In The News

October 20. 2016

By CHUCK MORSE and JEB BRADLEY

As the presidential election draws our attention, it is easy to lose track of critical state issues, such as implementation of the Fiscal Year 2016-17 budget, first vetoed by Gov. Maggie Hassan. She called it “dishonest” and “fiscally irresponsible” before claiming it a triumph in her recent political advertising.

In the budget, there are bipartisan areas of legislative agreement including funding provided for substance abuse, mental health and services for families with disabled children.

In the midst of New Hampshire’s public health crisis where heroin- and fentanyl-related deaths continue to increase, Gov. Hassan has failed to expeditiously distribute the 75 percent increase in funding the Legislature authorized. That failure began with her budget veto that delayed funding for nearly three months and continued with her ineffective drug czar. Recent spending reports reveal $2 million out of $3 million of newly authorized funds have yet to be distributed. The governor blames bureaucratic regulations for the delay, but in the middle of a crisis where people continue to perish, such excuses are just that: excuses.

Despite the Legislature providing $8.7 million to eliminate a waiting list for families with a disabled child, $3.7 million of those funds weren’t spent in FY 16. Adding insult to injury, this waiting list has not been eliminated but instead has grown to 182 individuals. The Legislature agreed on a bipartisan basis that families with a disabled child should receive services but the governor has withheld 42 percent of the funds appropriated. She has no answer for these 182 struggling individuals and their families.

There is bipartisan legislative agreement that mental health services need to be funded starting with the New Hampshire Hospital. Yet again, $4.1 million in funding remains unspent. The opening of the 10-bed mental health crisis unit at the New Hampshire Hospital was delayed by more than a year and hasn’t been used to capacity, meaning hospital emergency rooms across the state continue to have patients waiting for treatment from facilities ill-equipped to treat their specific mental health needs. Again, no answers have been provided by Gov. Hassan, who puts all her energy into campaigning while hard-working New Hampshire citizens continue to see their needs unmet.

Gov. Hassan has mismanaged bipartisan priorities that voters agree with, while allowing department heads to propose spending increases for 2017 of $1.4 billion (12.5 percent) because of her focus on campaigning.

While new spending of $1.4 billion is a “wish list,” it will make setting budget priorities difficult for Legislators who want to meet the needs of New Hampshire citizens while also protecting New Hampshire taxpayers. Additionally, if approved, these spending increases could eventually force a sales or income tax.

A legitimate question to ask Gov. Hassan is what taxes she believes should be raised by the next Legislature to pay for her unprecedented $1.4 billion spending increase.

Her last budget proposal included $100 million in higher fees and new taxes on drivers, smokers and business owners. Who can forget her LLC Tax, an income tax on small business owners? Does she favor a new tax on capital gains? Some in her party do. We simply do not know what new or higher taxes Gov. Hassan expects the next Legislature to raise.

As we look beyond the pending election and prepare for the next legislative session, we hope to continue our work of the last six years. We have met the needs of New Hampshire voters by providing resources for substance abuse, mental health, and disabled children but also for K-12 education, higher education, environmental protection and insurance coverage for those left behind by Obamacare. We have managed these budgets without new taxes and lowered New Hampshire’s business taxes, which were third highest in the nation, and added $100 million to our Rainy Day Fund. Because of the careful fiscal management we provided, the economy has grown with more hard-working men and women finding jobs in the first half of 2016 than all of 2014 and 2015 combined.

Gov. Hassan is very good at claiming political credit for the overall budget success. Voters should remember she first vetoed the budget then mismanaged its implementation to the detriment of those struggling with addiction, mental health or disabled children. Now she has proposed $1.4 billion in new spending without a single word about what new taxes she believes should pay for it. While she is out campaigning, she is not providing the fiscal management our state needs and what taxpayers deserve.

Sen. Chuck Morse, R-Salem, is President of the New Hampshire Senate. Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, is Senate Majority Leader.

To the editor:

There are crucial differences that voters should know about between Sen. Jeb Bradley and his challenger John R. White.

Jeb has fought for lower taxes. In fact, Jeb’s legislation lowered both the business profits tax and the business enterprise tax. He realizes that if businesses in New Hampshire are going to continue to hire people we can’t have the 48th worst corporate tax structure in America.

On the other hand, Mr. White supports an income tax that would lead to ever-growing government and higher and higher taxes. And an income tax would undermine one of our key advantages.

Jeb has worked to get our budget under control. Remember, several years ago when we faced an $800 million deficit. As majority leader in the state Senate, Jeb made tough budget choices, working to eliminate this deficit.

Today, revenues are up, and there is a budget surplus that has deposited $100 million into the rainy-day fund — all while meeting the state’s needs, like more funds for substance abuse.

John R. White advocates for more spending which leads back to higher taxes.

I’ll take Jeb Bradley, thank you.

Sylvia Manley

Freedom

By DAVE SOLOMON
State House Bureau

CONCORD — Lawmakers are preparing an emergency farm bill that could direct between $3 million and $4 million toward rescuing the state’s faltering dairy industry.

