National Reports

...Also, townspeople who are without representation in sumo years are not at all aroused by the ancient battle cry of taxation without representation...

...The original framers of the constitution 172 years ago wrote in a provision which requires the people to vote every seven years on whether a constitutional convention should be held...

...Recognize the fact that women have been voting and change the voting-eligibility clause from "every male inhabitant" to "every inhabitant...

...Any proposal which tends to alter that basic balance of power is bitterly contested...

...They would rather not risk being grouped with a larger town or city and thus lose whatever personal representation they now have...

...Under the present system, each town or ward is entitled to one Representative for every 729 residents...

...And a list of stockholders in the park-- which the House refused to have read on the floor--contained the names of two Executive Councilors and 14 State Legislators...

...Rejected by the convention were amendments banning divorce, establishing annual sessions of the Legislature, permitting 18-year-olds to vote, allowing the Legislature to establish a graduated income tax...

...Whether the size of the legislature is always crucial is not at all certain...

...he said, lobbyist friends of his could make their influence felt by contacting only the top men...

...New England's first pari-mutuel race track moved to Salem 20 years ago, and recent developments have raised questions about how much influence the track has accumulated in state and local politics...

...Change the title of "county solicitors" to "county attorneys...

...Remove obsolete words like "parishes" and "plantations" from the constitution...

...In neighboring Massachusetts, a powerful lobbyist once admitted privately that his job was tremendously difficult because he had to reach individual legislators, whereas in next-door New York...

...During recent sessions, the track kept a free barroom open for the legislators in a Concord hotel within walking distance of the Capitol...

...The tightness of organization sometimes is a more important factor...

...The independent-minded farm folk in these communities prefer it that way, and the recently-ended New Hampshire constitutional convention unhesitatingly confirmed their judgment...

...These proposals must be approved by two-thirds of the voters in referenda...

...These proposals very likely will come up again at a later date...

...Lobbying in state legislatures has not always had the attention it deserves...

...The current Legislature has 215 Representatives from towns and 185 from cities...

...Allow the Governor to retain his Gubernatorial powers while out of the state on official business...

...By Courtney Sheldon Boston Residents of 108 New Hampshire towns with populations under 729 are allowed to vote for a Representative in the State Legislature as infrequently as once in ten years...

...Whether large or small, the New Hampshire Legislature now has problems on its hands that were certainly not anticipated by those who framed the state constitution...

...The New Hampshire constitutional convention did not turn down all the 57 amendments offered...

...In 1955, the Rockingham Park management admitted that 35 members of the Legislature, including two Senators, were on the track's payroll...

...Those communities with fewer than 729 can only elect a Representative at least once every ten years...

...abolishing the five-member Executive Council, giving Governors four- instead of two-year terms, and allowing classification of property for tax purposes...

...Raise from $100 to $500 the minimum amount that must be sought in civil suits before plaintiffs can demand jury trials...

...Somewhat reluctant to make any significant structural changes in state government, the convention also refused to cut the size of the nation's largest state legislature, with 400 Representatives and 24 Senators...

...Like many other state legislatures, the New Hampshire Legislature is dominated by the rural voters, though the cities in the Granite State now have 51 per cent of the population...

...The limited-voting-by-towns status quo was preserved when the convention rejected an amendment to slice House membership to 300, boost the Senate to 36 and divide the state into 300 districts, grouping towns together so that all voters could ballot for a Representative at every biennial election...

...After 11 days of deliberations, the 440 delegates endorsed amendments which would: -Permit absentee voting in state primary elections...