Legislative Update: Freedom of Speech/Association - March 01, 2024 Windham Independent
Legislative Update: Freedom of Speech/Association
Next week, the House of Representatives should vote on HB1305, which is my top legislative priority for this term. The bill hearings are at http://tinyurl.com/EDH2023, or EDX2023, EDH2024, EDX2024 (H for Public Hearing, X for Executive Session).
We cannot underestimate the importance of free speech/association, and we must demand that UNH and CCSNH protect those freedoms for everyone. This is a bipartisan bill, cleanly written to protect everyone’s rights equally, regardless of which party is in power.
HB1305 (HB516 in 2023) twice received 10-10 votes in the Education committee. While that may seem discouraging, it’s a major improvement over similar past bills. I tabled HB516 in 2023 to keep working with all stakeholders (including UNH and CCSNH) on improving it, and HB1305 is now ready to become law.
HB1305 prohibits “Free Speech Zones”, which is a highly misleading term used to describe free speech bans in most campus areas.
HB1305 disallows requiring permits for everyone who exercises their free speech rights without significantly disrupting the functioning of UNH. While permits will still be needed for larger gatherings, asking for a permit from a couple of students who are offering leaflets on campus is not OK.
HB1305 protects freedom of association by banning “all comers” policies who trample on the freedom of association by forcing every student association to admit everyone. How can anyone claim we have freedom of association when one cannot choose who to associate with?
This law would NOT tolerate illegal discrimination - the bill does not affect any existing federal or state legislation. The Attorney General’s Office of Civil Rights reviewed HB1305, and they have no concerns with its language.
HB1305 also limits damages that can be awarded against UNH/CCSNH - no such damage caps exist, which puts our state residents at financial risk.
HB1305 is needed because civil rights continue to be violated despite the hard work by the administration to train the faculty, staff and students. The known violations (where someone retained legal counsel) are likely a small portion of the infringements, since most victims do not pursue legal action due to fear of retaliation (justified or not, that fear is always there), inability to pay for lawyers, etc.
HB1305 protects EVERYONE - students, staff, faculty, administrators, UNH and CCSNH themselves by laying down a clear legal framework that is much easier to understand and comply with, and by taking bad policies off the table.
We often read about politicians pressuring public colleges and universities to suppress repugnant speech. Given that repugnant speech is clearly protected by the 1st Amendment, such situations are a lose-lose scenario: do universities violate the rights of their students and staff, or do they stand their ground and make powerful politicians angry?
Passing this law would protect UNH, CCSNH and their employees and students from such meddling by making it crystal clear that speech (in or out of student associations) cannot be restricted based on content, and that any restrictions must be narrowly tailored and meet specific criteria.
Once faculty, staff and students understand that they cannot ban speech someone disagrees with, they can again focus on education. We don’t need a speech police on public campuses - we need staff, teachers and students to engage in open, thoughtful, and reasonable conversations.
If governments are given the power to control speech based on content, political decisions about who may speak and what may be said are inevitable, destroying the freedom of expression that needs to exist for our students to be properly educated.
Nobody should want to see dissenting or unpopular speech (conservative or liberal, atheist or religious, pro abortion or pro life, etc.) silenced, because our failure to protect everyone’s rights will lead to us losing our own rights.
I am always happy to engage with Windham residents - you can call or text me at 603-267-4142, or email me at dpm@leg.state.nh.us.
Daniel Popovici-Muller
Windham Representative
Clerk, Division II
House Finance Committee