Ah, January. After election season, there's no more exciting time for armchair pundits. It's a new legislative session, with a new crop of state legislators and a whole host of issues and concerns to debate and pontificate over. This year, New Hampshire's political spectators agree the two biggest issues the state faces this year are a looming budget shortfall and the ever-thorny question of school funding. While these are important considerations, what about those smaller bills that don't get the big headlines? A quick glance through the list of this year's 1,050 proposed bills reveals a plethora of pet projects, constituent requests and seemingly absurd proposals. The New Hampshire Legislature is a political Thunderdome. Only a handful of the proposed bills will make it out alive as some kind of law. But what makes the state Legislature unique is that every bill-whether it deals with a hot button topic like school funding or a small thing like requiring public bathrooms at the DMV-makes it to the floor for discussion. And what discussions there will be in 2005! State representatives are looking to make Kittery, Berwick and Killington part of New Hampshire. There's also talk of gambling in the North Country, medicinal marijuana and geothermal power for everyone. Here's a look at what's on the agenda in Concord this year, from the Big Important Issues to the smaller bills that often slip under the radar.

The Big Two:

the budget and school funding

Most politicians and taxpayers agree that the state budget shortfall and the issue of education funding will be the hot topics of 2005.

"I think for the next six months... that's all anybody's going to be talking about," said Charles Arlinghaus, president of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, a non-partisan think-tank.

State lawmakers are already scrambling over the budget, which is projected to be short about $300 million in revenue. Gov. John Lynch has stated that he will veto a sales or income tax, but will consider an increase in the state's tobacco tax.

The odds of smokers paying a little more for each pack are very good, according to Doug Hall, co-executive director of the nonpartisan New Hampshire Center for Public Policy.

"I don't think there's going to be any serious opposition. It's so clear the budget is so out of whack, that a couple million dollars are going to be helpful," he said.

Hall said when the increase is officially proposed, he expects tobacco lobbyists to argue for a small increase in the tax rather than oppose it outright.

"It's an attack at a point of least resistance," Hall said. "Tobacco smokers are not a very popular group, and the public doesn't listen to them if they cry about the taxes they're paying."

A slight tax increase could raise millions of dollars while still keeping state cigarette prices well below those of Massachusetts, which has a $1.51 tax per pack, or Maine, with a $1 tax.

Smoking isn't the only vice state legislators are looking at to raise some quick cash. The specter of gambling looms large this year. State Sen. Lou D'Allesandro (D-Manchester) has a plan to introduce video slot machines at the state's four racetracks. D'Allesandro's plan also has the support of Senate President Tom Eaton (R-Keene). However, House Speaker Doug Scamman (R-Stratham) has come out in opposition to gambling, and Gov. Lynch has not yet taken a stance on the issue.

While it's getting big headlines now, political watchers expect the issue of gambling to simmer quietly until the end of the budget process. An increased cigarette tax and unaccounted for revenues could whittle the $300 million shortfall down, making gambling revenues unnecessary.

"Someone will bring it forward to try to 'plug a hole,'" Arlinghaus said. "If it's adopted, (gambling) will not be adopted on its merits, but will be adopted because of a crisis, whether that crisis is real or not."

Expanded gambling has been proposed in the past to no avail, but Arlinghaus thinks there's a chance the idea will succeed this year.

"As long as (the governor) leaves the door open, it's out there, and it's easier than raising a tax ... or cutting spending," he said.

Once the budget is decided on, education funding will be the next item that state lawmakers will take on. Gov. Lynch wants to abolish the statewide property tax and donor towns and institute a targeted aid plan that would provide more state aid to low-income communities.

Sen. Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth) is optimistic about the success of a targeted aid plan.

"There's a new sense of compromise and cooperation," she said.

Clark is a member of the Coalition Communities, a group of 34 property-tax wealthy towns that supports eliminating the statewide property tax and the concept of donor towns. Portsmouth Mayor Evelyn Sirrell heads the Coalition. Clark thinks a combination of the increased cigarette tax and other revenue sources could be added to the state's $450 million education fund and take the burden off donor towns. Seacoast donor towns include Portsmouth, Rye, Hampton and Greenland. Though the communities are property-tax wealthy, the money comes from individuals, not the community as a whole, Clark said.

Arlinghaus and Hall expect Lynch's plan to make it through the Legislature, but don't expect the state Supreme Court to approve.

"If there is a plan that did eliminate the donor towns, it will be challenged constitutionally and will probably be declared unconstitutional," Hall said. "If you use the property tax (to fund schools), it must be proportional, and it won't be proportional if you let donor towns off the hook."

rogue state:

gambling, drugs and the liberation of Kittery

Casinos in the North Country. Legalized pot. The takeover of Kittery and Berwick, Maine, and Killington, Vt. After a glance through the list of 1,050 proposed bills, you might think New Hampshire is on its way to becoming a rogue state. Actually, it's just business as usual in Concord.

