New Hampshire Gay Marriage Bill: Signed, Sealed, Delivered?

Missing In Action?

 

 

 

 

Every state is different. Every state has its own legislative mechanisms and priorities. In Vermont, you’ll remember, the gay marriage bill passed the Senate and the House, then was delivered to the governor and returned – with a veto – in under an hour. (Fortunately, the veto was overturned.) In New Hampshire, things move a bit slower. And in New Hampshire, it seems, no one notices.

The New Hampshire gay marriage bill passed the House months ago, then was passed by the Senate on April 29th, then went back to the House for a final amendment vote and passed its final hurdle May 6th. Or so we thought. In New Hampshire, the governor has five days from when he receives a bill to either sign it or veto it, or ignore it, upon which it becomes law. So, doing the math, effective today, New Hampshire has legalized gay marriage, right? Not so fast!

The New Hampshire Times-Union, as I reported yesterday, wrote that the bill was sent to the governor on May 6th. It was not.

Today, I called Governor Lynch’s office, which politely informed me the governor has not received the bill, and that it needed to be “enrolled”, although they weren’t exactly sure what that meant. So, I called the Senate Clerk’s office, who said the bill was enrolled, and graciously explained that “enrolling” means the bill has to be signed by various government members, including the Speaker of the House, and the President of the Senate, after which the Secretary of State delivers it to the Governor.

Having been told the bill was enrolled, meaning it had received all the required signatures, I called the Secretary of State’s office, and was told they had yet to receive the bill, and that the Speaker of the House had not yet signed the bill. The Speaker’s office did not answer, and I did not leave a message.

(Update: 12:20 PM – I spoke with the Speaker’s office, and was told that the bill is awaiting a signature and that “things are hectic around here.” I asked if I could read anything into the delay and was told “no”.)

So, somewhere in New Hampshire’s legislative morass (New Hampshire has “the third-largest legislature in the English speaking world, behind only the British Parliament and the United States Congress“), there is a gay marriage bill that is awaiting a signature. Strangely, few have seemed to notice it’s missing.

Perhaps this is a strategic delay, allowing things to settle and giving the governor time and space to sign the bill on his own terms and timetable? One can only hope.

 

(image: Carolyn Coles)