Carolyn Matthews
Historical Details
Position on Issues
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2016
Voted to prohibit abortions at or after 20 weeks gestation (HB 1636)
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH pursue expanded commuter rail?
"I support expanded commuter rail only if it can be proven that it will be self-supporting."
Undecided| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH limit terms for elected officials?
"I am undecided on this issue."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH increase funding for heroin treatment programs?
"I support increased funding for heroin treatment programs."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH add an income tax on earned income?
"I oppose NH adding an income tax on earned income."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?
"I oppose NH adding a broad-based sales tax."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH authorize one or more casinos?
"I oppose casino gambling in New Hampshire."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH continue to base statewide assessments on Common Core standards?
"I oppose basing statewide assessments on Common Core standards."
Other| Read My Position
Other, 2016
"I voted against decriminalizing marijuana in 2015 (at 1/2 oz), but when the amount was lowered to 1/4 oz, I voted for that."
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2015
Voted in favor of 2015 House Bill 572. When residential land is taken through eminent domain for a gas pipeline, HB 572 allows the resident to require the pipeline company to purchase all of the land, not just a part.
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH broaden campaign finance disclosure laws?
"I support broader campaign finance disclosure laws."
Against| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2017
Voted against allowing homegrowing of medical marijuana (HB 472)
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH increase law enforcement policies and penalties for heroin-related offenses?
"Increase penalties for heroin and other drugs on the distributor and dealer level only"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH legalize the recreational use of marijuana?
"I oppose marijuana legalization."
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2018
Voted to continue expanded Medicaid eligibility, using the traditional Medicaid system of managed care instead of private insurance (SB 313)
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Was NH right to expand Medicaid eligibility, using private insurance wherever possible?
"NH was right to continue to NH program for expaned Medicaid; however, this program is not sustainable and should be revised before it sunsets in 2018."
Against| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2017
Voted against raising the minimum wage to $9.50 in 2018 and $12 in 2019, with annual cost of living adjustments starting in 2020 (HB 115)
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2016
Voted to prohibit abortions at or after 20 weeks gestation (HB 1636)
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH do more to enforce federal immigration laws?
"I support increased state enforcement of federal immigration laws."
Against| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2018
Voted to change the sentence for any offense eligible for the death penalty to life imprisonment without parole (SB 593)
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH allow the Northern Pass to proceed with some (not all) of the lines buried?
"The proposal should insure that all towns that desire buried lines get them; NH should receive access to this power at a fair rate."
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2017
Voted to consider right-to-work (SB 11)
Other| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
What is your opinion on the state providing some funding for Planned Parenthood?
"I support a wider bidding process for women's healthcare support in New Hampshire. No state money should fund abortions."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH continue to administer statewide standards-based student assessments?
"I support NH continuing to administer statewide standards-based student assessments."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?
"I oppose stricter gun control laws."
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2018
Voted for the "education freedom savings account program" (SB 193)
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should parents be allowed to opt their children out of the NH immunization/vaccination registry?
"Parents should not be allowed to opt their children out of the NH immunization/vaccination registry."
For| Read My Position
Voting Record, 2018
Voted to require all voters domiciled in New Hampshire to follow residency laws, such as the requirement to register any car in New Hampshire (HB 1264)
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016
Should NH restrict further wind power development?
"I support restrictions on further wind power development."
Voting Record
HB 1319 (2018)
Prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
HB 587 (2017)
Prohibits conversion therapy for anyone under age eighteen. Conversion therapy attempts to change a person's sexual orientation.
CACR 22 (2018)
Constitutional amendment establishing various rights for crime victims.
HB 628 (2017)
Establishes a social insurance program that would be operated by New Hampshire Employment Security to provide for paid family and medical leave insurance. Employers would pay 0.5% of wages per employee as premium payments. The House amended the bill to increase the employee contribution to 0.67%, to allow employees to opt out, and to limit benefits to six weeks of paid leave.
SB 313 (2018)
Continues New Hampshire's expanded Medicaid program. This bill makes several significant changes to the program. First, it moves participants off private insurance and into managed care, similar to traditional Medicaid enrollees. Second, it adds a work requirement for participants. Third, it removes funding from voluntary contributions by health care providers, which the federal government said is illegal.
HB 1264 (2018)
Redefines "resident" and "inhabitant" to remove the phrase "for the indefinite future." This bill would potentially require all voters domiciled in New Hampshire to follow residency laws, such as the requirement to register any car in New Hampshire.
