After vehicle inspection vendor Gordon-Darby asked a federal judge to hold New Hampshire officials in contempt and impose fines, House Republicans said they would not back down and urged other states to follow New Hampshire’s lead. As reported by NH Journal, House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said other states should join New Hampshire in dropping the vendor.
Osborne made his case directly.
Seeing how they’re acting, it’s apparent that other states should join us in kicking Gordon-Darby to the curb,
Jason Osborne
NH Journal recounted how the dispute reached the courts after lawmakers ended the program. A judge stepped in early in the year.
In January, U.S. District Court Judge Landya McCafferty issued an injunction blocking the state from ending the inspections.
NH Journal
According to NH Journal, the vendor built its case around federal environmental law rather than its contract.
Rather than suing over an alleged contract violation, Gordon-Darby argued that the state’s decision to end the inspections violated the federal Clean Air Act.
NH Journal
NH Journal reported the state’s next moves and the legal argument behind them.
State officials, including the Executive Council, argue that the court cannot force the state to enact a law that elected legislators have rejected or to enforce a state law that doesn’t exist.
NH Journal
Councilor John Stephen described how he views the contract, as quoted by NH Journal.
Gordon-Darby collects mandatory fees from every driver in New Hampshire,” said Councilor John Stephen (R-Manchester).
NH Journal
Read the full story at NH Journal.