If all goes according to plan the measure will be voted on when the Legislature convenes for Organization Day on Dec. 7, an indication of the urgency surrounding the crisis, which has already seen the state lose 19 of its 120 wholesale dairy farms in the past eight months.

“We obviously have an emergency situation, and we have a time crunch,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro. “Normally legislation would not move even in an emergency situation until the first couple weeks of January. If all the stars are aligned in the right direction and everything falls into place, it could be done on Dec. 7.”

State Rep. Robert Haefner, R-Hudson, chair of the Environment and Agriculture committee, assured the dairy farmers and others who came to testify on the relief measure at a hearing in Concord on Monday that the governor, Senate president and Speaker of the House are all on board.

Preventing the collapse of the dairy industry in the state is something that should concern everyone, said Haefner, describing the economic impact of wholesale dairy farming and its role in preserving open space in New Hampshire.

“If we lose a significant portion of our dairy industry, we lose the infrastructure that supports it,” he said. “If we start losing tractor dealers, fertilizer dealers, it not only affects the dairy farm, but every vegetable and fruit farmer in the state that needs the infrastructure that’s here to support dairy. And that’s a big concern.”

The dairy industry generates more than $200 million in economic activity statewide and is critical to the preservation of open space and the rural economy in New Hampshire, according to Bob Wellington, a vice president and economist with the Agri-Mark Dairy Cooperative, which counts half the state’s dairy farmers among its members.

Those dairy farmers lost a collective $7 million in 2015 and are on track to lose $10 million in 2016, according to Wellington.

The problem started as wholesale milk prices began to decline in 2015, and was made worse by the prolonged drought of 2016, which left dairy farmers with little or no home-grown feed for the winter and no money to buy food for their livestock as the cold weather draws near.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture changed its system of price supports to an optional insurance program that proved to be of little value to New Hampshire farmers.

“Many of our New Hampshire member farms are multi-generational and have been farming the land since the beginning of this nation,” Wellington said. “They are in great need of immediate financial assistance to keep alive that tradition as well as the many economic benefits and local food security they provide.”

Pittsfield dairy farmer Tom Marston presented a petition with 785 signatures, urging lawmakers to “take bold and immediate action on behalf of the state of New Hampshire’s threatened dairy farmers, whom we recognize as a vital part of our economy.”

Bradley had hoped to leave Monday’s meeting of the Milk Producers Emergency Relief Fund with a number he could bring to Legislative leaders so that a public hearing could be scheduled in October or early November for a bill to be voted on by early December.

– See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/business/States-dairy-farmers-in-line-for-emergency-bailout-10032016#sthash.OETaUbA0.dpuf

By DAVE SOLOMON

IN WHAT MAY BE a sign of more perilous economic times ahead, states across the country are reporting declines in tax revenues, but not New Hampshire, which led the nation in revenue gains in the second quarter (April through June), according to a 50-state analysis published last week in The Hill.

Not surprisingly, the biggest declines were in energy-producing states, given the collapse in oil and gasoline prices.

But non-energy producing states also experienced dips, the Hill reported. Maine had a 15-percent revenue decline, while Illinois’s receipts dropped almost 11 percent.

There were 20 states reporting increased tax revenues, led by New Hampshire at 14 percent over the same quarter last year.

While The Hill cited tax cuts enacted last year in many states as the cause of the declines, business tax cuts in New Hampshire appear to have had the opposite effect, according to Republican leaders in the House and Senate.

“I am proud to see our state leading the way in revenue growth nationwide, bringing in more than $100 million in surplus funds this year, due in part to the first round of reductions to the business profits and business enterprise tax,” said Republican Majority Leader Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro.

But Democratic State Sen. Dan Feltes says it makes no sense to attribute revenue growth in the second quarter to tax cuts that have only been in place since July.

“We were seventh best in the nation in our overall business tax climate the year prior to the business tax cuts, and we are currently seventh best in the nation this year, as ranked by the Tax Foundation,” he said. “These tax cuts were only in effect for a brief period of time, so the notion that they resulted in the increased revenue is false.”

Feltes says the Republican majority was too conservative in its revenue estimates, and that Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee pushed for a number closer to the reality the state is now experiencing, but did not prevail.

He said a bill will be introduced in the upcoming session to create the non-partisan office of Revenue Estimator, to keep the process from being politicized by either party.

The economic activity that is generating so much tax revenue has little to do with the incremental decreases in business profits and payroll taxes, according to Feltes, who credits the state’s private sector.

“Our business sector is working hard, generating economic activity,” he said. “A lot of credit goes to the private sector, our workers and our businesses. Some folks are inclined to take credit where it may not necessarily be due.” – See more at: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20161002/NEWS0604/160939900&template=mobileart#sthash.mnRUjEvd.dpuf

Sep 30, 2016 10:40 AM

CONCORD (AP) — Gun owners in New Hampshire will still need a permit to carry concealed weapons after the state Senate failed to override Gov. Maggie Hassan’s veto of a bill that would have removed the licensing requirement.

