Debra Altschiller
Serving as: NH Senate District 24
These objective, nonpartisan measures are used to show this legislator's activities at the Statehouse in 2023. The measures are not intended to present a ranking or rating of any kind. Average is that of all state elected officials in this chamber. Gov. Sununu is still in the process of signing and vetoing 2023 bills, so the number of prime sponsored bills that became law may increase.
Session days attended
Party unity score/partisanship
Participated in official roll call votes
Bills sponsored (as prime sponsor)
Prime sponsored bills that became law
Voting Record
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.
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 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 624 (2023)
Requires state and local law enforcement to notify the public before an immigration checkpoint.
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.
SB 104 (2023)
Establishes regulations for online gambling, with the proceeds going to a new community college scholarship fund.
SB 117 (2023)
Changes the definition of "child" in the law about negligent storage of firearms, raising the age to anyone under age 18.
SB 144 (2023)
Gradually increases the minimum wage to $15 per hour by July 1, 2024.
SB 220 (2023)
Allows any voter to vote by absentee ballot, whether or not he or she will actually be absent on election day. The bill also allows partial processing of absentee ballots prior to Election Day.
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.
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"
Completed our 2022 State Candidate Survey
Position on Issues
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 NH add an income tax on earned income?
"Against"
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire lower business taxes?
"In 2019, NH lowered the BPT to 7.7% and the rate further dropped to 7.6% for taxable periods ending on or after December 31, 2019. The US Tax Foundation (the nation's leading independent tax policy nonprofit) ranks New Hampshire's business tax climate 1st in New England and 7th nationwide. The most recent tax cuts were concentrated on benefitting large out of state corporations."
Undecided| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the gradual phase-out of the Interests and Dividends tax?
"The I&D tax is only applicable to a certain types of income. Wages paid from work or from a personal businesses are excluded. The tax is only on interest (ie: savings accounts) and dividends (income distributed for shares of stock, exchange traded funds & mutual funds). Dividends earned in a 401(k) or IRAs are also not counted for this tax. The dividend portion of this tax only applies to dividends earned in a taxable investment account, which are investments outside of your IRA or 401(k). Also, the tax does not currently apply to capital gains. In fact this I&D tax only applies to the 5% on the amount of dividends and interest above the exemption amount of $2,400 for an individual, or $4,800 for joint filers. There is also an increased exemption for those age 65 and older. Granite Staters who are not yet 65 and are unable to work or are blind, are also exempted. This is very specific group of high passive income earners who participate in this tax and further evaluation is needed to decide what in the NH State Budget might be sacrificed if this revenue was eliminated."
For| 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?
"Incentivizing student loan repayment assistance, particularly for industries that are chronically understaffed, may be a good way to draw more people into the New Hampshire workforce. This is a proposal worth exploring."
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, 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 the state permanently increase how much tax revenue it shares with towns and cities every year, beyond public school funding?
"For"
Undecided| 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?
"This system has created a very difficult challenge of providing not just adequate but excellent education to students who live in property poor zip codes. The system as a whole needs reevaluation."
Against| 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?
"This voucher scheme has been an expensive and disastrous experiment costing the state of NH dearly. In the first year of the program that siphoned money out of our public schools it cost the state $8 Million and now in the second year the cost has grown to a cost of $14.7 Million coming out of our NH Education Trust Fund. This fall 3,025 students are receiving vouchers from NH tax payers to spend at religious schools and private schools that discriminate against certain students and can choose not to educate students with special needs. The Commissioner of Education (who is wildly unqualified for the position as he has no background in education, public or private) had testified that the year one cost would be $130,000 and the year two cost was projected to be $3.3 million. This was either a profound miscalculation or an intentional misleading representation of the program Either way, the purpose of the voucher program is to continue the efforts of the extreme right in dismantling our public school systems."
Against| 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"?
"This law, that was inappropriately inserted into the state budget, is yet another attack on our public schools. It is designed to stifle discussion and debate on difficult topics. That our teachers can teach that there was a Holocaust in Europe but not why is a dangerous path to take on teaching history. To teach that there is a Juneteenth but not why, to delve into the suffrage movement but not its genesis and to even not be able to discuss the origins of colonialism lest the fragile thinking of those with unexamined unconscious bias be offended is the antithesis of creating a robust learning environment. The "divisive concepts law" jammed into the state budget is a lesson in fearing examination of our history and must be repealed."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire ban discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity in grades K-3?
"Banning discussions about sexual orientation and gender identity is wrong. Also wrong is the banning of acknowledging the gender identities or sexual orientation of teachers, para professionals, coaches, administrators, students and their families. This question is disingenuous because its origins come from proposed fear-based discriminatory practice. Why are we even having the conversation about denying people their identities?"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire repeal the ban on abortion after 24 weeks gestation?
"Abortion is healthcare. The very serious and private circumstances that bring women to seek abortion healthcare are absolutely no one's business but the patient's and her doctor. The discussion around bans for women's reproductive healthcare presuppose that at a certain time in a pregnancy, that pregnant person becomes incapable of making their own healthcare decisions, or even more insidious, at a certain point in pregnancy, the state has an interest in classifying pregnant people as reproductive chattel, denying them their bodily autonomy. Any kind of ban on reproductive healthcare is facet of the forced birth movement that sees women as less than whole human beings."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire guarantee the right to access abortion before 24 weeks?