HB 1680 (2018)
Prohibits abortion after viability, unless the mother's life is in danger, "in cases of Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome, or to remove a fetus with severe anomalies incompatible with life."
SB 193 (2017)
Establishes the "education freedom savings account program." This allows a parent to contract with a scholarship organization so that state education funding is transferred to the student's scholarship account rather than to the municipality in which the student resides. The House amended the bill to limit the scholarships to certain students, particularly low income students, students in underperforming schools, and special education students. The amended version also requires any student receiving a scholarship to complete an annual assessment to ensure academic progress.
HB 592 (2017)
Repeals the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The House amended the bill to instead end energy efficiency grants, and send all the proceeds from RGGI to commercial and residential ratepayer rebates.
SB 500 (2018)
Removes the prohibition of carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun in or on a stationary motor vehicle, OHRV, snowmobile, or aircraft. This bill also changes some legal references to firearms, and allows licensed bow hunters to carry firearms. Lastly, this bill removes the ability to deny or revoke a hunting license if a person "is not a suitable person to carry firearms." The Senate amended the bill to also allow carrying a loaded firearm on a moving vehicle if the person is protecting livestock or crops. The Senate amendment also allows hunting with an air rifle.
SB 593 (2018)
Changes the penalty for any offense eligible for the death penalty to life imprisonment without parole.
HB 656 (2017)
Legalizes and taxes marijuana for adults over age twenty-one. The bill outlines various regulations, from the ability of municipalities to control the location of marijuana establishments, to labels disclosing the THC in each serving of a marijuana product. The bill also legalizes hemp. The House amended the bill to instead legalize possession and homegrowing of marijuana without allowing sales.
HB 115 (2017)
Raises the minimum wage to $9.50 in 2018 and $12 in 2019, with annual cost of living adjustments starting in 2020. The bill also establishes a training wage that is one dollar less than the minimum wage for the first three months of employment for someone sixteen or seventeen years-old.
SB 242 (2017)
Authorizes one smaller and one larger casino with video lottery and table gaming. The smaller casino would pay an initial ten-year license fee of $40 million, and the larger casino would pay an initial ten-year license fee of $80 million. The casinos would pay a tax of 35% on gross slot machine revenue and 18% on gross table game revenue. The Legislature would choose how to distribute this revenue, provided that some of the revenue goes to towns hosting or neighboring the casino, and some of the revenue goes to treat problem gambling.
HB 640 (2017)
Decriminalizes possession of 3/4 ounce or less of marijuana, with additional penalties for violators under age twenty-one.
HB 478 (2017)
Prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.
HB 144 (2017)
Changes the annual county budget procedures for Rockingham County to match those used in Hillsborough County. Since the House failed to pass the 2018-2019 budget bill HB 1, the Senate amended this bill into a new budget bill.
SB 131 (2017)
Appropriates $1,155,000 to hire five state troopers assigned to drug enforcement on the state border. This bill also appropriates $3,340,000 for state and local law enforcement and the state lab for overtime related to drug enforcement.
SB 10 (2017)
Creates a program to repay licensed milk producers from losses during the 2016 drought. The bill appropriates $2 million to the Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund.
SB 66 (2017)
Includes fetuses as potential victims under murder statutes. The Senate amended the bill to include only fetuses twenty weeks and older, not just "viable" fetuses.
SB 191 (2017)
Increases state funding for full-day kindergarten programs, with adjustments based on the number of English language learners and free and reduced lunch students in each district. The House amended the bill to simply provide full funding for full-day kindergarten programs, and half funding for half-day kindergarten programs. The House also added keno legalization to the bill to create the revenue for kindergarten funding.
HB 103 (2017)
Requires school districts to provide advance notice to parents and legal guardians of course material involving discussion of human sexuality or human sexual education.
SB 3 (2017)
Changes the definition of domicile for voting purposes to make it more restrictive. This bill explicitly excludes anyone who comes to the state "for temporary purposes," such as volunteering or working on political campaigns. Out-of-state college students are still allowed to claim a domicile in New Hampshire. However, if someone moves to a new New Hampshire address within 30 days of voting, he or she must present proof of intent to stay in New Hampshire. This proof could include a lease, driver's license, a child's enrollment at a public school, etc.
SB 8 (2017)
Allows a school district to assign a child to a non-sectarian private school if there is no public school for the child's grade in the child's resident district. The bill was amended to also require the non-sectarian private school to administer an annual assessment.
