Whose grievances will be 'redressed'?

Whose grievances will be 'redressed'? | Concord Monitor

By Shira Schoenberg / Monitor staff
January 23, 2011


The New Hampshire House has reconstituted a Redress of Grievances Committee to hear complaints from citizens, but exactly what does that mean? Perhaps a history lesson is in order.

In 1788, for instance, a hot issue for petitioners trying to get the attention of the New Hampshire House was horses. The Legislature, it seems, approved several military regiments of horses - but only assigned a single officer to a particular regiment. "Your Petitioners Humbly pray that your Honours would grant leave for Raising another Companey of Horse in the Twelfth Regiment Commanded by Col. Rand in order that your Petitioners may have the pleasure of acquipting themselves for that Service," petitioners wrote.

As the new committee begins its work, it faces a task rarely performed in modern times. When Vice Chairman Robert Willette, a Milford Republican, got assigned to the committee, he said, "The first thing I did was Google 'redress.' "

And at the committee's first meeting, Chairman Paul Ingbretson instructed members to look at the history of petitions, which are authorized by the state Constitution.

From the time the Constitution was passed in 1784 through the mid-19th century, petitions were common.

"The Legislature introduced very few bills on their own," said Rep. Shawn Jasper, a Hudson Republican. "People came forward and petitioned their representatives to take certain

action."

According to House researcher Richard Lambert, state archives contain 18,000 petitions written between 1680 and 1850.

One petition from 1785 asked the Legislature to make real estate a legal currency, which could be used to pay creditors instead of gold or silver. More than 60 petitioners wrote that people with large landholdings contracted debts during the Revolutionary War and could face imprisonment as debtors. "Individuals are cruelly Sued, Perplexed, Harressed, and brought almost to despair," they wrote. "Numbers of Gentlemen of handsome Fortunes Obliged to leave their Families, Farms, and Stocks."

Stuart Wallace, an NHTI professor who specializes in New Hampshire history, said common petitions in 1816-17 were from Revolutionary War soldiers or their widows, asking for state pensions.

In the 1830s, there were so many grievances about railroads taking private land that the state created a railroad commission to handle them, Wallace said.

Divorces were also common reasons for petitions. The wife of Robert Rogers, a hero in the French-Indian War who led the Rogers' Rangers, petitioned the Legislature for a divorce on the grounds that her husband deserted her, Wallace said.

"You could petition for absolutely anything you wanted," Wallace said. "It doesn't mean you'll get anywhere; it just means you have a right to petition."

Citizens could also petition the Legislature to change their names, Jasper said. Often, people simply wanted to add a middle name. Sometimes, family disputes led a person to change his last name.

Petitions were commonly used by militias to remove officers. In the early 1800s, Jasper said, an officer showed up for a morning drill drunk, and was accused of selling a position in the militia for $5. The House found him guilty of selling the position but voted against removing him.

For a while, the General Court was also used as a court of appeals. Until the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in 1818, Lambert said state laws showed numerous examples of interference by the Legislature into individual court cases.

In 1791, for example, Elisabeth McClary, a widow from Epsom, petitioned the court regarding a man who "commenced an Action against her on an Account wherein were charged Sundry berrels of Rum which were never purchased by or delivered to her, but were in fact sold to one John Casey," according to an excerpt of state laws.

Petitions dwindled by the late 1840s, though provisions for petitions remained in state statutes until 1925. Lambert wrote in a report, "One can only speculate that changes in the legislative process and the establishment of a larger bureaucratic structure in the executive branch provided a better means to address the needs and grievances of individuals and groups of citizens."

The process is historic, and quirky
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No surprises here
Both of New Hampshire's Republican congressmen voted to repeal President Obama's health care reform.

Rep. Frank Guinta said the reform "exceeds the limits of the Constitution, places unfair and unrealistic burdens on small-business owners, inserts the government into your relationship with your family doctor, and sinks Washington even deeper into debt."

Rep. Charlie Bass said reform "has imposed burdensome mandates on individuals and small businesses, increased costs, and expanded bureaucratic control over our health care system."

Another lobbyist
The Granite State Fair Tax Coalition, which supports a "fairly levied" tax system, will now advocate for and against legislation. Until now, the coalition only focused on general education, not specific policies. Board President Laurel Redden said the change was prompted by specific proposals before the current Legislature, as well as the makeup of a Legislature that has committed to not raising taxes - and possibly cutting them.

One of the coalition's first targets will be defeating a constitutional amendment that would prohibit the implementation of a broad-based tax, like a sales or income tax. Otherwise, Redden said the group will oppose cuts to state revenue sources that will increase the budget shortfall.

"The loudest voices always had the bully pulpit, saying all you need to do is cut," Redden said. "We're trying to amplify the flip side, that you can do cuts and make efficiencies, but you have to figure out how you can meet the basic core needs of the state. You need to look at the revenue side of the budget, which no one seems willing to do."

Brunelle delay
The informational session with constitutional scholars, which developed out of a Republican attempt to oust Democratic Manchester Rep. Mike Brunelle from office on constitutional grounds, has been postponed from Jan. 27.

Meanwhile, after the unpopular reception the Brunelle issue got, Democrats were trying to keep it in the news last week. Deputy House Democratic Leader Mary Jane Wallner asked Republican leaders to sign an "open government pledge." Among the items: "Members of the Legislature will not attempt to remove other elected members of the General Court simply for offering a different viewpoint" - which is what Democrats contend Republicans did to Brunelle.

'Big trouble'
Attorney General Michael Delaney told the Executive Council that he is deciding whether to appeal a case regarding state hiring practices.

In November, a Merrimack County Superior Court judge ruled that the state must give laid-off state employees preference in being rehired into a more senior position, as long as the employee meets the minimum qualifications. The case centered on an employee of the Sununu Youth Services Center, but the ruling could have a significant impact on all the state's rehiring practices. Delaney argued that the ruling would allow a laid-off employee to "leapfrog" over everyone else for a promotion, whether or not the employee has appropriate management skills.

The discussion gave Councilor Ray Wieczorek, a Manchester Republican and frequent critic of the Sununu Center management, an excuse to ask Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick Toumpas what is being done about the problems there. Employees have complained about short-staffing, dangerous conditions and discrimination against union activists, while the Disability Rights Center criticized the center for using unnecessary force against children.

"You've already fired 32 players on the team, but the manager's still there," Wieczorek said. "Someone's going to be in big trouble (if an incident occurs), and you're at the top of my list."

Toumpas acknowledged, "I am ultimately responsible" and pledged to look into absenteeism and other problems.

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The process is historic, and quirky
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Meanwhile, Gov. John Lynch recently met with a dozen Sununu Center employees. According to the State Employees' Association, employees told Lynch that they were previously able to create a "stable, consistent and safe environment" for residents, but are facing challenges with fewer resources and new management.