A House panel advanced a sweeping proposal that would bar any private or public entity in New Hampshire from requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. Vaccine mandate opponents turned out in force to support the measure, which would prevent businesses, governments and nonprofits alike from imposing such a requirement. The committee approved the language as an amendment after hours of testimony in Representatives Hall.
House Republican leaders made a point of being present when the committee took its vote, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, and Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, came into the House chamber to watch the committee vote.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
Once the vote was recorded, both leaders moved quickly to put their support on the record, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
Packard and Osborne both issued statements celebrating the decision.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The timing of the committee action drew particular notice from observers, the New Hampshire Union Leader notes.
House Republican leaders took delight in advancing this proposed ban on the day President Joe Biden was in New Hampshire.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The proposal arose in a specific legislative context, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
The ban was proposed as an amendment to a bill limiting COVID-related liability for businesses and institutions of higher education.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
One health-industry leader weighed in during the testimony, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader.
“They know it is the most effective means to keep their patients, colleagues and communities safe,”
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The text reaches broadly, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Any employee can refuse to take the vaccine on the grounds of “personal conscience”
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The proposed ban would extend to corporations, governments, nonprofits and other entities, and it would let employees decline the vaccine on grounds including personal conscience or prior recovery from COVID-19. House Speaker Sherman Packard and House Majority Leader Jason Osborne both watched the committee act and issued statements celebrating the outcome, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Opponents who testified included workers who said they had lost or expected to lose jobs over vaccine requirements tied to their employers. Republican leaders made clear they viewed the panel action as a milestone in their push to bar such mandates statewide, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.
Supporters told the committee the ban would protect workers who object to the vaccine, and Republican leaders signaled they intended to keep the proposal moving, the New Hampshire Union Leader reports. House Republican leaders pointed to the timing of the vote, advanced as President Biden visited New Hampshire, as a statement of their resolve.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
