Will New Hampshire become a haven for bitcoin and cannabis?
Today was a historic day in the New Hampshire state house. Two very important bills were passed and if they make it through the senate and governor will ensure that New Hampshire is the best place to be a bitcoiner as well as decriminalize cannabis.
In 2015, a bill (HB 666) was passed that spooked many in the international bitcoin community as it added cryptocurrency to the “money transmitter” statutes. This caused at least one bitcoin business to cease doing business with customers in New Hampshire and quite a bit of buzz about New Hampshire losing its vaunted crytpo-friendly status. How did this happen in a state with the largest concentration of bitcoin enthusiasts per capita? Honestly, we were caught off-guard, but now that’s all changed. In 2016 a state house committee to study cryptocurrency was formed, whose meetings I attended and video recorded.
After hearing from multiple NH bitcoiners in the committee meetings, state representative Barbara Biggie stepped up and filed a bill, HB 436, that proposed to repeal NH’s lone statute regulating cryptocurrencies. Here’s video from the public hearing on HB 436. As Darryl and I pointed out at the hearing, the bill as filed wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for. It created a new definition and exemption for “virtual currency” in the statutes, but still left in statutes a definition and regulation for “convertible virtual currency”. We explained to them that this was confusing and they should be striking the regulation for “convertible virtual currency” rather than creating the additional terminology.
You know what? They listened AND did us one better! The commerce committee amended the bill and turned it into the best possible protection for bitcoin businesses in New Hampshire! The amended bill completely exempts from the money transmitter statutes:
Persons who engage in the business of selling or issuing payment instruments or stored value solely in the form of convertible virtual currency; or receive convertible virtual currency for transmission to another location.
101 Reasons Why Liberty-Lovers Like YOU Should Move Here Now!
I don’t think anyone expected the language to be that good, but there it is. This is essentially the opposite of what New York did with it’s business-killing “bitlicense” regulations. Today, the full New Hampshire house of representatives passed HB 436 by a vote of 185-170!
In other exciting state house news, the state house outdid their previous record of 81% voting for cannabis decriminalization, which was set in 2015. This time, 89.8% of the state house members that voted today (318-36), voted for HB 640 which would decriminalize possession of up to an ounce of cannabis, up to five grams of hashish, and cannabis-infused products. If this bill makes it through the senate and governor (who allegedly is friendly to decrim), then people over 21 years of age who are caught with these products will only face a violation instead of a misdemeanor, as they do today.
UPDATE 2: The house also passed HB 160, 302-46 which adds PTSD to the list of qualifying conditions for prescribing medical cannabis.
UPDATE 3: Home grow of medical cannabis (HB 472) also passed the house, 213-118.
Stay tuned here to Free Keene for more exiting news on the frontlines of freedom! Better still, if you love liberty, start planning your move to New Hampshire and help us advance liberty. We’ve already got 101 Reasons Liberty Lives in New Hampshire, and as more libertarians, voluntarists, and liberty-loving anarchists move here, it just keeps getting better and better!
Liberty Lobbyist Darryl W Perry and I went to the state house this week to testify on more legislation. However it was another short week and this time I only have one full length hearing video to share, but it’s a good one: Cannabis Legalization! The NH senate judiciary committee heard SB 233 to legalize up to an ounce of cannabis and five grams of hashish. I spoke in favor, with some reservations. Here’s the full hearing video:
Will the tide change this year for cannabis? Stay tuned here to Free Keene for the latest!
Liberty Lobbyist Darryl W Perry and I went to the state house last week to testify on more legislation. It was a short week, however, and I only have two videos to share, but they are long hearings:
HB 82 would ensure that hair braiders can work without fear of arrest for operating without a license. Nearly everyone who spoke in this 90-minute hearing spoke in favor of the bill, all except for one lady – who just so happens to work for a beauty school – the very industry that most benefits from the cosmetology licensing scam. Here’s the full hearing video:
HB 585 seeks to stop cities and towns in NH from flouridating their water supply. The do-gooders came out to oppose the bill and representative Dick Marple and I came out to support it. Here’s the full hearing video: (more…)
Liberty Lobbyist Darryl W Perry and I once again dropped in on a bunch of hearings at the state house legislative offices. Here are multiple videos of full and partial hearings:
HB 634 would repeal the 24% “penalty assessment” on criminal court fines. This would be a big help to the victims of the court system. I testified in favor. Here’s the full hearing video:
It’s a big day for libertarian history in New Hampshire and nationwide. For the first time in two decades, the Libertarian Party of NH (LPNH) has a sitting state representative in the legislature who is just beginning his first term in office. Caleb Dyer, state representative for Hudson and Pelham, announced today at a press conference in Concord’s Legislative Office Building that he has switched his voter registration from republican to libertarian and has also joined the state party as a dues-paying member. Dyer is a New Hampshire native who knocked on 2,000 doors in his district, Hillsborough 37, to win his election in November of 2016. Here’s the press conference video from this morning:
The LPNH was basically dormant for years until late 2016 when superactivists Darryl W Perry and Rodger Paxton won election to chair and vice-chair of the party, respectively. Shortly thereafter the libertarian candidate for governor was able to get enough votes to propel the party into major party status in New Hampshire. It’s the first time the LPNH has had that status in approximately twenty years, surely much to the chagrin of the republicans and democrats, who raised the vote requirement in the nineties specifically to disqualify the LP from major party status.
Libertarian State Representative Caleb Q Dyer
Speaking on the subject of the two-party duopoly at this morning’s press conference, Dyer said, “I believe that it is time to demonstrate to the people of New Hampshire that such a duopoly of partisan interest, which presently controls this house, is not in their interests.” Backed by the executive committee of the LPNH, Dyer excoriated the command-and-control structure of the two other major parties, saying their party leadership expects their party’s elected state reps to, “fall into line with the party, even against their principle”, speaking specifically of those inside the parties who oppose the status quo.
Explaining why he left the republicans, Dyer explained, “I truly believe the best course of action is to organize outside of the party, and force coalition.” He intends to rally “hundreds of people across the state to submit themselves to their peers as libertarian candidates”. He ended his speech by reading from Article Ten of the New Hampshire Constitution: (more…)
Liberty Lobbyist Darryl W Perry and his fellow libertarian activists once again drop in on a bunch of hearings at the state house legislative offices. Here are multiple videos of full and partial hearings and some clips:
HB 613 would reform the solitary confinement system in jails and prisons in New Hampshire. There’s some incredibly moving testimony during this full-length hearing video:
HB 562 – NH liberty legislators propose exempting internet gambling from gambling prohibitions. This video is a partial hearing: (more…)
