this sentiment was expressed in bills that were nominally about the rights of parents.

I am very concerned about the emphasis on the right to choose alternative forms of education that drains our public education coffers, especially when these bill are supported  by people who have long enrolled their children in private or parochial schools. The patchwork approach to the protection of the rights of our citizens was very confusing, especially when the explanation of the role of government included the desire by his side for it to be diminished, or better yet, eliminated. Too many bills that resulted in the limitation of our constituents’ rights came up for a vote, including requiring teachers to alert parents if their children choose new pronouns. I was even more disappointed to see bills that solely benefit the privileged among us.

Having already passed legislation to gradually eliminate taxes on interest and dividends, the Legislature then voted on legislation to shorten the process by three years. One more recurring theme was deregulation in order to maximize profits. Our very business-friendly governor inspired a lot of effort to dismantle protection of workers and  protection of the environment. “Letting the market decide” came up in debate a lot.

I cast my votes with the belief that the role of government is to be a clearinghouse of fairness and a protector of the rights and well-being of all citizens, starting with those citizens who have the least. I voted to protect public school funding, including a vote against rolling the Education Trust Fund into the state’s general fund. I also voted for the permanent expansion of Medicaid, to provide school lunches for all students and to fund the retirement of a group of public servants who were somehow deprived of earned benefits.

Obviously, I’m not afraid to take a stand, but I prefer to find consensus. I believe in compromise, especially as an alternative to doing nothing. I took this shot at politics to help make good things happen. I plan to spend this term’s second session taking a more active role in supporting – and writing – legislation that improves the lives of Granite Staters, protecting their rights and helping them prosper and thrive. I hope that we can start with the issues we all know will help, particularly  housing. The lack of housing is hog-tying our economy, the health of which is concerning to both parties. I will be working on that issue and keeping an eye out for more common ground on which we can work together to better the lives of the citizens of New Hampshire.

Democratic state Rep. Molly Howard serves Hillsborough District 31, representing Greenfield and Hancock.