Lucius Parshall
Lucius was first elected in 2020 and currently represents District 8. This year, he has switched districts to District 16, which includes all towns in Districts 7, 8, and 9.
About Lucius
Lucius retired in 2020 from 20 years as a public school music teacher. Prior to that, he worked as an arts administrator, grant writer for New York Public Radio, and Executive Director for the Cummington Arts Colony in Massachusetts.
Rounding out his employment history, he has worked several colorful jobs, including stints as a chef, ranch hand, and in just about every aspect of the wine industry in his native upstate New York. He's often said that you don't learn anything by traveling first class.
Along the way, he has picked up various degrees and certifications, including a Bachelor of Music from Ithaca College, a Master of Business Administration from SUNY Binghamton, and teaching credentials from Keene State College.
He moved to New Hampshire over thirty years ago due to the active contra dance community. As a lifelong guitarist, he has been heavily influenced by the folk singers of the sixties, both musically and politically. While he generally eschews labels, he believes that he have earned the label “folkie”. His wife, Christine, and he moved from Keene to Marlborough in 2017, and happily became involved in the local Democratic Committee as well as other civic organizations because that is how communities work.
Lucius' work in the NH House
Municipal control
Lucius was a prime sponsor on the failed House Bill 1098 relative to municipalities’ right to deny building permits for property on Class VI roads. This was a municipal rights bill that attempted to reclaim Class Six road zoning authority from the state. There are many Class Six roads in my districts that are impassable, and the exorbitant cost to restore them is another unfunded state mandate that downshifts costs to our communities.
Composting facilities
Lucius sponsored House Bill 1282 to establish an advisory commission to DES on food waste diversion. We have no publicly accessible “hot” composting facilities in New Hampshire, so local composting service providers must take their compost to facilities in Vermont—an added expense. Again, it was deemed inexpedient to legislate.
Excessive Packaging
Lucius was a prime sponsor on House Bill 1789 relative to extended producer responsibility for the excessive packaging that is choking our waste stream. This is legislation that he has introduced every biennium, and will continue to do so. The disposal costs of so many consumer items are a hidden cost that we pay in our municipal taxes. Producers avoid this responsibility for the end disposal of their products or packaging. Many countries have found Extended Producer Responsibility legislation to be a benefit in managing their waste streams. Now even our neighboring states are turning to this solution. New Hampshire should not be the last to the table.
Electric utilities
House Bill 1741, a very smart bill required use of distributed energy resource aggregations by electric utilities. The bill aimed to better incorporate local generation into the statewide energy grid. Lowering peak demand and transmission costs were not in the interests of the Republican majority legislature or the special interests that fund their campaigns, and this bill too died
Groundwater extraction
Lucius is listed as a co-sponsor on House Bill 1141, but he is not proud of how Republicans gutted it. Originally, it would have created a moratorium on new groundwater extractions for the purpose of bottling water in plastic bottles. This bill was gutted by Republicans and rewritten into a bill relative to permitting and fee authority for mining and prospecting. I take no pride in that it was signed by the governor.
Independent redistricting
Lucius was a proud co-sponsor of House Bill 1487, for creating an independent commission to propose redistricting maps for the legislature to consider. With all the misinformation that Republicans spread about illegal aliens voting and the like, Democrats thought that we should welcome legislation that would restore the principle of one person, one vote, rather than gerrymandering the state into a spider web of districts that deny fair representation. An independent commission would have made this happen, but again, Republicans deemed this bill inexpedient to legislate.
Climate resilience
Lucius was a co-sponsor on several bills as well, including House Bill 246 directing the state conservation committee to implement the conservation district climate resilience grant program and making an appropriation therefor. It was laid on the table.