NH House Budget Panned, Praised

Caption: A “die-in” staged at the Statehouse protesting limited funds available for addiction services in the fiscal 2016-2017 budget. Credit: Brian Blackden

One side says the budget spends and taxes too much; the other side says the budget doesn’t spend enough and vulnerable citizens will not be protected. One plan proposes a $950 million spending increase; another plan proposes nearly $700 million in new spending.

Wherever you fall on the political spectrum of the four-part New Hampshire budgeting process, one things is for sure: Halfway in, no one is happy, and everyone is throwing around all kinds of political hyperbole to rally their troops.

The nearly $11.2 billion House Finance Committee budget was approved along party lines on April 1, 2015, with a few Republicans voting against it but ultimately. The budget bills passed by majority roll call vote, 212-161 (HB1) and 194-179 (HB2), according to the House.

Here is some of the reaction to the vote:

House Speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson: “I was confident from the first day that I became speaker that Republicans would coalesce and come together on the important issues and today is a good example of that. When it came to issues that matter the most to Republicans and their constituents we were able to work together and successfully come up with a budget that we can now send over to the Senate. In the 11 budgets that I have voted on during my time in the legislature I have never seen one that is perfect and today’s budget is no different. We look forward to what the Senate now does with this budget and will be ready to work with them during the committees of conference.”

Granite State Progress Executive Director Zandra Rice Hawkins panned the plan saying it was “foolhardy and shortsighted” and pitted “important state priorities against one another rather than making real investments in our community, our infrastructure, and our people.”

The New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute, a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that has historically advocated for more taxes and spending, offered similar comments.

Executive Director Jeff McLynch said that the pitting of departments was attempting to achieve a misguided sense of balance. He added that the state’s revenue system hadn’t recovered since the Great Recession and this budget relied on “short-term fixes” instead of “exploring modest, sensible options to increase available revenue.”

“We do not have to choose among a safe transportation system, affordable higher education, and vital human services,” he said. “If the state is to attract new residents and new businesses and do right by those that are already here, then we need to invest in a strong, healthy New Hampshire that offers a high quality of life for everyone.”

New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Horn said Republicans deserved credit for “crafting a responsible budget that funds core services, lives within our means and doesn’t raise taxes on working families,” while adding that the plan relied on realistic revenue estimates.

“For the second straight budget cycle, Gov. Hassan has presented a flawed and unworkable proposal that increases state spending by $1 billion and crushes small businesses with painful tax increases,” she said. “Hassan continues to prove that she is unable to provide fiscal leadership for our state and incapable of balancing the state budget. Without any leadership coming from the corner office, House and Senate Republicans are solely responsible for preserving New Hampshire’s fiscal integrity.”

Richard Gulla, the president of SEA/SEIU Local 1984, stated that there was nothing funny about the April Fools’ budget.

“When I was a child growing up in NH, the state leaders were fiscally conservative and responsible,” he said. “The legislature was primarily Republican and when need be, they would find ways to raise revenue for items our state’s citizens needed and there was a good balance between revenue and spending. That is no longer the case.”

While today’s vote was gravely disappointing, the statement added, we now look to the state Senate to prepare a budget that is frugal yet reasonable and responsible.

House leaders, however, disagreed.

Majority Leader Jack Flanagan said the committee “did a tremendous job working through the intricacies of state government to identify what we could afford with the revenues we have. In the end we have a fiscally responsible budget that will ensure state government continues to meet the needs of our population, and provide services to those most in need,” adding that House Republicans stood united in support of core principals.

The House Republican Majority Caucus, the group that didn’t support Jasper for the speakership, stated that many of its members supported the budget because of its promise of no new taxes and fiscal responsibility.

“We recommend this budget, which does not include Medicaid expansion and other unfunded, big government programs pushed by the Democrats,” the statement said. “We are pleased that the senate will have a good foundation for their work. We restored most of the stabilization aid to the school districts and assured it was evenly applied to all cities and towns; we came within a percentage point or two of fully funding the adequacy aid for our local schools.”

State Rep. Stephen Stepanek, R-Amherst, added, Despite the rhetoric, Meals on Wheels is fully funded; the Department of Transportation is fully funded so if we experience a winter such as the last, we are assured our roads will be plowed and sanded. It is up to Gov. Hassan and the commissioner to prioritize those programs like Meals on Wheels, which help our most vulnerable and needy. It has been reported that the governor has again called this budget an irresponsible, draconian budget which is the same rhetoric that she used to describe the Senate Republican budget last time. I’m sure, as she discovered last term, she will discover again that this is a responsible budget and will again embrace this budget as she embraced the one last term as a responsible, bi-partisan budget.”

Gov. Maggie Hassan called the proposal “wildly irresponsible” but added that it was still early in the process and she hoped that the two sides would get together and work on a budget the same way they had done two years ago.

State Senate President Chuck Morse, R-Salem, commend the House for “working together” on their budget and added that Senate leaders were looking forward to beginning its process.

“The Senate has always crafted a budget that works hard to protect the state’s taxpayers and our most vulnerable citizens,” said Finance Chairwoman Jeanie Forrester, R-Meredith. “While we will continue to focus on those priorities in the next budget, we will also work to re-establish the state’s rainy day fund and reduce business taxes.”

Senate Democrats blasted the budget as one developed by “the Koch Brothers” and “extremist Bill O’Brien wing of the Republican Party.” They will hold a press conference on Thursday.