NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien Flagrantly Disregards House Rules, Voted on HB 474

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, December 07, 2011

 

 

NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien Flagrantly Disregards House Rules, Voted on HB 474

 

O'Brien's behavior further demonstrates he answers to out-of-state corporate funders rather than the people, traditions of New Hampshire

 

CONCORD, NH - A review of the roll call vote and videotape from last week's House session finds that NH House Speaker Bill O'Brien flagrantly disregarded House rules when he voted on the right to work for less bill, HB 474 while presiding over the session.

 

New Hampshire House rules regarding duties of the speaker¹ clearly state that "The Speaker shall not be called on to vote unless the vote would be decisive." The House website description of the Speaker's duties includes the line²: "The only time the Speaker votes is to break a tie."

 

By rule and tradition, a NH House Speaker will step down from the podium and have another, non-voting member preside if the Speaker is so moved to vote on an issue. Last week, O'Brien violated House rules by casting a vote while presiding, and did so without publicly announcing it.

 

"The Speaker's role is to preside impartially over the body and not to enter into debate or take sides," said Zandra Rice Hawkins, Director of Granite State Progress. "Speaker O'Brien violated the House rules by not stepping down when voting. He also should have publicly informed his fellow legislators before casting a vote, as is New Hampshire tradition."

 

Last week was the first time O'Brien voted on this particular legislation, each of the previous votes have him listed as "Presiding". His decision to cast a last-minute vote is an indication of how desperate O'Brien was to pass the anti-worker legislation.

 

"O'Brien is more committed to fulfilling his pledge to out-of-state corporations than keeping his promise to uphold the integrity of the Speakership," Rice Hawkins said. "The Speaker's duty is to be impartial and represent the entire body. This is yet another example of Bill O'Brien picking and choosing which rules he will follow as Speaker of the House. He promised openness, and he violates that pledge every time he can."

 

The Speaker's podium can see a tally of the vote counts in real time, calling into question at exactly what moment O'Brien decided to push the button and try to sway the outcome of NH's decisive rejection of the anti-worker, right to work for less legislation. In addition to his unprecedented vote, O'Brien also lied in a press statement to reporters last week, stating companies had been interested in moving jobs to the state if the legislation had passed. Pressed to provide a list of those businesses, O'Brien could not name even a single business to back up his extraordinary claim. ³

 

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Granite State Progress is a progressive advocacy organization that addresses issues of immediate state and local concern. Granite State Progress works as a communications hub for the progressive community to provide a strong, credible voice in advancing progressive solutions to critical community problems.

 

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¹ NH House Rules, Duties of the Speaker, #5, http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/abouthouse/houserules.htm

² NH House Website, Duties of the Speaker, http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/abouthouse/leadership.htm

³ GSP Press Release: Speaker O'Brien Lies in Press Statement, Unable to Name a Single Business to Move to NH if HB 474 Had Passed, December 1, 2011, http://www.granitestateprogress.org/news/speaker-obrien-lies-in-press-statement-unable-to-name-a-single-business-to-move-to-nh-if-hb-474-had.html