New Hampshire Public Radio reports Thursday’s veto override attempt fell short by three votes.

Sen. Jeb Bradley, the Republican majority leader, says he’s disappointed in the failed override. He says the bill was an important step in protecting gun owners’ constitutional rights.

But Democratic Sen. David Watters says there’s no reason to make changes to the state’s concealed carry law. He says the state is continually rated one of the safest in the country and the law has served the state well for close to a century.

PORTSMOUTH – Of the 81 House and Senate members that Seacoast Sunday has followed since January, 13 legislators – seven Republicans and six Democrats – have achieved perfect voting percentages on roll calls throughout this year’s session. Another 32 legislators – 16 Republicans and 16 Democrats – attained voting records of 90 percent or better. Five members, three Republicans and two Democrats, missed more than half the roll call votes taken during the six-month session.

In the House, 234 roll call votes were taken during 16 legislative meeting days. In the Senate, 143 roll calls were tabulated during 18 meeting days. Both bodies met extensively during the first six months of this year, holding hundreds of public hearings and committee debates on bills, as well as taking floor action and roll call votes.

For this report, if a legislator voted on all roll calls, he or she has a 100 percent rating. The number of missed votes is given for those not receiving a perfect rating. “Excused” means the member notified the House or Senate leadership that they could not attend due to important business or illness. “Not excused” means the member did not make that notification, and missed a vote. In some cases, a legislator may have avoided a vote due to a potential conflict of interest on a bill.

Information is also provided for those legislators running for re-election or for election to another office. This information is based on filing information by the Office of Secretary of State, and may change since political parties may add candidates in September, and write-in candidacies are possible.

State senators

100 percent: Of state Senators followed by seacoastonline, Sens. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro; Sam Cataldo, R-Farmington; Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth; and David Watters, D-Dover answered all 143 roll call votes for perfect percentages. Bradley, Fuller Clark, and Watters are running for reelection. Cataldo is running for Executive Council, District 2.

By Monitor staff – July 2, 2016

State energy regulators approved the sale of Eversource Energy power plants Friday, including Merrimack Station in Bow.

The nine hydro facilities and three fossil-fuel plants, including coal-fired Merrimack Station, Newington Station and Schiller Station in Portsmouth will be sold at auction overseen by the state Public Utilities Commission. New ownership is expected to save customers money by creating a more competitive market to generate power.

“Divestiture and securitization should have overall positive impacts on all customer classes – residential, small commercial and large commercial,” the PUC wrote in its order approving the agreement.

PUC commissioners ultimately determined the deal was in the public’s interest, and estimated $165 million in saving during the first five years.

However, the deal also allows Eversource to recover $415 million from customers of the cost to install a mercury scrubber at Merrimack Station. Eversource agreed to forgo $25 million of the scrubber’s cost, which the PUC found “reasonable.”

Eversource would eventually purchase power on the competitive market, in line with the practices of other utilities in the state.

“This means New Hampshire has finally completed the restructuring of our electric market,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley and Sen. Dan Feltes in a statement. Both senators participated in the settlement and said they were gratified by its approval.

“The settlement should lead to lower rates which will improve N.H.’s economy,” the senators said.

The energy savings projections were calculated on the power plants being sold by the end of 2016.

Eversource has been preparing to sell the plants. In November of last year, the utility used drones to shoot marketing video of the plants from above.

It’s not clear what Merrimack Station would fetch in an auction. The settlement would provide for three years of property tax stabilization for Bow if the plant sells for less than its assessed value.

Gov. Maggie Hassan applauded the agreement, saying it reduces costs to ratepayers and avoids costly litigation.

By Julie Huss [email protected] – Jun 26, 2016

LONDONDERRY — Legislators offered a look at the state’s business Friday, including what’s coming up in the next year and what issues are at the top of the Statehouse’s agenda.

The Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual legislative breakfast forum at Londonderry Country Club.

State legislators representing towns across Southern New Hampshire — along with business leaders and town officials  — joined together to hear updates from a panel of fellow lawmakers.

They included Rep. Gene Chandler, R-Bartlett; Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro; Sen. Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead; and Rep. Robert Introne, R-Londonderry.

Chamber President Will Stewart said although the organization remains nonpartisan on state legislation and issues, it’s important to hear from lawmakers in Concord to receive updates on business and bills that affect the area.

“We are nonpartisan but we do like to hold political events to give the business community a chance to interact with legislators,” Stewart said.

Stewart noted that this year was the first time the Chamber became involved in legislative policy, saying the organization may take a position on a business-related issue or bill.

Stewart introduced the panel of speakers and said the group has a lot of experience and knowledge while working on state committees dealing with energy, transportation and technology.

Bradley, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the big issues so far this year fall into into two categories — heroin and “everything else.”

That “everything else,” Bradley noted, includes work on the state’s energy concerns and finding new resources to handle New Hampshire’s  power needs.