STATEWIDE INDEPENDENT LIVING COUNCIL
April 22, 2026
2:00pm
Advocacy Committee Meeting
ZOOM

Members Attending: Andrew Harmon (Committee Chair), Ryan Donnelly, Joshua Gehling, and Herb Carpenter. 

Staff: Jennifer Beaulieu (NH SILC Assistant) 

Guests: Mo Baxley (GSIL, Advocacy Director) and Danielle Murphy (Applicant)

Committee Chair Andrew Harmon called the meeting to order at 2:03pm. 

Andrew Harmon asked if Danielle Murphy or Herb Carpenter had yet to get their appointment letters. Both answered no and that they are still waiting for them. 

Review of February  Meeting Minutes
*Andrew Harmon made a motion to accept the minutes.
Second: Ryan Donnelly
Discussion: Herb Carpenter asked if they are allowed to vote. Andrew Harmon responded that they are if they have been appointed to a committee. 
All in Favor: Yes 	Abstaining: None
Motion Carried

Discussion of SPIL Objectives:
a.	Goal 1 Discussion 
Joshua Gehling mentioned that one thing that came up last time was that we talked about different parties that we could reach out to for better identification of service gaps and what is available. There was also discussion about reaching out to IOD. He is in discussions with Mary St. Jacques at IOD. She would be happy to review any specific goals that the committee thinks would be helpful for her to review. He could share the specific goals that we have in mind and then she’d figure out which IOD team member would make the most sense to connect to. It was mentioned that the goal 1 objectives should be shared with her. There were questions on whether the SPIL can be shared. Jennifer Beaulieu mentioned that the SPIL is public information, but she wouldn’t exactly share the term tracker. She recommended instead share the specific goals and objectives. Joshua Gehling asked if there were any other goals that we want IOD to look at such as the housing goal. Andrew Harmon mentioned that he will keep that in reserve for the ad hoc and he’ll get to that when the ad hoc gets to that portion of things. He noted that he will reach out to some of our current SILC partners to try and talk to them about the Part B surveys. He hopes that he will have something to report on at either the next Full SILC meeting or at the next Advocacy Committee meeting. 

b.	Objective 4.3 Review for Fall Presentations 
Andrew Harmon thanked Ryan Donnelly for sending out that outline and asked if everyone had a chance to look through it. The members who reviewed the outline thought it looked good. Andrew Harmon had a question about how the questions part of the outline is supposed to be used. Ryan Donnelly mentioned that since we’d be having this as part of our regular meeting, it could be an opportunity for people to ask the presenters questions. Ryan Donnelly mentioned that though the Representative Payee services was not part of the presentations we had, he thought it would be useful to include because he knows it’s a resource that Community Crossroads provides. Ryan Donnelly noted that he thought to include ABLE accounts as well because it’s a way to build some savings without jeopardizing SSI or SSDI. Jennifer Beaulieu mentioned maybe including a mention of both MOAD and MEAD. Ryan Donnelly mentioned that he does have MEAD on there but not MOAD. There were questions on whether MOAD was still active. Jennifer Beaulieu mentioned that the program is still active. 

c.	Ad-hoc Updates for Goal 5 Objectives
Andrew Harmon mentioned that they finally had a good first solid meeting, people were able to get onto the same page for the most part. He still needs to reach out to Jennifer Cook because she was unable to attend the meeting. The committee has a framework that they are working on. He is going to reach out to a couple of people as their initial outreach to try to get some statistics and information. They will be meeting monthly. Hopefully for the next committee meeting, he will have more concrete information to report on. Right now, the focus is on reviewing the framework and planning first steps. 

Legislative Updates
Andrew Harmon mentioned how as part of the housing champions item last year, a study committee was put together. There was some confusion over whether the committee held any meetings. Mo Baxley mentioned that they did meet and it was a study committee. One of the individuals who was on the committee didn’t get reelected and leadership didn’t appoint anybody to replace that individual. The committee had testimony and has issued some sort of report. Andrew Harmon mentioned that there was another bill that was supposed to create a new committee to look at housing solutions rather than barriers, as he thought the previous committee didn’t report out their findings. It was HB 1613, which was voted ITL (Inexpedient to Legislate) because somewhere during the legislative process a some huge fiscal note got attached to it. He doesn’t know if it will be acted on again in the future, but he is going to keep an eye on it and if he finds out about anything he’ll let everyone know. In terms of critical things, the only other thing that he is aware of was that the highway transportation bill had its Senate hearing yesterday. There was some discussion on the bill, and he thinks it’s going to move forward but there may be some additional changes made to the bill. The bill is going to have its executive session next Tuesday. He will let people know if he finds out anything more about it. 

