What are state lawmakers doing that actually affects your daily life? Lots! Find out with Front Door Politics: jargon-free, non-advocacy state house news at www.frontdoorpolitics.com.

the cost of adventure: Who should pay when the state’s Fish and Game Department carries out search and rescue operations for lost or injured hikers?

That question is at the heart of a study committee the House and Senate recently agreed to create with Senate Bill 128. The committee may be new, but the question is an old one, says Major Kevin Jordan, assistant chief of the Law Enforcement Division of Fish and Game.

According to Jordan, the department consistently spends more on search and rescue operations than its budget allows—about $120,000 more in 2010. As a result, the department defers equipment purchases, limits training for its search and rescue team, and transfers money from other funds to cover the shortfall.

Additionally, Jordan says, the current mechanism to fund search and rescue operations is being levied on the group of people who tend to use it least: hunters and fishermen. In 2010, hiking accounted for 115 search and rescue missions, while hunting and fishing accounted for only nine. But it’s the $1 fee attached to every boat, ATV and snowmobile registration (about 180,000 annually) that funds search and rescue efforts.

The study committee will consider charging fees to hikers or camping accommodations as potential solutions.

“No one can decide what’s a fair way to do this,” Jordan says. He adds that it’s a problem his department has grappled with in all 21 years he’s worked there.

Billing the individuals who are rescued (or their survivors) is complicated, according to Jordan’s experience and perspective. The average cost of a mission can range from $2,000 to $60,000, and many people simply do not have the money to pay that bill. Even worse is when the object of a mission does not survive. “You’re going to charge a family $35,000 for bringing down their dead 10-year-old?” Jordan says.

Another option is to install voluntary payment receptacles at trailheads. A similar initiative in Colorado yielded about 8 percent of search and rescue costs it aimed to cover, Jordan says.

Ultimately, Jordan considers funding search and rescue operations to be the state’s responsibility, in much the same way that municipalities fund police departments, fire stations and schools. We’ll likely find out the legislature’s take on the matter next year.
In the meantime, SB 128, sponsored by Sen. Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester) will go to Gov. Lynch for signature. Assuming it becomes law, the committee’s report will be due by Nov. 1.

parental notification:  A new parental notification requirement has passed both the New Hampshire House and Senate, and now awaits action by Gov. Lynch.

The bill requires that at least 48 hours notice be given to the parent or guardian of a pregnant girl (under age 18) seeking an abortion. An exception is made for medical emergencies. Through confidential court proceedings, judges are also able to grant an exception to notification “if said judge concludes that the pregnant minor’s best interests would be served.”

A 2003 parental notification requirement was signed into law by then governor Craig Benson, a Republican, but it was never enforced due to a long legal battle. In 2006, the law was struck down in part by the U.S. Supreme Court because it didn’t go far enough in creating exceptions if the health of the pregnant minor was at risk. The Supreme Court’s unanimous opinion, however, did reinforce the right of a state to enact parental notification laws.

In 2007, with Democratic majorities in both the N.H. House and Senate, Lynch repealed the earlier law, rather than add the requisite medical exception clause.

This year’s measure, House Bill 329, was sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Souza (R-Manchester), who also co-sponsored the 2003 law. Having passed this session with two-thirds majorities in both chambers, it is likely that a potential veto of HB 329 by Lynch could be overridden. Lynch also has the option of allowing the bill to become law without his signature.

returning to work: New Hampshire’s “Return to Work” program also got a little bigger last month. Unemployed workers who have exhausted their unemployment benefits—not just those actively collecting unemployment—are now eligible for the job training program, thanks to Senate Bill 62.

Return to Work matches prospective employees with hiring employers. The initiative is “an opportunity for a trainee to get their foot in the door and learn new skills and an opportunity for an employer to train without the accompanying costs,” according to the N.H. Department of Employment Security, which administers the program.

“To date, 73 percent of those who have participated in ... the program have been hired full time,” according to a press release from the governor.

SB 62, sponsored by Sen. Nancy Stiles (R-Hampton), passed both the House and Senate unopposed and was signed into law by Lynch on May 16. The same week, it was announced that New Hampshire’s unemployment rate had dropped to 4.9 percent—the lowest it’s been since December 2008.

PTSD study: An ongoing study into the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury suffered by members of the military will continue with a broader scope.

Gov. John Lynch signed Senate Bill 102 into law on May 16. In many respects, it’s a sequel to a 2008 commission to study the effects of PTSD and TBI on Granite State soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The new commission, which will have a very similar makeup of members, is charged with studying the impact of the two disorders more generally and will not be limited to soldiers returning from those countries.

The new commission is not charged with developing a plan of action to aid such soldiers and veterans, as was the 2008 commission. The commission’s report, along with any recommendations for new legislation, is due by Dec. 1.