Gov. Kelly Ayotte unveiled her policy and funding priorities this week in her draft of the state budget. Here’s what to know about her spending proposals, and other news from the State House this week.

This past week

■Ayotte is honing in on special programs for law enforcement. Her proposed budget includes millions of dollars for an anti-drug trafficking program to support overtime and resources for police. She also plans to fund former Gov. Chris Sununu’s Northern Border Alliance with $600,000. That funding provides communication assistance, gear and overtime to law enforcement near New Hampshire’s border with Canada, which Ayotte views as a deterrent to illegal immigration.

■Also in Ayotte’s budget is $33 million for retirement pensions and benefits for firefighters, nurses and law enforcement officers; an additional $32 million for special education; and $1 million to help schools implement student cellphone use policies. Now, it’s lawmakers’ turn to make their tweaks to the budget.

■The House of Representatives defeated a “right-to-work” bill on Thursday. In a 200-180 vote, 25 Republicans joined Democrats in indefinitely postponing House Bill 238, which would’ve prohibited unions from requiring employees to join or contribute to a collective bargaining agreement. This style of defeat prevents the legislation from returning in any similar form for the next two years.

■Lawmakers took action on a few other notable bills last week. The House killed an effort to ban the declawing of cats, and the Senate shot down an attempt to reallocate New Hampshire’s electoral college votes.

■In cannabis news, several bills have advanced through House committees. Lawmakers recommended the adoption of bills that have ultimately failed in the Legislature before, including one to allow home cultivation of medical cannabis. Another bill, which could annul some cannabis offenses from people’s records, was unanimously recommended by a House committee.

The week ahead

Now, here are the bills to watch for in the State House this week.

■On Tuesday, Feb. 18, starting at 10 a.m., a Senate committee will hold public hearings on two competing bills that would affect school library materials and curation policies. Democrats back Senate Bill 208, while Republicans support Senate Bill 33.

■Also on Tuesday, at 1 p.m. there will be a public hearing on House Bill 10, which would establish a parental bill of rights in New Hampshire.

■Throughout the week, the Finance Committee will hold budget work sessions with various state agencies as the Legislature embarks on its own priorities for state spending.

For a more detailed unpacking of weekly news from the State House, subscribe to my newsletter, Capital Beat. If you have questions or ideas about anything going on in the Legislature, please contact me.

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.