Brian D. Cole
Historical Details
Position on Issues
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the “Education Freedom Account” program, which gives students access to the per-pupil share of state school funding to spend on private school or home school expenses?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire ban abortion after 24 weeks gestation, with exceptions for cases of rape/incest and health complications?
"For"
Undecided| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the first trimester (e.g. after 6 weeks gestation)?
"Undecided"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the second trimester (e.g. after 15 weeks gestation)?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire ban discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the state law that bans teaching certain concepts, such as the idea that people may be "inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive, whether consciously or unconsciously"?
"CRT has no place in public education"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should NH add an income tax on earned income?
"Against"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?
"Against"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire add a tax credit for businesses that contribute to student loan repayment for employees?
"Against"
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire lower business taxes?
"Keep it the same"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire add a tax on capital gains?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire increase the tax on cigarettes?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire government do more to address climate change?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support giving voters who register without ID on Election Day a ballot that only counts if they return identifying documents to the state before a deadline?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire add a fee or mileage charge for electric vehicle owners to help pay for transportation and/or electric infrastructure?
"Against"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire add restrictions to the governor's powers during a state of emergency?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should the state do more to encourage municipalities to remove zoning barriers to housing development?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire extend the renewable portfolio standard past 2025, requiring public utilities to obtain more than 25% of electricity from renewable energy sources?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire guarantee the right to access abortion before 24 weeks?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire increase public access to reports of police misconduct?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the option of mail-in ballots for all voters, not just absentees?
"FRAUD"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should NH legalize the recreational use of marijuana?
"Against
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by allowing home-growing and private use without sales?
"For"
Other| Read My Position
Other, 2023
On the 2022 Citizens Count Issue Survey, Cole marked that he was "For" legalizing the recreational use of marijuana by licensing growers and private retail locations. However, in 2023 Cole voted against legalizing private marijuana sales with a 12.5% excise tax (HB 639).
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by establishing state-run cannabis stores?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire raise the minimum wage?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire increase the size of solar panel installations that may participate in net energy metering?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire increase subsidies and tax credits for business investment?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire increase the base amount of per-pupil funding it provides to local school districts?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should the state permanently increase how much tax revenue it shares with towns and cities every year, beyond public school funding?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the gradual phase-out of the Interests and Dividends tax?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Do you support Gov. Sununu's proposal to allow employers and employees to opt-in to a private, paid family and medical leave insurance plan, based on a pool of state employees, excluding coverage for personal illness?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the state’s current system of public school funding, with each district’s total funding primarily dependent on local property tax revenue?
"For"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire continue to participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which requires utilities to purchase allowances for every ton of carbon they emit?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire repeal the ban on abortion after 24 weeks gestation?
"Against"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire create a road usage fee?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire create a statewide family and medical leave program, paid for with a percentage of employee wages, with no opt-out?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?
"Against"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire provide student loan debt repayment programs for workers in industries with labor shortages?
"Against"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire add tax incentives for affordable housing development?
"For"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2020
Should New Hampshire allocate tax revenues for private and home schooling costs?
"Against
Voting Record
SB 263 (2023)
Permanently reauthorizes the New Hampshire Granite Advantage Health Care Program, commonly known as expanded Medicaid. Previous law ended the program on December 31, 2023. This bill also reestablishes and revises the commission to evaluate the New Hampshire Granite Advantage Health Care Program, commonly known as expanded Medicaid.
HB 57 (2023)
Gradually raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour over the next three years, with future adjustments based on the consumer price index. This bill also raises the tipped minimum wage from 45% to 50% of the regular minimum wage. Lastly, this bill allows a minimum wage of $8 per hour for youth under age 18 for the first six months of employment.
HB 106 (2023)
Establishes a procedure for issuing "extreme risk protection orders" to protect against persons who pose an immediate risk of harm to themselves or others. An extreme risk protection order would restrict a person's access to firearms, and is also known as a "red flag law."
HB 59 (2023)
Requires commercial sales and transfers of firearms to take place through licensed dealers. Those dealers are required to perform background checks.
HB 208 (2023)
Establishes greenhouse gas emission reduction goals for the state, to net zero by 2050. This bill also requires the Department of Environmental Services to develop a climate action plan by July 1, 2024, that includes evaluation of best available information, considers inclusion of strategies, programs and compliance mechanisms with measurable goals and targets, considers opportunities to encourage investment in low/moderate income, rural and minority communities, makes recommendations on retraining and apprenticeship opportunities, and coordinates with other state agencies.
HB 639 (2023)
Legalizes marijuana for adults over age twenty-one. The bill allows limited home-growing of marijuana. A new Cannabis Commission would oversee licensing and regulations related to the manufacture, testing, and sale of legal marijuana. Cannabis sales would be taxed under the Meals and Rooms tax system. Alternative Treatment Centers, which currently serve the state's medical marijuana patients, would be allowed to apply for a "dual use certificate" that allows them to participate in recreational marijuana business. Towns could limit marijuana businesses.
HB 523 (2023)
Increases the maximum electric generating capacity to participate in net energy metering, from one to five megawatts. This bill also modifies the transition of tariffs applicable to some customer-generators.
HB 624 (2023)
Requires state and local law enforcement to notify the public before an immigration checkpoint.
HB 567 (2023)
Requires at least 30 days written notice for a rent increase. Large, multi-unit rental owners must provide at least 60 days notice. If the rent increase is over 15%, large multi-unit landlords must provide at least 6 months notice.
HB 10 (2023)
Establishes a parental bill of rights. Some of the parental rights in this bill include:
"The right to direct the education and care of his or her minor child"
"The right to be physically present at any health care facility ... at which their minor child is receiving hospital care"
"The right to consent in writing before a biometric scan of his or her minor child is made, shared, or stored"
HB 2 (2023)
State budget bill (part 2). The governor presented his proposal for the next state budget February 14. The House and Senate both made changes to that proposal. Click here to read a summary of the 2023 budget process.
SB 272 (2023)
Establishes a parental bill of rights in education. Some of the parental rights in this bill include:
"The right to access and review all medical records of a child maintained by a school or school personnel"
"The right to inquire of the school or school personnel and to be truthfully and completely informed if the child is being identified or referred to by school district staff, as being of a gender other than that of which the child was identified or referred when enrolled"
HB 367 (2023)
Increases the maximum household income limit for participation in the Education Freedom Account program, from 300% to 500% of the federal poverty guidelines. The Education Freedom Account program allows families to spend the state's per-pupil share of education funding on private or home school expenses.
The House amended the bill to only increase the income limit to 350% of the federal poverty guidelines.
HB 224 (2023)
Repeals the civil and criminal penalties for health care providers who violate the state's ban on abortion after 24 weeks.
HB 557 (2023)
Removes the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services to require vaccinations beyond those in state law. This bill specifically notes that the requirements for chickenpox, Hepatitis B, and Hib vaccinations will expire in 2026.
