Rick Green - Keene Sentinel

Kratom is a plant used for its psychoactive properties. The Centers for Disease Control reports the shift from traditional leaf preparations to high-potency alkaloid extracts raises safety concerns.

Starting earlier this year, the state of New Hampshire does not require drivers to have their vehicles inspected annually. The state law was updated as part of the budget adopted last year. An emissions testing company filed suit, which is part of the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals ruling April 30, 2026.

A federal judge in Concord denied a request that two state commissioners be found in contempt of court and possibly be fined in a lawsuit over New Hampshire’s discontinued vehicle inspection program.

Under the bill, New Hampshire turnpike tolls for non-residents would increase from $1 to $2 at the toll plazas in Bedford and Hooksett, $2 to $4 in Hampton and 75 cents to $1.50 in Dover and Rochester.

The school already faces a $3.3 million deficit. The redesign includes separating Keene State into three schools by subject.

New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella calls the federal injunction on the Granite State ending its vehicle inspection program “fatally flawed” and “blatantly commandeers state officials to implement a federal regulatory program” in violation of the Constitution's 10th Amendment.

Federal Judge Landya B. McCafferty denied the request from the state of New Hampshire that she stay, or suspend, her Jan. 27 preliminary injunction, which ordered the state to keep its annual car inspection program going. The state wanted her to pause her injunction pending its appeal of the order.

A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against the state of New Hampshire from ending or suspending enforcement of the state's car inspections "until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grants final approval of a revised state implementation plan removing or otherwise amending that vehicle inspection program."

Both bills were signed with much fanfare by Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who made illegal immigration and anti-Massachusetts sentiment part of her platform in running for governor.

The head of the New Hampshire House Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee is leading an effort to develop a coordinated statewide strategy to eradicate invasive plants.