Governor Sununu Blocks Progress, Hits Another Veto Record - Kills One-Third of All Bills Sent to His
Contact Name: Sara Persechino
Phone: (603) 271-3479
Email: Sara.Persechino@leg.state.nh.us
CONCORD - Today, Governor Sununu acted on the final four bills from the 2020 legislative session, vetoing all four and bringing his total vetoes this year to 22, or 36% of the total pieces of legislation sent to his desk. This marks another notch for Sununu in his refusal to work with the Legislature - a record for highest percentage of bills ever vetoed by a New Hampshire governor. This follows last year's Sununu record of the highest number of vetoes in a single year - 57.
Senate President Donna Soucy (D-Manchester) issued the following statement in response:
“It is incredibly disappointing that after two years, Governor Sununu still chooses to govern by veto, rather than work with his colleagues in the House and Senate. Rather than engaging in the process, Governor Sununu followed through with his declaration to defer to vetoes by killing 36% of all bills that reached his desk - of those 22 bills, all but three had bipartisan support.
His excessive vetoes this year are particularly offensive given the Senate's diligent, bipartisan work completed in the middle of a global pandemic in an effort to preserve legislative initiatives critical to the economic vitality and wellbeing of Granite State workers, families, small businesses, and communities. In his haste with his red pen, Sununu has vetoed death benefits for state employees, independent redistricting, paid family and medical leave, bills sponsored by every ranking Republican in the Legislature, and even requests from his own department heads.”
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