Kathleen McKay | Oppose HB314

I work for a municipality. I would like to retain my freedom of speach to weigh in on proposed legislation that would affect my work. An excellent example are HB 66 and HB 80 regarding RTK and remote participation in meetings. It think it is good information for the public and our legislators to understand how those would affect the day-to-day running of their local town halls. If I and other public employees were not allowed to speak on this, how could anyone ever be able to make an informed decision? Also, would this bill prevent towns from being able to pay dues to NHMA? NHMA is an excellent resource and is the only way small towns like Canterbury are able to afford expert opinions and training which allow us to keep up with and comply with all of this legislation. Since NHMA tracks proposed bills and works to prevent idiodic ones like this (HB 314), does that make our dues to them a form of lobbying? You need to actually think through all of the consequences of legislation, including the administrative costs. The only way to learn about that information is by hearing about it from those who do the administrative work. If you prevent those who do the work from speaking, then you will never hear anything helpful.