HB 157 (2017)
Adds chronic pain to the qualifying medical conditions for medical marijuana.
SB 11 (2017)
Right-to-Work bill that prohibits collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union.
SB 12 (2017)
Increases the length of time for which a license to carry a concealed firearm is valid, and repeals the requirement to obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm.
HB 1623 (2016)
Prohibits abortion based on genetic abnormality.
HB 593 (2015)
Permits qualifying patients and registered caregivers to grow medicinal marijuana at home.
HB 1694 (2016)
Legalizes and taxes marijuana for adults over age twenty-one.
HB 1480 (2016)
Raises the minimum wage to $8.25 in 2017, $9 in 2018, and $9.50 in 2019.
SB 336 (2016)
Removes the phrase "suitable person" from the law governing concealed carry permits, and instead requires law enforcement to issue a permit so long as the person is not prohibited from owning a firearm by state or federal law.
HB 1616 (2016)
Allows a person obtaining a driver's license to choose whether the license complies with the federal Real ID Act of 2005.
HB 1338 (2016)
Allows parents and guardians to opt their students out of the statewide assessment test, and prohibits schools and the state from penalizing students who do not take statewide assessments.
SB 576 (2016)
This bill includes many regulations aimed at combating heroin and prescription drug abuse. For example, this bill increases the penalties for abusing fentanyl and provides funding for an upgrade to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program.
HB 1696 (2016)
Continues expanded Medicaid eligibility, with some revisions. This bill adds work requirements to eligibility for expanded Medicaid. Additional funding is provided by the insurance premium tax, paid by insurance companies.
SB 498 (2016)
Reduces the penalty for possessing 1/4 ounce or less of marijuana from a class A to an unspecified misdemeanor.
HB 1374 (2016)
Requires moneys paid into the Renewable Energy Fund to be rebated to ratepayers, rather than spent on other renewable energy projects.
SB 4 (2015)
Tightens the definition of domicile for the purpose of voting. In particular, the final version of this bill requires a voter to live in New Hampshire at least 10 days before voting.
HB 684 (2015)
Raises the minimum wage to $9.10 in 2016, $11.40 in 2017, and $14.25 in 2018. Starting in 2019, the minimum wage is adjusted according to cost of living.
SB 113 (2015)
Authorizes two casinos in New Hampshire. One destination casino would pay a $80 million license fee; a smaller casino would pay $40 million to the state. SB 113 also earmarks $25 million in casino profits for distribution to all New Hampshire municipalities.
HB 618 (2015)
Decriminalizes possession of 1/2 ounce or less of marijuana, with additional penalties for violators under age twenty-one.
SB 40 (2015)
Includes fetuses as potential victims under murder statutes. The original Senate version of the bill applied to "viable fetuses," meaning the fetus is old enough to survive outside the womb. The House revised the bill to apply to all fetuses eight weeks and older. The House and Senate did not agree on a final version of the bill.
HB 658 (2015)
Right-to-Work bill that prohibits collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union.
HB 1 (2015)
2016-2017 state budget bill (part 1). The budget cuts business taxes, restores the Rainy Day Fund, and increases funding for some social services. The budget does not reauthorize Medicaid expansion or include a pay raise negotiated with state employees.
SB 30 (2015)
Extends the use of municipal economic development and revitalization districts to certain unincorporated places.
SB 106 (2015)
Prohibits the sale, use, or possession of synthetic drugs, such as "spice."
HB 136 (2015)
Prohibits tanning facilities from tanning anyone under age 18. At the time of this bill's submission, the law allowed tanning under age 18 with a parent or guardian's consent.
HB 563 (2015)
Adjusts the additional grants for chartered public school pupils based on the Consumer Price Index, and increases the per pupil state funding for charter school students by $1,000.
SB 116 (2015)
Increases the length of time for which a license to carry a concealed firearm is valid, and repeals the requirement to obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm.
SB 101 (2015)
Prohibits the Department of Education and the state Board of Education from implementing the Common Core standards in any school or school district in this state.
HB 403 (2015)
Repeals the law establishing a protest-free buffer zone around reproductive health clinics.
SB 179 (2015)
Requires that a voter has lived in the state and county for at least 30 days.
SB 169 (2015)
Forbids the use of EBT cards or cash from EBT cards for alcohol, tobacco, gambling, lottery tickets, tattoos, firearms, or adult entertainment.
