The New Hampshire House and Senate are both meeting this week. It will be lawmakers’ final chance to act on bills this year.
This will be the second time the legislature has met since the coronavirus closed the State House in March.
The Senate meets Monday in Representatives Hall. The much larger House meets Tuesday at UNH’s Whittemore Center in Durham.
The Senate will take up some key election law policies, including permitting absentee voting due to the coronavirus, and creating an independent redistricting commission.
It would also allow election officials to start processing absentee ballots before Election Day - but not open or count them until polls have closed.
Both policies spring from the work of the Secretary of State’s Emergency Election Support Committee.
Senators will also take up a bill that would allow family or household members to petition a court to take away a person’s guns for up to a year if they posed a threat to themselves or others.
The bill’s backers say it will reduce suicides and boost public safety. Second amendment advocates say it could lead to guns being taken away from people without cause.
Any proposals that clear the Senate will be voted on by the House the next day.
The Senate has already sent the House several sweeping measures that combined dozens of House bills.
Due to missed deadlines, House actions will be limited to approving Senate-passed bills as is or rejecting them.
