CLICK HERE to visit our podcast page and listen to the latest podcast, in which Grant Bosse interviews key members of the New Hampshire Legislature to get their take on this year's conference committees.  Guests include Representatives David Campbell (D-Nashua), Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett), Nick Levasseur (D-Manchester), and Neal Kurk (R-Weare), as well as House Clerk Karen Wadsworth.

Want to read about New Hampshire issues instead?  CLICK HERE to visit our issue library.

Make sure to check back next week for our next podcast.

As the legislative year nears its end, records show that many New Hampshire Representatives have spotty attendance records.

High absences are arguably a symptom of New Hampshire's "citizen legislature," in which Representatives are only paid $100 year, yet vote on roughly 1,000 bills in dozens of sessions.  The high time commitment and low pay makes it difficult for full-time employees to participate in the legislature.

"I’m not retired and I’m not wealthy," Rep. Jeffrey Oligny (R-Plaistow) told the Eagle Tribune. "You do have to support the family and pay the bills."  Oligny works more than fifty hours per week and missed 94 of 164 votes in 2013.

Other Representatives missed voting due to health concerns.  For example, Rep. Robert Introne (R-Londonderry) missed 82 votes this year after hip replacement surgery.

However, supporters of the "citizen legislature" argue that the low pay weeds out career politicians. 

Furthermore, Rep. Al Baldasaro (R-Londonderry) told the Eagle Tribune that high absenteeism is more than counterbalanced by a thoughtful, intelligent Representative.  "If they make it 50 to 60 percent of the time, it’s win-win," said Baldasaro.

Oligny echoed Baldasaro's sentiment.  "Just because you are there doesn’t mean you are doing your job," said Oligny. "I’ve seen some representatives who have been asleep."

CLICK HERE to learn more about the debate over whether New Hampshire should revise its legislative system.

CLICK HERE to look up a Representative's 2013 voting record, including absences.

CLICK HERE to read coverage from the Eagle Tribune.

Although a conference committee has yet to finalize the next capital budget, committee members seem to be in agreement over allocating $38 million for a new women's prison in Concord, New Hampshire.

At Thursday's meeting of the conference committee, no one suggesting cutting the prison from the budget.

During Senate hearings over the capital budget, Sen. David Boutin (R-Hooksett) said the current women's prison in Goffstown is "about the most deplorable place that I have ever walked in.”

In August 2012 four women prisoners filed a lawsuit charging that New Hampshire provides unequal services for male and female inmates.

There may still be debate over how to pay for the new women's prison, however.  The House has suggested new cigarette and gas taxes for revenue, while the Senate has rejected new taxes and fees.

The capital budget conference committee meets again Monday.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the challenges of prison reform in New Hampshire.

CLICK HERE to read coverage from the Concord Monitor.

The New Hampshire House has named five Representatives to attend the conference committee on the next state budget.  The slide depicts the Representatives from left to right: House Finance Committee chair Mary Jane Wallner (D), House Ways and Means Committee chair Susan Almy (D),Rep. Cindy Rosenwald (D), Rep. Dan Eaton (D), and Rep. Neal Kurk (R).

The Senate already appointed four members of the Senate Finance Committee to the conference committee: Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Morse (R), Sen. Bob Odell (R), Sen. Jeanie Forrester (R-), and Sen. Lou D'Allesandro (D).

The budget conference committee will have to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the budget.  In particular the committee must determine whether or not to expand Medicaid eligibility, whether or not to increase the gas tax, and - although the chances of it being added to the budget bills are slim - whether to reconsider a casino.

The conference committee meets for the first time Friday at 10 a.m. at the Legislative Office Building.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the debate over the state budget.

CLICK HERE to read coverage from the Union Leader.

On Tuesday the Joint Health Care Reform Oversight Committee agreed that implementation of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, cannot proceed until the legislature votes on two bills related to the federal law.  The first bill would allow the Insurance Department to accept a $5 million grant to implement a consumer assistance program.  The second bill would would bring New Hampshire regulations in line with federal Obamacare regulations.

If the legislature does not pass these bills, the federal government may take control of New Hampshire's implementation of Obamacare. 

In February, with the approval of the Joint Health Care Reform Oversight Committee, Governor Hassan asked to partner with the federal government in the regulation of the online health exchange mandated by Obamacare. 

Since then, however, Republican Committee members have expressed concern about hidden costs for New Hampshire.  Senate President Peter Bragdon has maintained that New Hampshire's involvement in the implementation of Obamacare violates a state law prohibiting New Hampshire from creating the online health insurance marketplace Obamacare mandates.

Meanwhile Democratic Committee members are concerned that delays will hurt New Hampshire residents who need information about the exchange before the January 1, 2014 deadline.

"Come January 1, the Affordable Care Act will go into effect, and if we slow down and do nothing, our citizens will have less information, less access to knowing what’s going on, and less ability to take advantage of the possibilities the Affordable Care Act provides," said Rep. Ed Butler, D-Harts Location.

CLICK HERE to learn more about the implementation of Obamacare in New Hampshire.

CLICK HERE to read coverage from the Concord Monitor.