TESTIMONY FOR HB 1441:
Chairperson, honorable members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today in strong support of HB 1441.
My name is Carla Gericke. I am a longtime leader in the Free State movement, president of the Foundation for New Hampshire Independence—a federally recognized 501(c)(3) focused on public education—and a key organizer with NHExit, a decentralized grassroots effort advancing peaceful, democratic exploration of New Hampshire’s sovereign options through civic engagement and legislative pathways.
Let me be very clear at the outset: HB 1441 is not about secession.
It is about preparedness.
And preparedness is not radical — it’s responsible.
Studying an option is not the same as choosing it. But refusing to study it is choosing ignorance.
Through the Free State Project and related efforts, thousands of liberty-minded people have already relocated to New Hampshire, joining hundreds of thousands of Granite Staters who value local control, low taxes, and personal freedom. NHExit builds on that civic culture by encouraging peaceful dialogue, research, and democratic participation. This bill is not a break from who we are — it is an extension of New Hampshire’s “Live Free or Die” tradition.
That tradition is embedded in our constitution. Articles 7 and 10 affirm that government exists to serve the people, and that the people retain the right to alter or reform it when it no longer does. HB 1441 honors that principle by proposing study — not action — and information before ideology.
We’ve been here before.
In 2022, CACR 32 proposed an immediate declaration of independence and was rejected as too abrupt.
In 2024, CACR 20 proposed conditional independence tied to federal debt levels and also failed.
Those measures asked for a decision.
HB 1441 asks for understanding.
As my grandmother used to say: Proper preparation prevents poor performance. It’s better to have a plan and not need it than to need one and not have it.
This commission would bring together legislators, public members, and experts to examine real-world questions: fiscal impacts, currency, interstate commerce, law enforcement, health care, energy, defense, federal entitlements, citizenship, and immigration. The goal is not to advocate an outcome — it’s to understand consequences.
In other words, HB 1441 does what responsible governments do: it stress-tests reality before ideology.
Peaceful independence is not theoretical. It has happened. Czechoslovakia separated peacefully. Singapore separated and prospered. Greenland is currently studying greater sovereignty through democratic inquiry. The common thread is preparation first, decision later.
Let me offer one concrete modern comparison: Estonia. Estonia has a population of about 1.3 million people—very close to New Hampshire’s—and regained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It faced exactly the questions this commission would study: how to create a currency, restructure health care and entitlements, establish independent courts and law enforcement, manage citizenship and immigration, defend itself geopolitically, and transition from a centralized command economy to a free-market one.
Through deliberate planning, commissions, and legal reform, Estonia emerged from economic collapse and political repression to become one of the most digitally advanced and economically free countries in the world, with low public debt and high trust in institutions. And here’s the key point: Estonia had to build sovereignty from the ashes. New Hampshire would be building it from strength. Our per-capita GDP is more than double Estonia’s, we sit next to major markets, and we already operate under a low-tax, high-freedom model. If Estonia could succeed under far harsher conditions, it is entirely reasonable to study what sovereignty could look like for New Hampshire—carefully, responsibly, and with eyes wide open.
Decentralization itself is a global trend. Two hundred years ago, there were about 50 sovereign states. Today, there are nearly 200. Smaller, more cohesive polities often govern more effectively because decisions are made closer to the people affected by them.
New Hampshire has always led. We adopted the first independent constitution in 1776. We resisted unjust rule in the Pine Tree Riot. We hold the First-in-the-Nation primary. And through the Free State Project, we’ve become the world’s first intentional community dedicated to peaceful civic concentration around liberty and self-ownership.
That culture produces results. New Hampshire ranks #1 in economic freedom nationally. We have no broad-based income or sales tax, high household incomes, and strong civic participation. If sovereignty were ever chosen, we would be starting from strength — not desperation.
Which brings me to the federal reality driving this discussion. As of this year, U.S. national debt stands at roughly $38.5 trillion, growing by billions per day. Interest costs alone are approaching $1.2 trillion annually. New Hampshire taxpayers are fiscally responsible — yet we’re locked into underwriting a system that is not.
HB 1441 does not launch a lifeboat.
It simply asks whether one should be built.
If we were designing a new society today — on Mars, for example — we would not burden it with unsustainable debt, endless regulation, or perpetual conflict. We would design for efficiency, liberty, and sustainability.
HB 1441 asks us to think like founders again — not rebels, not dreamers, but builders.
In a polarized era, refusing to plan is the real risk. Studying peaceful, democratic options is not division — it is stewardship.
I urge you to pass HB 1441 and allow New Hampshire to lead responsibly once again.
Thank you, and I’m happy to answer any questions.
