Gov. Kelly Ayotte closed the week before Independence Day the way she has spent much of her second year in office: with a veto pen. The Republican governor rejected nine bills on Thursday, July 2, many of them signature priorities of the Republican lawmakers who control the New Hampshire Legislature. According to the New Hampshire Bulletin, the rejected measures ran the gamut of the session’s most contentious fights, from school book removals and abortion-related conscience protections to a plan letting landlords demand a second security deposit from certain tenants.

The timing was hard to miss. The vetoes landed just as Granite Staters headed into the July 4 holiday weekend, and they pushed Ayotte’s 2026 veto tally to 24 so far. That figure is roughly double the number she vetoed in 2025, and it is almost certainly not final, with more bills still moving toward her desk. For a governor who campaigned as a pragmatic conservative, the growing stack of vetoes has become the clearest signal yet of how she intends to govern between a restless legislative majority and a general electorate she will face again in November.

A moderate governor and an emboldened Legislature

The through line in Thursday’s actions is a familiar one in Concord. Ayotte, who won office in 2024, is sharing uneasy power with a Republican Legislature that has grown more assertive on cultural and fiscal flashpoints. That tension is not new to the corner office. Former Gov. Chris Sununu, who also clashed with the right flank of his own party, vetoed 13 bills in 2024, his final year in office. Ayotte has already blown past that number less than halfway through the year, a sign of just how far apart she and legislative leaders have drifted on several issues.

Ayotte’s approach has been to sign the bulk of what the Legislature sends her while drawing firm lines on a smaller set of measures she views as either unnecessary or a step too far. She signed dozens of bills into law during the same stretch that produced Thursday’s vetoes. The pattern mirrors earlier fights this session, including her rejection of a cannabis cultivation measure detailed in our coverage of Ayotte’s veto of SB468 on medical marijuana greenhouse cultivation.

Holding the line on abortion

One of the most closely watched vetoes involved House Bill 232, a measure supporters framed as a protection for medical workers who object to participating in abortions. The bill would have enshrined in state law an employee’s right to decline participation based on a “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.” It also would have required health care facilities to provide annual written notice of that right and to let workers file complaints with the state over denied accommodations.

Ayotte vetoed it, arguing that the protection already exists at the federal level. “Federal law has long protected the religious beliefs or moral convictions of medical professionals and the right to decline to perform or assist an abortion,” she wrote in her veto message. “This federal right of conscience protects those in New Hampshire who work for abortion providers. Therefore, this bill is unnecessary and does not create any greater protections for New Hampshire medical professionals.”

The veto is consistent with a promise Ayotte made on the 2024 campaign trail and repeated in her 2025 inaugural address, when she told her own party: “If you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law: I will veto it.” Abortion has been legal in New Hampshire within the first 24 weeks of pregnancy since 2021, and lawmakers have not passed legislation changing that window. Instead, the party’s right flank has repeatedly tested the edges of the governor’s pledge with bills touching other aspects of the procedure. HB 232 was the latest test, and Ayotte’s answer was the same as before.

Book removals, tolls, and rent

Beyond abortion, Ayotte rejected a cluster of measures that had become rallying points for conservative activists and business interests alike. She vetoed a push to expand book removals in New Hampshire schools, a fight that has simmered through the entire session and that we examined in our reporting on teacher disclosure and school book removal bills. Supporters cast such measures as tools to keep material they consider obscene or harmful away from minors, while opponents warn they invite censorship and chill classroom instruction.

She also turned back a proposal to raise tolls specifically for out-of-state drivers. New Hampshire’s toll network runs heavily on tourists and commuters passing through from Massachusetts and Maine, and the idea of charging non-residents more has surfaced repeatedly as lawmakers hunt for revenue without raising costs on their own constituents. Ayotte’s veto keeps the current toll structure in place heading into the busy summer travel season.

On housing, the governor rejected a bill that would have allowed landlords to require a second security deposit from certain tenants, a measure aimed at renters with lower incomes or weaker credit histories. Housing affordability has been one of the state’s most stubborn pressure points, and critics argued the bill would have added another barrier for the very renters already struggling to find a foothold in an expensive market.

What comes next

The vetoes are unlikely to be the final word. Overriding a veto in New Hampshire requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers, a high bar that Republican leaders have struggled to clear even with their majorities. Past override attempts on divisive social legislation have fallen short, and there is little to suggest this batch will fare differently when lawmakers reconvene.

More flashpoints are already queued up. A so-called bathroom bill, House Bill 1442, which would let businesses separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams by biological sex, is heading toward Ayotte’s desk. She has vetoed similar legislation three times, and there is no public indication she intends to change course now. Her broader posture this session, defined by the reelection fights and intraparty friction we tracked in our coverage of Ayotte’s defeats of Republican bills on guns and enrollment, suggests the pattern will hold.

For New Hampshire residents, the practical effect of Thursday’s actions is that the status quo prevails on abortion conscience rules, school library policies, tolls, and rental deposits, at least for now. The political effect may prove larger. Every veto sharpens the contrast between a governor positioning herself for a general-election audience and a legislative majority eager to deliver for its base. With the November election drawing closer, that contrast is likely to define the months ahead in Concord.

How many bills has Ayotte vetoed in 2026?

Thursday's nine vetoes brought Gov. Ayotte's 2026 total to 24 so far, roughly double the number she vetoed in 2025. More bills are still moving toward her desk, so the final count is expected to climb.

Why did Ayotte veto the abortion conscience bill, HB 232?

Ayotte said federal law already protects the right of medical professionals to decline to perform or assist an abortion based on religious or moral conviction. She called the state bill unnecessary because it would not create protections beyond what federal law already provides.

What was the out-of-state toll bill?

Lawmakers advanced a measure to raise tolls specifically for drivers from outside New Hampshire, a way to generate revenue from tourists and commuters without increasing costs on residents. Ayotte vetoed it, leaving the current toll structure unchanged.

Can the Legislature override these vetoes?

Yes, but it is difficult. An override requires a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate. Republican leaders have repeatedly fallen short of that threshold on divisive social bills, and past override attempts on similar measures have failed.

What other high-profile bill is heading to Ayotte's desk?

House Bill 1442, a bathroom bill that would let businesses separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams by biological sex, is on its way to the governor. Ayotte has vetoed similar legislation three times.

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