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ROCHESTER - A bill that would force the City of Rochester to comply with digital requests from "any person" was passed by the New Hampshire House on Thursday, thanks in large part to the efforts of city resident Cliff Newton, who is also a state rep for Strafford District 1.
House Bill 1069, which changed the wording of 91-A from "every citizen" to "any person," would also allow anyone to electronically request Right to Know documents from any public body without having to travel to city offices during regular business hours, as the City of Rochester now requires.
Newton, a lifelong Rochester resident, took special care to keep The Rochester Voice apprised of the bill's legislative journey, including when testimony would be heard in the House Judiciary Committee last month.
It was during that testimony that both Newton and Rochester Voice editor Harrison Thorp testified regarding the City of Rochester's corrupt handling of Right to Know requests.
Judiciary Committee Chair and former New Hampshire Supreme Court Chief Justice Bob Lynn was plainly disturbed when Thorp testified that the City of Rochester had denied him Right to Know protections because he was not a citizen of New Hampshire and shepherded an amendment that changed the language to "any person."
Earlier this month the Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to send the bill to the full House, which passed the bill on a unanimous voice vote on Thursday.
"I don't know if I would've made it to Concord without the reminders and encouragement from Cliff," Thorp said.
HB 1069 could be headed to the Senate as early as next month.
Meanwhile, a hearing on the merits of the City of Rochester's appeal of the Right to Know Ombudsman's ruling has been continued until May 2 at 11 a.m. at Strafford Superior Court.
In November the ombudsman ruled it wasn't in his purview to determine what "citizen" means, deferring to either the judiciary or legislature to make that finding.
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