Note (Jan. 6,2004): I have corrected some errors in the composite House district indices and the accompanying map. Some legislators that were missing from the House Index are now listed, and two votes from the House Index (see Afterword, below) were removed.
I. Introduction
The New Hampshire Liberty Index assesses the voting records of New Hampshire legislators. House and Senate votes relevant to liberty were selected and consolidated to measure and compare legislators' level of support for liberty. Although the government has an important role protecting one person's liberty from infringement by another, the government all too often takes the role of the infringer. New Hampshire is freer than most other states, but if we can keep an eye on the New Hampshire government, it will help us steer it towards a new era of freedom.
A note about votes selected for the Index: I intentionally omitted all votes related to abortion. My personal sense is that disagreement regarding the rights of a pre-birth entity will not be resolved soon, and that the controversy surrounding the issue might distract from the index. I also omitted any votes regarding the establishment of a commission, even if that commission were to investigate the expansion of liberty—commissions cost money, and are not necessary for knowing how to expand liberty. I omitted legislation concerning charter schools, because my sense is that they are still government schools, although I did include a vote regarding school vouchers.
Other vote assessments were quite difficult, and when in doubt I omitted a bill. I omitted HB55, prohibiting government discrimination in hiring and education, because non-discrimination is more about equality than liberty, and this is the "Liberty Index," after all. HB284, increasing the supermajority requirement for municipal bond issuance, looks good on its face because it makes it harder for jurisdictions to issue debt. However, local bonds are being used to get around the Claremont decision (redistributing property taxes for education), so I omitted the vote on this bill. I also omitted the vote on a bill creating state preemption of local firearms regulations, because although it would have increased gun liberty in this case, centralizing authority in and of itself is not pro-liberty. Thanks to everyone (you know who you are), including my wife, for your help with the Index.
The New Hampshire Liberty Index is 100% non-partisan. I'm a little disappointed that it doesn't look that way; Republicans—especially in the Senate—generally scored higher. As I discuss below, this appears to be a consequence of the Republican dominance in the New Hampshire legislature, which means most of the legislation considered leans Republican. Democrats tend to support social liberty more than Republicans, but there were very few votes related to social liberty in New Hampshire in 2003. Often, the distinction between social and economic liberty is hazy at best; between that and the dearth of social liberty legislation, I haven't distinguished between the two as does the Index published by the Republican Liberty Caucus.
II. New Hampshire House of Representatives
A. Votes included in the Liberty Index for Representatives
B. Representatives (The Index)
C. District-by-district Indices
D. New Hampshire House District Map (Showing District Indices)
E. Discussion
One of the first things you may notice is the scarcity of representatives with high ratings. Indeed, the average rating for all representatives is 39.9%. Yet this low average does not necessarily indicate that the New Hampshire legislature is dominated by authoritarians. Rather, the ratings appear so low because the legislation being considered was predominantly ambitious—towards reducing the government's reach instead of extending it. Seven out of the 10 votes considered in the Index considered pro-liberty legislation, including a major tax cut and a 50% school voucher program. A vote in favor of those bills, among others, was the mark of a true supporter of liberty (economic liberty, at least). Further, the relative dearth of anti-liberty legislation reflects well on the legislature as a whole.
Another noticeable aspect of the Index is a split between Democrats and Republicans. Democrats averaged 26.5%, and Republicans averaged 45.6%. Rather than indicating that New Hampshire Democrats are enemies of liberty relative to Republicans, I think this disparity reflects the dominance of legislation dealing with economic as opposed to social liberty in the index, which in turn is likely the product of Republican dominance in New Hampshire politics. If the Democrats held a majority in the House, I would expect to see more legislation regarding social liberty, and a tip in the Index towards Democrats.
Unfortunately, the New Hampshire government is exhibiting the path of least resistance approach in much the same way the Bush administration has—by simultaneously pursuing tax cuts and spending increases. Tax cuts are a move towards liberty, but they must at some point be accompanied by spending cuts.
III. New Hampshire Senate
A. Votes included in the Liberty Index for Senators
B. Senators (The Index)
C. Discussion
As can be gleaned from the Liberty Index, the New Hampshire Senate is quite partisan. Here again, because the Republicans dominate the Senate (18 Republicans to 6 Democrats), the legislation considered in the Senate tends to lean Republican. The only bill in the Index on which Democrats voted the pro-liberty way (as a block) was SB213, allowing municipalities to allow a volunteer firefighter tax credit. It seems to me that partisanship must have guided the vote on this bill—I can't fully understand otherwise why Republicans voted against it.
For what it's worth, the Senate's average index is 50%. This seems somewhat remarkable (on the low side) given the Republican slant of the legislation considered and the strong Republican majority. The Senate defeated the Resolution (HCR14) rebutting the Claremont decision, but the House defeated the Senate's bill decartelizing the courtroom (SB83). You can be the judge about which is more pro-liberty, the House or the Senate.
IV. Governor Benson
Four bills used for the Index reached Governor Benson. He signed HB811 (limiting firearm manufacturer liability) and HB402 (increasing the age requirement for passenger restraints). Both passed both Houses overwhelmingly. HB612 (establishing an early childhood literacy program) became law without his signature. Governor Benson vetoed HB164 (increasing gross premiums tax).
V. Looking Forward
My sense is that the Liberty Index is most useful as a voter guide. Although it measures only incumbents, the Index does show voters in general which New Hampshire legislators are champions of liberty and which stifle it. Combined with a candidate survey, such as the one administered by Project Vote Smart, the Index can provide a clear picture of whom to vote for and whom to vote against when a voter's goal is maximizing liberty.
Although I've done a little research into voting system analysis, I am not ready to make conclusions about where liberty-lovers ought to move in order to best foster liberty in New Hampshire. I encourage others to use the Index for their own such analyses.
One preconception that the Liberty Index dispels is that authoritarianism is related to latitude, which the southern parts of New Hampshire being dominated by statists (presumably from Massachusetts). Rather, the correlation I see tends towards socioeconomic factors, with college area legislators fulfilling the stereotype of academic socialism. With the Index and the map that accompanies it, remember that legislator voting patterns may not always correlate with the tendencies of an area's residents.
There may or may not be updates to this Index during 2004. Hopefully by the time the 2004 Index comes out, I will have some more scientific insights to add. Thank you for reading and thank you for your support of liberty.
VI. Afterword
The Index isn't perfect. [If I could snap my fingers and remove bills from the index I would likely remove HR7 and HB717 from the House votes. The former creates a commission, which is grounds for exclusion, though I stand by the principle of devolution (and subsidiarity). I have some trouble grasping the full ramifications of HB717, which creates some new state-level education funding while cutting a large chunk of the education revenue stream.] Note: I removed these two votes from the House Index on January 6, 2004.
My spreadsheets are now available (House, Senate) for you to see and work with if you'd like. A "1" in the spreadsheet refers to a pro-liberty vote, and a "0" refers to an anti-liberty vote (I converted Yeas and Nays). All the data comes from the official New Hampshire General Court website, particularly the House and Senate voting records.