New Hampshire lawmakers override Ayotte vetoes

(The Center Square) — New Hampshire lawmakers have overridden Gov. Kelly Ayotte's objections to a 10-year transportation plan, but upheld the governor's veto of a controversial "bathroom" bill and a book-banning proposal. 

Meeting in Concord on Wednesday, the Republican-controlled Legislature reconvened for a day to reconsider more than 30 bills left over from the previous legislative session that didn't survive Ayotte's veto pen. 

A two-thirds majority was required to override the GOP governor's objections, and lawmakers were able to muster enough votes to override Ayotte's veto of a 10-year transportation plan that included a controversial highway toll hike on out-of-state motorists. The House voted 292-25, with Democrats joining Republicans to approve the override. The Senate voted 24-0. 

Ayotte rejected the bill over concerns that doubling turnpike tolls for vehicles that don't use New Hampshire E-ZPass transponders could spark a toll war with neighboring states and hurt the Granite State's tourism. 

“Make no mistake of it, this is a tax increase on Granite Staters," Ayotte said in statement following the vote. "If you pay cash, you will pay double. If you didn’t get a new transponder when you moved here, you will pay double." 

“I’ll always use my veto pen when it means stopping tax hikes. Politicians will always want to spend more of your money, but when they double costs, it makes life less affordable and crushes working families," she added. 

Lawmakers like state Rep. David Milz, R-Derry, who chairs the House Public Works and Highways Committee, argued Wednesday the governor had made a "very bad decision" by vetoing the bill and rejecting the transportation plan. He was among those who urged fellow lawmakers to override the veto. 

But lawmakers failed to override Ayotte's objections to several controversial measures, including a "bathroom" bill and another proposal that would have allowed "indecent" books to be removed from public schools and libraries.  

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One proposal, House Bill 156, would have allowed the separation of bathrooms, locker rooms, sports and correctional facilities by biological sex, not a person's gender identity.

But Ayotte, a first-term Republican, vetoed the bill in July citing concerns about its broadness and the possibility that it could open up the state to costly litigation. It was the third time in two years the bill has been rejected. Ayotte's predecessor, then-Gov. Chris Sununu, a Republican, vetoed a nearly identical version of the bill. 

A March poll by the University of New Hampshire found 71% of Granite Staters support policies aimed at keeping males who identify as women out of women’s sports. Only 21% oppose such policies, pollsters found. 

Lawmakers also upheld Ayotte's veto of Senate Bill 434, which called for creating a new process for banning books in New Hampshire schools by allowing parents and other individuals to file complaints challenging specific titles in libraries they believe are inappropriate.

It specifically lists materials they deem "harmful" to minors, including nudity, sexual conduct, sadomasochistic abuse, as well as other "patently offensive" subject material that lacks "value" to students.

But Ayotte said the state already has a process for parents through their local school district to "exercise their rights to ensure their children are not exposed to inappropriate materials." It was the second time in as many years that she had rejected the proposal.

Ayotte set a record for New Hampshire GOP governor by vetoing more than 40 bills approved by the Republican-controlled state Legislature in the previous session.