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Historical Details

Position on Issues

Other, 2016

"I will not support either [an income or sales tax]."

Voting Record, 2017

Voted to consider authorizing two casinos (SB 242)

Voting Record, 2017

Voted to decriminalize possession of 3/4 ounce or less of marijuana (HB 640)

Voting Record, 2018

Voted against allowing homegrowing of medical marijuana (HB 472)

Voting Record, 2018

Voted to continue expanded Medicaid eligibility, using the traditional Medicaid system of managed care instead of private insurance (SB 313)

Voting Record, 2018

Voted to consider raising the minimum wage to $9.50 in 2018 and $12 in 2019, with annual cost of living adjustments starting in 2020 (HB 115)

Project Vote Smart Survey, 2005

Dowling was rated 100% by NARAL Pro-Choice New Hampshire in 2005

Voting Record, 2018

Voted to change the sentence for any offense eligible for the death penalty to life imprisonment without parole (SB 593)

Voting Record, 2017

Voted against right-to-work (SB 11)

Project Vote Smart Survey, 2010

Dowling was rated 100% by Gun Owners of New Hampshire, Inc. in 2010

Voting Record, 2018

Voted against the "education freedom savings account program" (SB 193)

Voting Record

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.

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 1319 (2018)

Prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

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."

HB 587 (2017)

Prohibits conversion therapy for anyone under age eighteen. Conversion therapy attempts to change a person's sexual orientation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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 11 (2017)

Right-to-Work bill that prohibits collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union.

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 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.

HB 157 (2017)

Adds chronic pain to the qualifying medical conditions for medical marijuana.

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 330 (2011)

Repeals the requirement to obtain a license to carry a concealed firearm.

HB 1705 (2012)

Legalizes and taxes marijuana for adults over age twenty-one.

HB 1405 (2012)

Allows local governments to establish moratoriums on refugee resettlement.

HB 1676 (2012)

Establishes a pilot program to provide public financing for eligible candidates for state senator.

HB 1660 (2012)

Prohibits abortions beyond 20 weeks gestation.

HB 1492 (2012)

Requires public employers to verify an employee's eligibility to work in the United States.

SB 286 (2012)

Establishes a prescription drug monitoring program funded entirely through "grants, gifts, or user contributions."

HB 1677 (2012)

Right-to-Work bill that prohibits collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union.

HB 1264 (2012)

Establishes a religious exemption for individuals who do not wish to provide accommodations, goods, or services for same-sex marriages.

HB 1526 (2012)

Decriminalizes possession of 1/2 ounce or less of marijuana, with additional penalties for violators under age twenty-one.

HB 1650 (2012)

Exempts foodstuffs grown or produced and then sold in New Hampshire from federal regulation.

HB 1560 (2012)

Establishes the interstate Health Care Compact, which provides that each member state shall have the authority to enact state laws that trump all federal laws regarding health care within its state.

HB 1383 (2012)

States that only United States citizens may receive in-state tuition at the University of New Hampshire.

HB 1595 (2012)

Limits primary elections to voters who have registered as party members.

HB 1482 (2012)

Limits the exemption from property taxation granted to charitable nonprofit hospitals only to the main campus of the hospital.

HB 1666 (2012)

Requires legislative approval of any collective bargaining agreement entered into by the state.

HCR 42 (2012)

Expresses support for preserving the Electoral College.

HB 1659 (2012)

"Women's Right to Know Act," mandating that women considering an abortion receive "complete and accurate information on abortion and its alternatives."

HB 1658 (2012)

Limits financial assistance for mothers who have additional children while receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The House and Senate amended the bill to instead establish an income and identity verification system for public assistance recipients.

SB 409 (2012)

Allows medicinal marijuana through home growing.

HB 1487 (2012)

Requires legislative approval for the expenditure of funds involving New Hampshire in any low carbon fuel standards program, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

SB 295 (2012)

Increases the Research and Development tax credit.

HB 1654 (2012)

Authorizes earned time credits for inmates participating in rehabilitative programming.

HB 1511 (2012)

Removes the prohibition on convicted felons possessing certain weapons for self-defense.

