(Sortable Tables Now Available: House, Senate)

The New Hampshire Liberty Index (House, Senate) is a non-partisan evaluation of state legislators' voting records. It reflects roll-call (recorded) votes from the state house and senate on legislation that, if passed, would increase or decrease the liberty of people in New Hampshire.1

Each legislator's rating is not a simple percentage, but accounts for the number of votes cast. A legislator who casts no votes receives a rating of 50. To achieve a perfect 100 rating, a legislator must vote the pro-liberty way on every vote in the Index, which includes all legislation with a roll call vote and clear effect on liberty.2 This year's Index adds a new metric, which only tallies the bills each legislator voted for. On the far right of each Index table, you will see the "Yes Rating," or net number of pro-liberty or anti-liberty votes cast. In the House, only 5 (out of 400!) representatives supported more pro-liberty legislation than anti-liberty legislation.3

The basic premise underlying the Liberty Index is that the government should not punish people who do not deserve to be punished; when it does so, it violates liberty. Everyone is entitled to be free from trespass against his person or property unless he has trespassed against another person's, e.g. through theft or murder.4 The rules articulated below reflect this premise, in order to identify legislation that stands to increase or decrease liberty in New Hampshire.

The rules themselves, though simple, are as useful a reference as the Index. They can be applied to quickly and consistently evaluate a law's effects. For many people, unfortunately, avoiding government invasions of liberty is not a priority, but many aren't even aware when the invasions are taking place. My hope is that legislators and citizens will more frequently ask themselves, Does this law punish someone who does not deserve to be punished? If it does, they should at least hesitate before inflicting the injustice upon their fellow men.

The Rules

  1. A bill that increases government revenue or expenditures is anti-liberty, while a bill that reduces government revenue or expenditures is pro-liberty.
    Examples:
    • HB 173 appropriates $100,000 to pay education expenses for veterinarians who commit to working "where there is a need" for three years, and thus is anti-liberty.
    • HB 619, increasing the interest and dividents tax deduction for seniors, is pro-liberty because it would reduce state revenue (by an estimated $1.4 million per year).
    • HB 674, expanding the number of veterans qualifying for a local property tax credit, was not included in the Index because it is revenue-neutral. Local tax rates are set based on a town's budget, so municipal credits and deductions (for veterans, current use, solar power, etc.) do not reduce net revenue.
  2. A bill that outlaws (or increases penalties for) a consensual activity or agreement is anti-liberty, while a bill that re-legalizes (or reduces penalties for) a consensual activity or agreement is pro-liberty.
    Example:
    • HB 738 is anti-liberty because it would outlaw the purchase of health insurance without coverage for infertility treatments.
  3. A bill that increases or decreases the likelihood of pro-liberty or anti-liberty government action in the future may be pro-liberty or anti-liberty.
    Examples:
    • CACR 16 is pro-liberty because it would require passage of a referendum prior to the imposition of a sales or income tax.
    • HB 457 is anti-liberty because it would authorize municipalities to restrict privately-owned water use.
  4. A bill that includes any anti-liberty provisions is anti-liberty unless it includes countervailing pro-liberty provisions. A bill with pro-liberty and anti-liberty provisions is excluded from the Index unless clearly weighted one way or the other.
    Examples:
    • HB 693, creating a new state school voucher program, is anti-liberty because its $25 million+ increase in spending (over two years) lacks a countervailing pro-liberty provision.5
    • HB 424, legalizing the growth and sale of hemp (not marijuana), is on net pro-liberty even though it would increase government revenue through the sale of permits to hemp growers.

The Index

Footnotes

(1)I exclude main appropriations bills, because the strategy behind the votes may be hard to discern, and prefer to err on the side of omitting ambiguous legislation.

(2)The formula for calculating the rating is: 50 + (100p − 50v)/t , where p is the number of pro-liberty votes cast, v is the total number of votes cast by the legislator, and t is the total number of votes in the Index. Another way of thinking about the calculation is that a legislator's rating starts at 50 and increases or decreases by 50/t for each pro-liberty or anti-liberty vote.

(3)In the House, only seven roll-call votes involve pro-liberty legislation.

(4)For the purposes of the Liberty Index, I consider laws that punish true criminals—those that have actually trespassed against another—to be liberty-neutral. So, for example, a law against bank robbery would be excluded from the Index (as liberty-neutral).

(5)While education would likely improve through a voucher program, I cannot say that millions of dollars spent on an already-massive entitlement program increases liberty.