Well, it couldn’t have been any closer, but the N.H. legislature narrowly managed to override Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s veto on SB 468. The Senate voted 16-8 in favor, providing exactly the 2/3 margin that was needed, and the House followed suit in a lopsided 257-44 vote. The bill will now become law!
To all who contacted their elected officials, we cannot thank you enough for doing so. Your messages definitely made an impact!
We are very grateful to all 16 senators who voted in favor, especially the bill’s prime sponsor, Sen. Howard Pearl, and Sen. Tara Reardon, who spoke in favor prior to the vote. All eight Democratic senators and half of the 16 Republican senators voted to pass SB 468. Here’s the full list of “yes” votes:
- Sen. David Rochefort
- Sen. Timothy Lang
- Sen. David Watters
- Sen. Suzanne Prentiss
- Sen. James Gray
- Sen. Daniel Innis (cosponsor of SB 468)
- Sen. Donovan Fenton (cosponsor of SB 468)
- Sen. Tim McGough
- Sen. Cindy Rosenwald
- Sen. Tara Reardon (cosponsor of SB 468)
- Sen. Keith Murphy
- Sen. Howard Pearl (prime sponsor of SB 468)
- Sen. Victoria Sullivan
- Sen. Pat Long
- Sen. Rebecca Perkins Kwoka
- Sen. Debra Altschiller
Additionally, here are the eight senators who voted to kill the bill:
- Sen. Ruth Ward
- Sen. Denise Ricciardi
- Senate President Sharon Carson
- Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell
- Sen. Daryl Abbas
- Sen. Bill Gannon
- Sen. Mark McConkey
- Sen. Kevin Avard
If your senator voted in favor of SB 468, feel free to send them a “thank you” email! You can find your senator’s contact information here.
We are also very grateful to the 257 representatives who supported SB 468. If you’d like to see how your rep(s) voted, you can find the roll call here.
What’s Next?
Now that SB 468 has become law, the Department of Health and Human Services will begin drafting regulations specific to greenhouse cultivation. After the new regulations have been adopted, each ATC will have the opportunity to submit a detailed proposal for a greenhouse and seek approval to begin operations.
We’re not sure how long these processes will take, but we are confident and hopeful that SB 468 will prove to be an important step forward for New Hampshire’s Therapeutic Cannabis Program.