"There's all those sort of 'sideshow bills' that are important to the sponsors and maybe individual communities, but aren't really significant public policy," said Hall.

This year's trend: liberating towns from Maine and Vermont and bringing them into the tax-free bosom of New Hampshire. Rep. David Currier (R-Henniker) wants to establish a committee that would facilitate the process of making Killington a part of New Hampshire, while Rep. Richard Marple (R-Hooksett) is using historical evidence to support his argument that Kittery and Berwick, ME, are legally part of the state. Don't fear, though-New Hampshire residents won't be marching over the borders and forcibly annexing any towns.

According to Marple, when the King of England set up the commercial colonies in New England, the jurisdiction of each colony covered all entries to the port. When Portsmouth was established, Maine wasn't an established state; therefore, Marple believes Kittery and Berwick, both ports of entry to Portsmouth Harbor, are actually part of New Hampshire.

Under Marple's bill, Congress would recognize and reaffirm the original boundaries. The boundaries placing Kittery and Berwick inside New Hampshire were confirmed by the sixth session of Congress, presided over by Thomas Jefferson, Marple said. He's waiting for documentation from the National Archives.

"I say nothing unless I have the documentation to back it up," Marple said. "History will prevail."

And, once Kittery is in New Hampshire, Marple said Maine will owe Kittery residents "millions of dollars" for taxes they paid while inside Maine's borders.

Currier's call for a committee to examine Killington's possible entry into the state has a more contemporary basis. Killington residents voted last spring to secede from Vermont and join New Hampshire, citing an unreasonably high tax burden as a reason for the move.

The plan still needs approval from both the New Hampshire and Vermont state legislatures, and that's where Currier comes in. The Henniker representative was approached by officials from Killington and asked to sponsor a bill that would start the process in New Hampshire.

"It's funny, because some people don't take it seriously, but the people in Killington are taking it very seriously because of the problems they've had," he said. Killington residents objected to paying "disproportionately" high taxes while receiving little money back from the state of Vermont, Currier said.

If the bill passes, a three-member commission would work like a similar commission in Vermont to facilitate the process of bringing Killington into the state.

"(Killington residents) are looking at New Hampshire as a bright shining star in terms of the way ... we manage our state resources and how we manage our taxation," he said. While Currier admits New Hampshire has its own budget problems and property tax woes, he thinks the people in Killington are attracted to New Hampshire's lack of sales and income taxes.

How would incorporating Killington, which is located well inside the borders of Vermont, work? Currier thinks it would be like a province of New Hampshire, much like Guam and Puerto Rico are provinces of the United States.

"It would just be another town," he said. A possible added benefit: a state liquor store in the middle of Vermont.

"Can you imagine a state liquor store in Killington, N.H.-the volume that would do?" he said.

Currier said the whole process is "pretty extensive," and it would be some time before Killington makes it into the state.

"Basically, it's an exploratory thing. It may not work," he said. "It doesn't cost anything for us to be talking to the town of Killington."

While not discussing plans to stretch the borders of the state, State House denizens will be taking a look at legalizing pot and ending the drug war. Rep. Tim Robertson (D-Keene) has two proposals for pot on the agenda. One calls for the allowing the medicinal use of marijuana while the other seeks to decriminalize the drug.

Robertson has served six terms in the Legislature and said he files the bills every couple of years.

"I can't see anything positive accomplished by making marijuana an illegal drug," he said. "Marijuana's never killed anybody, and it's really not addictive."

Marijuana convictions are often overly harsh and contribute to an already large prison population, Robertson said. Ideally, Robertson would like to see an end to the drug war altogether. While he doesn't expect that to happen right away, he said decriminalizing pot is a good first step.

"The last time we tried prohibition, it didn't do anything good. It did a lot of bad," he said. "We ought to try something different. Let's just try this ... and see if the world comes to an end."

Rep. Paul Ingbretson (R-Pike) also wants to take a look at the nation's drug policy this year. He's proposing a task force that would look at ending the drug war, which he calls a "disaster."

"It's the equivalent of what prohibition was," he said. "It's led to gangsterism and murder and mayhem. The drugs are far more plentiful than before (the war on drugs began), and the worst elements of our population are getting obscenely wealthy and not paying taxes."

And that's not even counting an overloaded court system, police corruption and other negative side effects from the drug war, Ingbretson said.

This doesn't mean Ingbretson is in favor of drugs; he said drugs, including prescription drugs "are obscene," but doesn't think people should be going to jail for minor offenses. For Ingbretson, the best scenario would give drugs a status similar to alcohol.

"Which means, in the state of New Hampshire, we might run it or tax it," he joked.

And then there's gambling. While some are talking about introducing video slot machines to the state's racetracks, one representative wants to see a full-blown casino set up shop in the North Country.

"If we can take politics out of the word 'gambling' and apply common sense, we've got a hell of a source for revenue," said Rep. Edmond Gionet (R-Lincoln).

A large casino-resort combination, similar to Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun, located near the White Mountains would bring jobs to the region as well as increase local revenues. He said tourist business has decreased since the Old Man of the Mountain collapsed in 2003.

