There will be a legislative forum this evening, June1st, 6:30 p.m. held at Nashua High School North Auditorium. There will be four Republicans and four Democrats facing off to discuss the issues. Participants include myself, Rep. Carl Seidel, Rep. Peter Silva, and former Rep. Stephen Stepanek, Rep David Campbell, Rep Cindy Rosenwald, Senator […]
All eyes are on the Senate as they finalize the 2009-2010 budget. The final proposal will likely include gambling to fund state spending. The question is how much will spending be reduced and which tax(es) will be eliminated in their proposal. It is possible that the budget will not be resolved before […]
As the Legislature enters the final weeks we are in a time where members have to pay close attention. This is because we vote on Senate changes made to House bills. These items aren’t scheduled. They are added to the schedule with little notice of when and what will be considered. […]
The NH Legislature is considering a bill, SB5, to prohibit retailers from disclosing private customer information from sales to other states. This was filed in response to the Town Fair Tire situation in which Massachusetts wanted to collect sales tax on NH sales to Massachusetts residents. Our Attorney General quickly opposed this move […]
All eyes are on the NH Senate today when they take up a number of controversial bills. On their docket are the following bills—medical marijuana, same sex marriage, transgender rights, repeal of the death penalty, and mandatory seat belts. The same sex marriage and transgender rights bills are recommended to be killed. […]
Companies do have a choice on where they locate and we in state government need to be careful about the policies that we enact. That message was made clear last week when we heard a bill from the Senate to make changes to the definition of a post secondary career school. Last year […]
This has been a relatively quiet week in the State House. The House is holding hearings on Senate bills. We meet in session next week to address a very light calendar–only three bills on the regular calendar and a number on consent. The Education Committee, on which I serve, did hear the […]
After two very long days the NH House passed a budget which increased spending funded by new and increased taxes. The spending in the state will increase 2.9% in general fund dollars (raised and spent in NH), and 13.9% when you factor in Federal dollars. This budget fails to fund School Building Aid […]
The House was briefed on the Budget on Monday. The Chair of Finance noted that this was a very difficult budget where all must share in the pain. This is a budget which increases overall spending by 13.9%. The budget which is funded by General Fund dollars (money raised and spent in […]
This week is shaping up to be a busy one in the legislature. The House Finance Committee finished their work on the budget. On Monday the House members will receive a briefing on the details. The full House votes on the budget on Wednesday and Thursday. The budget reports and amendments […]