#nhhouse Democrats Applaud the Defeat of #CACR12--PR attached

New Hampshire

House of Representatives

Concord, NH

   House Democratic Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 CONTACT: Eileen Kelly

June 06, 2012                                                              603-271-2136

Democrats Applaud the Defeat of CACR 12, the Education Funding Constitutional Amendment

CONCORD, NEW HAMPSHIRE – Representative Gary Richardson, Democratic Floor Leader, issued the following statement on the House’s action today on CACR 12, relating to public education.

“In the Claremont decisions, the Supreme Court ruled that the state has a responsibility to fund the total statewide cost of an adequate education for every student in the public school system. The proposed amendment would have given the legislature “the full power and authority” to determine the amount of state funding for education.  This would allow the state to downshift most, if not all, of the cost of education to the local property tax payer,” stated Representative Gary Richardson.  “The amendment would also have severely limited the ability of anyone to challenge the actions of the legislature by changing the standard of court review from a strict scrutiny to a rational basis test. The House’s vote today was a wise decision.” 

CACR 12 was defeated by a vote of 224 to 141, having failed to gain the necessary 2/3rds needed to pass a constitutional amendment.

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