The large amount of tourist traffic in the region make it an ideal place for a casino, Gionet said. "There's a pretty good traffic flow up here, and ... these people have got a lot of money and time and they're anxious to spend it."

A privately owned casino could also bring added revenue to the state, he said. With the expected $300 million budget shortfall, "we re taking away services that we shouldn't."

"Everybody's bragging about no new taxes," he said. "We can get proceeds from something like this at very little cost to the state."

Gionet's not worried about an increase in crime or a negative effect on local businesses as the result of a casino. He has spoken to officials in Connecticut about the effect casinos have had on the state, and Gionet said they didn't report any major problems.

"These Puritans that say they don't want gambling, they're playing Lucky 7s all the time, they're playing bingo and keno...and bus loads (of people) are going out of this state continuously (to Connecticut)," he said. "And the illegal gambling problem going on, we can't close our eyes to that."

bathrooms in the DMV, geothermal energy and other local issues

Just because state lawmakers are tackling massively important issues like school funding and the war on drugs doesn't mean they don't pay attention to the little details.

For example, Rep. Frank Palazzo (R-Seabrook) is sponsoring a bill that would require public restrooms at all Division of Motor Vehicle locations. Palazzo said a number of older constituents have approached him about the lack of facilities.

"The old people ... they go up (to the DMV) and they can spend an hour to three hours there. There are no public facilities for them," he said.

Palazzo, who's 88, also had a personal experience with the lack of restrooms at the Dover Point DMV location.

"I was there for about two hours, and all of a sudden I had to go," he said. Because there was no restroom, he said he had to hide behind his van in the parking lot in order to answer nature's call.

"It's a really serious matter," he said.

Palazzo expects the bill to pass relatively easily, although he expects a little opposition because of the cost of setting up bathrooms.

Enegy production is also being addressed by the Legislature. Rep. Sam Cataldo (R-Farmington) wants to set up a committee to examine the use of geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is harvested from "hot spots" in the earth, places where underground reservoirs of water are super-heated by the lava below the planet's crust. The water is then brought up to the surface and converted to steam, which in turn powers generators. Once established, the committee would identify the benefits of geothermal energy and consult with a geologist to find places in the state where the energy could be harvested. Cataldo said geological maps show New Hampshire has three or more geothermal hot spots. California, Washington and Virginia are some of the states that use geothermal energy.

Cataldo said it's a "very powerful energy source" that could yield "astronomical" savings for the state.

"It's clean, efficient and economical, and there's no waste. The design is flexible ... and it can be put anywhere.... It doesn't hurt the environment," he said.

Geothermal energy would reduce dependency on fossil and nuclear fuels and is a renewable resource, Cataldo said. Large providers like PSNH could construct geothermal power plants and private homeowners could use geothermal exchange to heat their homes, he said. The only obstacle, he said, is the steep initial cost in constructing plants to harness the energy. However, the potential savings more than make up for the up-front costs.

Over in Durham, two of the bills Democratic Sen. Iris Estabrook filed for this session were the result of local concerns.

The first bill, which would elevate the crime of "peeping" to a misdemeanor, came at the request of Durham's police chief, in response to the "Jack the Snipper" case in 2003. During the incidents, which drew national attention, an intruder was entering women's apartments and cutting off or removing their clothes. The prime suspect in the case, Jeffery Gelinas, pleaded guilty to loitering and prowling, but Durham police never charged him for the "snipping" incidents.

Under Estabrook's bill, peeping could result in jail time. It's currently classified as a violation, which carries a less serious penalty.

Estabrook also proposed a bill that would require law enforcement officers to verbally identify themselves when asked. The bill is in reaction to an incident that occurred in Durham last October. During a World Series celebration, a photographer for Foster's Daily Democrat was charged with two misdemeanors after police say he refused to move away from a state trooper and his police dog. According to reports in Foster's, the photographer said he was taking photos of the officer, whose dog had just attacked a student. The photographer asked the trooper his name, and the trooper refused to answer.

"I'm just trying to respond to some of the issues that seemed to be raised by the nature of being a campus community," she said.

Other issues germane to the Seacoast include affordable housing, keeping the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard open and rising healthcare costs, according to Portsmouth Sen. Martha Fuller Clark. She's filed legislation to set up a northern New England small business pool to combat the effects of Senate Bill 110. Signed into law by former Gov. Craig Benson, SB 110 was designed to allow health insurance companies to evaluate a business' employees on an individual basis instead of a larger risk pool. Clark said SB 110 has been "very harmful to small businesses."

As the legislative session wears on, Clark stressed that it's important for state lawmakers to hear from their constituents.

"The more we hear from constituents, the better job we'll do," she said.

After all, whether a proposed bill is the product of overwhelming voter request or just a single person, it will still make its way to the Statehouse.

"It's a very open process," said Doug Hall of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy. "Even if there's only three or four supporters, they will get their opportunity" to be heard.