Andrew Harmon asked if Mo Baxley or Ryan Donnelly know of any bills that the committee should be made aware of. Mo Baxley mentioned that the legislative session is starting to wind down. There are a few bills left. There are still some bills that require insurance companies to cover the first seven visits of occupational therapy without requiring pre-authorization. She thinks that the committee is going to ITL those bills.

 Ryan Donnelly mentioned that he has been following some stuff around SNAP. There are several changes coming to SNAP because of the big, beautiful bill that was passed last year. The federal–state funding split for SNAP administrative costs will shift next October from 50/50 to 25% federal and 75% state, creating a $4.5 million shortfall for DHHS because the change occurred after the state budget passed. NH spends roughly $25 million annually to administer SNAP, and without an additional appropriation, DHHS may have to cut other programs or try to operate with insufficient resources. This funding gap comes at a challenging time, as states will soon face financial penalties if their SNAP administrative error rate exceeds 6%, and New Hampshire’s 2024 error rate was 7.5%. These errors are administrative, not fraud‑related, and DHHS is already struggling with high vacancy rates and increasing workloads due to new work and reporting requirements. A non-germane amendment from Senator Gary, attached to a school meals bill, would add $4.5 million to DHHS to cover the shortfall; although the hearing has already taken place, written comments can still be submitted. SNAP benefits themselves will not be affected because they are federally required.

Other Business
Andrew Harmon mentioned that Mo Baxley, in partnership with a lot of organizations, had a meeting at the DD council’s office last Thursday. Mo Baxley mentioned how they are forming a coalition of different disability organizations in the state and that they are going to be proactive at the state house. They will be sharing resources and deciding what kind of legislation they want to introduce. Andrew Harmon thought it was a great meeting, it got people talking and sharing ideas. Mo Baxley mentioned that they are going to do a doodle poll to schedule the next meeting. The next meeting is going to be at the end of the legislative session.  

Jennifer Beaulieu asked if there have been any updates on the bill that was created based on a report that was published by the NH Bulletin. Ryan Donnelly clarified that the bill was to do with the abuse and neglect in the DD system in NH. Mo Baxley noted that it’s still in the senate and there are some representatives that want to amend it. Karen Rosenberg from the DRC is active in working with legislators behind the scenes on that bill. Mo Baxley mentioned that a lot of committees are holding onto bills because they want to see if they need a vehicle near the end of June. The bill is SB 670. 

Andrew Harmon noted that relative to transportation, there’s a bill that’s going through that’s being worked on titled SB 627. He is mentioning this bill because it concerns the transportation plan. The transportation plan has a huge lack of funding. SB 627 does the following: (1)  Provides for toll rate adjustments at specified turnpike plazas to support projects in the 2027-2036 ten year transportation plan; (2) Establishes a frequent customer discount for NH E-Z Pass users; and (3) Authorizes the conveyance of a portion of Interstate Route 93 in the city of Concord to the bureau of turnpikes to accommodate improvements to the I-93 Bow-Concord corridor. There seems to be reluctance at the highest levels to increase the tolls despite a lot of the public saying otherwise. He noted that if this goes through without further edits, everyone who drives would need to buy a NH E-Z Pass or pay the increased tolls. NH residents with an E-Z Pass would get a discount. The proponents for the bill are trying to emphasize that a lot of people come from out of state for tourism and they think that they should pay for it. Mo Baxley mentioned that if you can’t afford an E-Z Pass, you’ll get one for free if you are a NH resident. Andrew Harmon mentioned that it has gone through the Senate and it’s in the House right now. Ryan Donnelly noted that House Public Works and Highways had an executive meeting on it and passed a rather lengthy amendment. 

Andrew Harmon asked if everyone was okay with the 2pm time. Everyone in attendance was okay with the 2pm time for the Advocacy Committee meetings. 

Adjournment
Andrew Harmon mentioned that he would entertain a motion to adjourn if there wasn’t anything else. 
*Herb Carpenter motioned. 
Second: Ryan Donnelly
Discussion: None
All in Favor: Yes	Abstaining: None
Motion Carried

Meeting adjourned at 2:42pm.

Minutes Recorded by Jennifer Beaulieu.