New Hampshire's new governor, Kelly Ayotte, announced in her inaugural address Thursday plans for a ban on cellphones in classrooms, a new Commission on Government Efficiency, vetoes on any legislation restricting abortion access, opposition to immigrant sanctuary legislation and more.
In her first speech as the state's 83rd governor, she promised to serve everyone in the state regardless of party or ideology, and would always keep her door open to Democrats in Concord.
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"Let's show folks that when partisanship is at a fever pitch, we can set a different example," Ayotte said.
She also jabbed at Massachusetts, which she called a referred to as "a cautionary tale" for a tax-and-spend mentality, while inviting its businesses up to the Granite State: "We're happy to show you why it's better here."
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The planned cellphone ban was one of the commitments she outlined in the speech, and while she didn't share more details on what it would look like, her X account shared more of the rationale:
Today, I am also announcing that we will be taking action to ban cell phones in our schools.
— Kelly Ayotte (@KellyAyotte) January 9, 2025
Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments, drawing students' attention away from their classes, and becoming a barrier for teachers to do their jobs — no more.
Ayotte also said, "Sometimes in our schools, we haven't had the hard conversations that we need to have when it comes to where our children are and how prepared they are for the next step."
Several other states have already passed bans on cellphones in classrooms, including Florida, California and Virginia, according to the health care news outlet KFF.
The Commission on Government Efficiency, or COGE, appears to be New Hampshire's version of President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which is aimed at cutting the federal government's spending, regulations and workforce size.
Ayotte announced COGE as a way for outside interests to help New Hampshire's commissioners "roll up their sleeves and find ways to rethink their approach, and where appropriate, do more with less."
Ayotte had spoken of the state needing "to make reductions and recalibrate from the higher spending over the last several years," though she didn't specify where those cuts would come from. She was tapping former Gov. Craig Benson and businessman Andy Crews, one of the co-chairs of her transition team, to lead COGE.
She cited "Massachusetts' illegal immingrant crisis right down the road," for the need to ban any local sanctuary city policies, which keep local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration officers' detention requests.
Her commitment to veto any legislation that would further restrict abortion access in New Hampshire was the last policy she outlined in the speech, which she closed by reiterating her thanks "for the privilege of a lifetime" in being governor and her call for unity, saying "protecting what makes us unique is so much more important than one person or one party."
Ayotte, a former U.S. senator and New Hampshire attorney general, was elected governor on Nov. 5, defeating Democratic former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig to keep the officer under GOP control after Gov. Chris Sununu opted not to seek election to a fifth two-year term.
With the win, Ayotte became the third woman elected governor of New Hampshire, following Democrats Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, both of whom are now in the Senate.
Endorsed by Sununu ahead of September’s Republican primary, Ayotte promised to continue his anti-tax, pro-business economic policies. She thanked Sununu after winning the race, but said she won’t be content to rest on his successes and would work hard to tackle the state’s housing crisis, strengthen its mental health system and improve education.
During the campaign, Ayotte used a “Don’t Mass it up” slogan to rail against more liberal Massachusetts to the south while accusing Craig of supporting tax hikes and blaming her for crime, homelessness and drug overdose deaths in the state’s most populous city.
NBC10 Boston political reporter Matt Prichard spoke with New Hampshire political experts this week about what they expect the Ayotte era will look like. They cited housing and homelessness as two key issues facing her administration.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
