Richard O'Leary

Voted to consider a ban on firearms at any place where medical services are provided, any place holding a valid liquor license, polling places, churches, entertainment venues which seat more than 5,000 people, and any public building (HB 1566)

Tax revenue for private and home schooling
Against| Read My Position

Voting Record, 2018

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

Voter residency requirements
Against| Read My Position

Voting Record, 2018

Voted against requiring all voters domiciled in New Hampshire to follow residency laws, such as the requirement to register any car in New Hampshire (HB 1264)

Voting Record

Voted against changing firearm and hunting laws

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.

Voted against constitutional amendment

CACR 22 (2018)

Constitutional amendment establishing various rights for crime victims.

Voted against revising RGGI

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.

Voted against voter residency requirement

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.

Voted for family and medical leave insurance program

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.

Voted for Medicaid expansion

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.

Voted to add gender identity to anti-discrimination laws

HB 1319 (2018)

Prohibits discrimination based on gender identity.

Voted to ban conversion therapy

HB 587 (2017)

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

Voted to legalize marijuana without allowing sales

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.

Voted to repeal the death penalty

SB 593 (2018)

Changes the penalty for any offense eligible for the death penalty to life imprisonment without parole.

Voted to send this bill to interim study, effectively killing the bill for 2018

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.

Voted to table this bill, effectively killing the bill for 2018

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."

Voted against 2018-2019 budget bill

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.

Voted against allowing assignment to a private school

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.

Voted against casinos

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.

Voted against dairy farmer assistance

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.

Voted against fetal homicide law

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.

Voted against parental notification

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.

Voted against Right to Work

SB 11 (2017)

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

Voted against stricter voter registration laws

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.

Voted for additional drug enforcement funding

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.

Voted for full day kindergarten funding with keno

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.

Voted to allow marijuana for chronic pain

HB 157 (2017)

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

Voted to consider a minimum wage increase

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.

Voted to consider gender identity discrimination protections