The House of Representatives passed its version of the next state budget on Thursday, but not without some drama.

Here’s what you need to know.

This past week

■After more than six hours of debate — and at one point tabling the budget trailer bill, which includes all the policy language that goes along with the spending — the House approved the budget with a 185-175 vote. Conservative priorities prevailed for the most part, with the House eliminating the Council on the Arts, the Office of the Child Advocate and more. Republicans banded with Democrats to save $14 million in travel and tourism advertising support and to keep the Board of Tax and Land Appeals.

■The day before the vote, Democrats rallied for a “better budget,” which proposed reversing most Republican cuts, nixing the expansion of Education Freedom Accounts and more. Their amendment failed by a wide margin, though the rally drew several hundred people to the State House in support.

■Advocates warn that cuts made to community mental health programs could mean that New Hampshire residents will face delays in accessing care. Gov. Kelly Ayotte had proposed an $18 million increase to that funding, which would have brought total spending to $58 million annually, but the House Finance Committee slashed it to $31 million per year.

The week ahead

Now that the House of Representatives has passed its budget, the process starts over in the Senate. Dozens of state agencies will begin pitching their budget requests to the Senate Finance Committee this week on Monday, Tuesday and Friday afternoons.

■On Tuesday, April 15 at 9 a.m., the Senate will hold a public hearing on House Bill 171, which establishes a moratorium on permits for new landfills. The House, Senate and Ayotte all support the idea but are still hammering out how long the moratorium would last.

■On Thursday, April 17, the Senate will meet for a session at 10 a.m. The body, controlled 16-8 by Republicans, is poised to kill cannabis legislation that passed the House. The rest of its agenda can be found on the General Court’s website.

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For more information on the budget process and other inner workings of the State House, check out our 2025 Legislative Guide.

And for a detailed unpacking of weekly news from the State House, subscribe to my newsletter, Capital Beat. Please contact me if you have questions or tips about anything going on in the Legislature.

Charlotte Matherly is the statehouse reporter for the Concord Monitor and Monadnock Ledger-Transcript in partnership with Report for America. Follow her on X at @charmatherly and send her an email at cmatherly@cmonitor.com.