January 05, 2022 - 8:02 AM
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — New Hampshire lawmakers failed by mostly large margins Wednesday to override any of the six vetoes issued by Gov. Chris Sununu last year.
Overturning a veto requires a two-thirds majority in both bodies, but in most cases, the House couldn't get even close to a simple majority in favor of overriding the veto.
The closest they came was on a bill that would have allowed the nonprofit treatment centers that dispense medical cannabis to organize as for-profit business corporations and limited liability companies. The Senate voted 19-5 to override, but the effort fell short in the House.
In his veto message, Sununu said while he supports the therapeutic cannabis program, the bill would create pre-ordained monopolies that would dominate the marketplace if recreational marijuana ever becomes legal.
Lawmakers also sustained vetoes of bills that would have moved up the date of the state primary elections from September to August, expanded the statute of limitations in assault cases involving children and added personal finance literacy, logic and other subjects to the state’s definition of an adequate education.
Two other vetoed bills would have eliminated the state police “gun line,” and instead put the FBI solely in charge of performing background checks for firearms purchases.
News from © The Associated Press, 2022