CONCORD, N.H. — After New Hampshire lawmakers mocked one fourth grade class’s effort to name an official state raptor last month, the wily bobcat was faring better Thursday when a state Senate committee backed a plan by another group of school kids to pick an official state wildcat.

In March, an effort by Hampton Falls students to name the red-tailed hawk the official state raptor drew ridicule from members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, with one member likening the hawk’s hunting methods to abortion and others saying the bill was a waste of precious time.

The dustup over how the state names its symbols gained national attention and on Thursday led one lawmaker to ask for a committee to study the process.

New Hampshire students learn about state history in fourth grade, and it’s common for classes to put their lessons into practice by asking state lawmakers to designate new state symbols. New Hampshire boasts a state flower, bird, sport, several state poems and a plethora of other symbols. But, as the conflicting fates of the bobcat and hawk show, the process isn’t always clear cut.

“It can be a little bit fickle depending on the mood of different legislators on any given day,” Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley said.

The committee Bradley proposes would not only tackle symbols but look at how the state designates days or months to specific causes, passes legislative resolutions and names state facilities or roadways after people. For example, lawmakers often debate whether they should wait until a person has died to name something in his or her honor.

“That’s probably the biggest question that would have to be answered,” Bradley said.