A crash in Randolph leaves 7 motorcyclists dead, stunning the state and making national news. After a bitter debate, state lawmakers pass a $13 billion budget along party lines and prepare for a promised gubernatorial veto. And Retired Brigadier General Don Bolduc announces he is running for U.S. Senate, the first Republican to challenge incumbent Democrat Jeanne Shaheen in her bid for re-election in 2020.
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GUESTS:
- Anna Brown - Director of Research and Analysis at Citizens Count, a nonprofit organization focused on increasing public engagement in New Hampshire politics.
- Kevin Landrigan - Senior Reporter at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
- Dean Spiliotes - Civic scholar in the School of Arts and Sciences at SNHU.
Related Reading:
- A crash involving a truck and a group of people on motorcycles left seven people dead and raised many questions about how a driver with a drunken driving arrest could have kept his commercial driving license.
- The fallout over the crash continued throughout the week, with both Connecticut and Massachusetts DMVs under scrutiny, and the head of the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles resigning. The driver was charged with seven counts of negligent homicide and has pleaded not guilty.
- The annual New Hampshire State Police crackdown on commercial vehicles took a notable number of vehicles off the road for safety violations. The inspections flagged one in five trucks, 30 drivers and 1,200 violations across 528 trucks.
- The state budget passed along party lines, with not a single GOP vote in favor. A gubernatorial veto is all but certain. A continuing resolution will keep the government running until compromise is reached.
- Other vetoes are expected, including on gun laws and the minimum wage.
- This year's class of lawmakers have had a higher attendance for floor votes and fewer unexcused absences than any other year for which data was available dating to 2011 -- a big improvement over last year.
- N.H. Attorney General Gordon MacDonald faces a hearing as chief justice nominee. MacDonald addressed questions over whether his past political work, including working for Republican U.S. Sen. Gordon Humphrey in the 1980s, would influence him on cases involving abortion rights. MacDonald insisted it would not.
- In one of their first official debates of the 2020 Primary, Democrats sparred over health care and Medicare for All.