Here is the story, from Tom Fahey, of the Union Leader:

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Lynch launches last-minute rescue
By TOM FAHEY
State House Bureau Chief
16 hours, 11 minutes ago

CONCORD – Gov. John Lynch yesterday launched a rescue effort for a constitutional amendment on school funding.

Lynch persuaded members of the state Senate to suspend their rules so that an amendment can be introduced before the end of this month.

Lynch said shortly after a 17-7 vote in the Senate that he had spoken to Senate members about the importance of keeping a constitutional amendment alive.

Lynch has said he hopes to pass an amendment that would allow the state to more easily target aid to needy school districts at the same time it recognizes that the court has a role in school funding issues.

"I continue to believe that we need a constitutional amendment to assure the best education policy for our state and our children," Lynch said. "I'm pleased that the Senate demonstrated the courage to continue the discussion."

The Senate passed Lynch's suggested amendment earlier this year. The House Finance Committee rewrote the Senate bill, and came up with a version very much like what House Minority Leader Michael Whalley, R-Alton, wanted.

But when the proposal came to the House for a vote on Wednesday, it couldn't attract a simple majority, let alone the three-fifths majority it needed to pass.

After the 108-253 vote to kill the bill, the House voted to block the idea from coming back next year. The decision can only be overturned by a two-thirds vote of the House, although its Rules Committee could allow a bill to be introduced.

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Lynch got scant support for an amendment among his own Democratic Party. Only 109 of the 237 Democrats in the House voted to pass the bill, CACR 18.

The bill's defeat came despite calls for passage by conservative Republicans, including an editorial in the New Hampshire Union Leader.

Skeptics in the Senate yesterday said they wanted to make sure that the public has a chance to speak at a public hearing on the revised amendment.

Sen. Robert Clegg, R-Hudson, said "I'm not voting for anything that takes away the rights of my people to come up here and tell us what's wrong with the bill €¦ I like government in the sunshine."

Senate President Sylvia Larsen of Concord said she intends to hold a public hearing. The version she plans to bring forward will be much like the version the House killed, she said.

Asked what he thought went wrong in the House Wednesday, Lynch said, "Neither side was able to get together around the language of an amendment."

Speaker of the House Terie Norelli said yesterday that she knew nothing about the effort in the Senate yesterday. Lynch said he has spoken only with senators.

The amendment will have to pass by a three-fifths majority in both the House and Senate. It must pass by a two-thirds majority if it comes before voters in November 2008.