HB 648 (2012)

Forbids the use of eminent domain for regional electricity projects when costs and benefits cannot be shared across the ISO - New England network.

HB 1667 (2012)

Raises the threshold between juvenile and adult offenders from seventeen to eighteen years-old.

HB 1679 (2012)

Prohibits partial birth abortions and abortions in the third trimester.

HB 592 (2012)

Redistricts the House of Representatives.

SB 372 (2012)

Establishes a tax credit for businesses that contribute to a scholarship fund for students who wish to attend private, parochial, or home schools.

SB 289 (2012)

Requires voters to present identification at polling places.

HB 1413 (2012)

Directs New Hampshire to withdraw from the No Child Left Behind federal education program.

HB 218 (2011)

Repeals the New Hampshire Rail Transit Auhority (NHRTA).

HR 9 (2011)

Resolution expressing support for earmarks for law enforcement.

HB 569 (2011)

Establishes "domestic unions" as an alternative to marriage.

HB 340 (2011)

Exempts parents from the education property tax if their children are not enrolled in public school.

HB 176 (2011)

Changes the definition of "domicile" for voting purposes so that out-of-state students can not claim domicile in New Hampshire.

HCR 23 (2011)

Urges congressional earmarks for the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

HB 133 (2011)

Ties the New Hampshire minimum wage to the federal minimum wage.

HB 113 (2011)

Prohibits the use of state funds for New Hampshire Public Television (NHPTV).

HB 370 (2011)

Reverses the expanded definition of bullying in the Pupil Safety and Violence Prevention Act.

SB 52 (2011)

Repeals early release programs for inmates convicted of violent crimes.

SB 57 (2011)

Makes various revisions to title loan regulations.

HB 474 (2011)

Right-to-Work bill that prohibits collective bargaining agreements that require employees to join or contribute to a labor union.

SB 27 (2011)

Raises the speed limit in some areas of Lake Winnipesaukee.

HB 631 (2011)

Repeals the requirement that school districts offer public kindergarten.

SB 1 (2011)

Eliminates "evergreen clauses" in public contracts.

SB 88 (2011)

Expands the use of deadly force, adding "Stand Your Ground" to the "Castle Doctrine." Under this bill victims could use deadly force without retreating, anywhere the victim has the right to be.

HB 109 (2011)

Prohibits local planning boards from requiring sprinklers as a condition for a local permit.

HB 329 (2011)

Requires parental notification prior to a minor's abortion.

HB 519 (2011)

Repeals the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), New Hampshire's cap-and-trade program.

SB 3 (2011)

Makes various changes to the state retirement system, such as raising retirement ages and increasing member contributions.

SB 464 (2010)

Establishes speed limits on Lake Winnipesaukee.

SB 497 (2010)

Establishes certain requirements for the reasonable compensation deduction under the business profits tax. This bill also establishes a committee to study safe harbors.

CACR 28 (2010)

Constitutional amendment defining marriage as a union between one man and one woman.

HB 1644 (2010)

Includes all fetuses as potential victims under first and second degree murder, manslaughter, and negligent homicide.

HB 1607 (2010)
Establishes certain requirements for the reasonable compensation deduction under the business profits tax. The bill creates a committee to study safe harbors and taxation of investment organizations. This bill also deletes a provision subjecting to taxation certain income accumulated in trust for the benefit of unborn or unascertained persons.
SB 450 (2010)

Makes various budget cuts.

SS HB 1 (2010)

Repeals the LLC tax.

HB 1653 (2010)

Decriminalizes possession of 1/4 ounce or less of marijuana, with additional penalties for violators under age eighteen.

HB 1128 (2010)

Makes various regulatory changes, such as allowing towns to adopt a local meals and rooms tax in addition to the state meals and rooms tax and authorizing expanded gambling.

SB 489 (2010)

Authorizes three casinos in New Hampshire.

HB 383 (2009)

Requires seat belt usage.

HB 556 (2009)

Repeals the death penalty.

HB 531 (2009)

Requires parental notification prior to a minor's abortion.

HB 648 (2009)

Allows medicinal use of marijuana, without allowing home growing.

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