Who's Writing Our State Laws?

Dear NH State Legislator:

Drafting legislation is the most fundamental act of lobbying, yet New Hampshire has a huge, gaping hole for reporting and disclosure of this lobbying activity – allowing corporate special interests to write state laws behind closed doors, often without any disclosure or transparency as to who is writing them and why.

That’s why I’m calling on you to support two ground breaking transparency and good government bills - HB 1207 and HB 1440.

Knowing who is writing our state laws is an important part of having an open and transparent government. HB 1207 would simply require model bills to list their origin. HB 1440 would work to close the lobbying loophole. Legislators, public, and the press have a right to know who is drafting our laws.

I politely urge you to vote HB 1207 ought to pass and to recommend HB 1440 for interim study.

Sincerely,

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    Subject: Who’s Writing Our State Laws?
    That’s something I care about and hope you do too. Drafting legislation is the most fundamental act of lobbying, yet New Hampshire has a huge, gaping hole for reporting and disclosure of this lobbying activity – allowing corporate special interests to write state laws behind closed doors, often without any disclosure or transparency as to who is writing them and why.

    That’s why I just signed Granite State Progress' petition in support of two ground breaking transparency and good government bills - HB 1207 and HB 1440. Knowing who is writing our state laws is an important part of having an open and transparent government. HB 1207 would simply require model bills to list their origin. HB 1440 would work to close the lobbying loophole. Legislators, public, and the press have a right to know who is drafting our laws.

    Join me by calling on our state legislators to vote ought to pass on HB 1207, and to urge them to recommend HB 1440 for interim study.

    Petition Background: Many people are aware of how special interests influence our elections, but the rest of the year they are working to corrupt our legislation process too. Groups like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) even act as a matchmaking service between corporate lobbyists and legislators – providing an avenue for Big Oil companies like ExxonMobil to sit at the same table with legislators to endorse anti-environment legislation, or for-profit schools to draft legislation that erodes our public school system to the benefit of that company's bottom line.

    HB 1207 and HB 1440 shine a bright light of transparency and accountability on who is drafting our state laws and why. HB 1207 would simply require model bills to list their origin. HB 1440 would work to close the lobbying loophole. Legislators, public, and the press have a right to know who is drafting our laws. Allowing outside groups to push model bills in New Hampshire with no fingerprints is dangerous to democracy. These two bills will make the original drafters and intent of the legislation a stronger part of the conversation when legislators are debating a policy, and will go a long way to changing the conversation around many of the bills that seek to attack or undermine our respective issue priorities.