"Abortion is healthcare. The very serious and private circumstances that bring women to seek abortion healthcare are absolutely no one's business but the patient's and her doctor. The discussion around bans for women's reproductive healthcare presuppose that at a certain time in a pregnancy, that pregnant person becomes incapable of making their own healthcare decisions, or even more insidious, at a certain point in pregnancy, the state has an interest in classifying pregnant people as reproductive chattel, denying them their bodily autonomy. Any kind of ban on reproductive healthcare is facet of the forced birth movement that sees women as less than whole human beings."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the second trimester (e.g. after 15 weeks gestation)?
"Abortion is healthcare. The very serious and private circumstances that bring women to seek abortion healthcare are absolutely no one's business but the patient's and her doctor. The discussion around bans for women's reproductive healthcare presuppose that at a certain time in a pregnancy, that pregnant person becomes incapable of making their own healthcare decisions, or even more insidious, at a certain point in pregnancy, the state has an interest in classifying pregnant people as reproductive chattel, denying them their bodily autonomy. Any kind of ban on reproductive healthcare is facet of the forced birth movement that sees women as less than whole human beings."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire ban abortions during the first trimester (e.g. after 6 weeks gestation)?
"Abortion is healthcare. The very serious and private circumstances that bring women to seek abortion healthcare are absolutely no one's business but the patient's and her doctor. The discussion around bans for women's reproductive healthcare presuppose that at a certain time in a pregnancy, that pregnant person becomes incapable of making their own healthcare decisions, or even more insidious, at a certain point in pregnancy, the state has an interest in classifying pregnant people as reproductive chattel, denying them their bodily autonomy. Any kind of ban on reproductive healthcare is facet of the forced birth movement that sees women as less than whole human beings."
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?
"As of May 2022, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission announced adult-use marijuana establishments in Massachusetts surpassed $3 billion in gross sales. Maine's adult-use retailers have sold nearly $98.3 million in cannabis products, a 120% increase compared to the same eight-month period from last year. According to the Tax Foundation. Vermont is on track to take in $27,313,974. New Hampshire's estimated loss of revenue for the last three years is $44,163,575.00 We are an island in the New England states of cannabis prohibition and it is costing us dearly. The opportunity for private businesses to expand their market into New Hampshire is the best course of action. It's time to move forward."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by licensing growers and private retail locations?
"As of May 2022, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission announced adult-use marijuana establishments in Massachusetts surpassed $3 billion in gross sales. Maine's adult-use retailers have sold nearly $98.3 million in cannabis products, a 120% increase compared to the same eight-month period from last year. According to the Tax Foundation. Vermont is on track to take in $27,313,974. New Hampshire's estimated loss of revenue for the last three years is $44,163,575.00 We are an island in the New England states of cannabis prohibition and it is costing us dearly. The opportunity for private businesses to expand their market into New Hampshire is the best course of action. It's time to move forward."
Against| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire legalize the recreational use of marijuana by establishing state-run cannabis stores?
"As of May 2022, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission announced adult-use marijuana establishments in Massachusetts surpassed $3 billion in gross sales. Maine's adult-use retailers have sold nearly $98.3 million in cannabis products, a 120% increase compared to the same eight-month period from last year. According to the Tax Foundation. Vermont is on track to take in $27,313,974. New Hampshire's estimated loss of revenue for the last three years is $44,163,575.00 We are an island in the New England states of cannabis prohibition and it is costing us dearly. The opportunity for private businesses to expand their market into New Hampshire is the best course of action. It's time to move forward."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?
"Gun violence prevention is not gun control. Responsible gun owners understand the responsibility of owning firearms is an integral part of the second amendment . I am not a proponent of, nor have I ever spoken about 'gun control'. I am a gun violence prevention advocate. New Hampshire's suicide rate has risen every year for the past four years. Suicides make up 89% of all firearm deaths in the Granite State. The rate of gun deaths here has increased 30% from 2010 to 2019, compared to a 17% increase nationwide. In the same measured time frame, the rate of gun suicides increased 26%, compared to a 13% increase nationwide. New Hampshire cannot afford to continue to look away from gun violence. Expanding background checks to all sales, instituting a day three waiting, or 'cooling off' period between purchase and delivery of a firearm, making our schools free from gun violence and the coercive control of firearms and bringing an extreme risk protective order law to the Granite State will save lives while still honoring the letter and spirit of our constitution."
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?
"Yes, the state's reliance on fossil fuels with little to no investment in renewable energy sources has brought us to where we are now. Eversource's energy service rate is rising by 112%, Liberty Utilities is going up 100% & the New Hampshire Electric Co-op is going up 77%. Companies like Eversource say rates are doubling due to the war in Ukraine and New England's reliance on natural gas. Those factors are true but only a part of the total picture. Eversource is reporting $1.2 billion in profits for second year in a row. The SEC filings show the outgoing CEO was paid $10.22 million in total compensation (2020) and the new CEO is being paid $6.47 million (2021). Dividend payouts to shareholders have risen consistently over the past ten years. Meanwhile, NH seniors and families are figuring out how to absorb the astronomical energy cost increases. The ratepayers are being left behind in the current business models. Moving NH away from its almost total reliance on fossil fuels towards a robust renewable portfolio is critical to our future."
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Should New Hampshire government do more to address climate change?
"YES! We have the lowest renewable energy requirements in New England and don't have a statutory mandate for greenhouse gas reductions. Republicans have blocked efforts to update our climate action plan which was last done in 2009. The Republican climate change deniers have only allowed for policy that nibbles around the edges of climate change action. Net metering expansion for homeowners and businesses, public housing and our schools is a bold step that we can make now to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels that directly impacts our environment."
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"
For| Read My Position
Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2022
Do you support the option of mail-in ballots for all voters, not just absentees?
"Mail-in ballots provide greater access to the vote for everyone."
Against| 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?
"Against"
