The most noticeable point of contention is revenue. Republicans decided to cut business taxes rather than supporting workforce retention and training and property tax reductions, both of which are overwhelmingly the preference of Cheshire County businesses and residents. Small businesses benefit little from the tax cuts, and nobody benefits from the lack of workforce development initiatives. The tax cuts took $22 million out of the budget for FY19 and maybe up to $200 million out of the FY21 budget. It will force the state to continue
The end of April newsletter has some upbeat notes. I find that there is much gained from the transfer of state legislation from one chamber to the next. The first chamber establishes a record upon which the second chamber can build, often resulting in clarifying or altering amendments.
This past week was crossover week, where a lot of legislation had to pass from the Senate to the House or at least be passed and tabled for future consideration, particularly bills that have some funding impact. In summary, there were some gains and more setbacks that deserve your continued attention.
Another month into the legislative session and a number of things are moving. Up this week is Senate Bill 137 relative to licensure by endorsement granted by the Board of Nursing. I proposed this bill based on the Governors Commission on Healthcare report that recommends among other things accelerated licensure of out-of-state nurses wishing to work in NH. Read more…
January may have 31 days, but the month has flown. It’s the month to finalize Senate legislation, sign-up co-sponsors, convene committees, deliver testimony, write opinion editorials, and recruit experts to testify in committee hearings. It’s also a critical time to develop a work pace that enables me to spend equal time with Cheshire County groups that inspire the case for our region
