Weekly Legislative Action Alert

From Jackie Cilley 3-28-2011

I know that it is an upside down world when my VERY conservative son (I have some of each) says to me
“WTF” in response to the tax cuts that the current occupants of our legislature are making. And, my son
is a New Hampshire business owner!

You’d think he would be jumping for joy, but he’s not. He’s looking at the mess that is being created and
shaking his head and asking (just like the rest of us who might not be quite so conservative) how one
moves this state forward, preserves its quality of life and still manages to give away tax breaks when
there is a yawning budget hole.

He says it’s just plain bad fiscal management. I wish it were that simple. If one looks at the entirety of the
budget (discussed in more detail below), it appears to go beyond poor fiscal judgment and go right down
the road of damaging ideology supplemented by callous disregard for the pain and suffering of our fellow
citizens with just a dash of spite and vindictiveness.

The good news in all of this? My son and I have actually found a point of political convergence, a place of
agreement. This was one of the first discussions we’ve had of late that ended without my exhibiting
serious exasperation as I told him I loved him through clenched teeth. (On my good days I prefer to think
he says some of the things that he does to keep me on my game and see if I can win the debate!)

The only real show under the Big Top (aka Statehouse Dome) for the upcoming week is the budget. The
House has scheduled only a few bills in its Ways and Means Committee. The House Finance Committee
will publicly present the budget on Tuesday, March 29 at 9:30 a.m. as a briefing to all legislators (this way
they can have some clue as to what they will be voting on come Thursday, March 31).

The focus of this Legislative Action Alert, therefore, is principally on the impacts of the proposed budget
by the House. Following that discussion is an overview of a selection of bills before the Senate.

As usual the House and Senate calendar listings of committee hearings follows the narrative. One unique
item in this Alert is the list of 143 bills retained in House committees included following the calendars. I’ve
been unable to determine whether this is a record number of retained bills, but folks with whom I’ve
spoken believe that is an unusually long list. Suggested reasons include too many bills not being
appropriately crafted, bills that the majority plans to bring back out at a more favorable time, bills that folks
didn’t want to be on the record as voting against, and, of course, bills that need and will receive more
committee work. Whatever the reason for their being retained, there are many on the list that bear
watching.

Legislative Sturm und Drang

If the 18th century German movement of Sturm und Drang was a protest against rational congruity and
objectivity, then a similarly apt label for the 2011 legislature might be Taifun und Wahnsinn. There seems
to be little rationality for many of the things that were done in the dead of night or even in the light of day
following that. Before we get to what they actually DID, it is interesting to note HOW they did it.

The House Finance Committee completed its work, with the exception of the final voting, on the biennial
budget and trailer bill on Tuesday, March 22. The activity of the Committee went well into the evening as
some 57 amendments totaling 148 pages were added to the bill. The majority of these amendments had
not been introduced previously, so this was the first time that members of the Committee had an
opportunity to review them. Despite the fact that some amendments were several pages long, members
were restricted to a few minutes to review each as well to the number of questions each was allowed and
then were asked to just vote on each amendment. Consequently, due to the lack of scrutiny and inquiry,
a number of these amendments are highly suspect.
For example, one amendment would drop the salary of each county’s Register of Probate from what it is
currently to $100 per year (yes, you read that correctly). So imagine that you are the Register of Probate
for Hillsborough County, one of the busiest probate courts in the state. You’re doing a full time job for a
full-time salary of roughly $77,800 per year. You ran for the position and were elected to it. Suddenly,
the NH Legislature decides that you still have all the responsibilities of the job for one-tenth of one percent
of what you thought you were going to make.

Now I know there are silly folks willing to work for $100 per year (gosh, I was one of them), but they
generally know the compensation when they step up to the position. Want to guess how many of our
current probate registers we will have left when they take that kind of clipping to their take-home pay? It’s
something of a mystery as to why the House Finance Committee didn’t simply eliminate the positions
wholesale. Well, there is that little constitutional issue of these being elected positions and we already
know what ardent constitutionalists the folks running the show are. So, apparently it is not a violation of
the constitution if you simply reduce the funding so low that no person can actually do the job for that
amount and voila! – GONE! No thorny constitutional issues there.

Slashing the salaries of current probate registers is only one of a number of amendments that just might
bring a lawsuit against this legislature. In fact, it is beginning to appear that this body is going for a record
number of lawsuits. But, you’ve got to hand it to these guys. Like boy scouts, they seem to prepare for
every eventuality. Their answer to the possibility of legal action – once again, take the money away. For
example, another amendment to HB 2 prohibits the Department of Justice from expending any funds
appropriated from the biennium ending June 30, 2013 for the purpose of legal action against the
General Court. (Sadly, yes, you read that right, too.)

On the positive side, no amendments were found prohibiting lawsuits against each and every one of
those who are wrecking our body of laws, shredding our constitution, destroying our fabric of life, and
abandoning every thread of decency that once made our state great. Just a thought for some really
enterprising lawyer out there.

Once the House Finance Committee concluded working their magic with the budget bills, they rested for
36 or so hours. When they returned on Thursday, March 24 for a final vote on the now official
amendments as well as the budget bill as a whole, the Committee was surprised to find some 500-600
folks (comprised of firefighters, police officers, state employees, retired teachers, social service workers,
private citizens, and parents as well as grandparents) come to watch the executive session. Not
surprisingly, the room could not contain this large a group. The Chair of the Committee placed a phone
call to the House Speaker’s office requesting that the meeting be moved to Representative’s Hall, a
sufficiently adequate venue that it would have accommodated everyone in attendance. In an
unwarranted display of obstinacy, the Speaker refused to move the meeting.

In response to a final attempt by a group of citizens to encourage the Speaker to move the meeting so
that the public could observe and hear the proceedings, Speaker O’Brien barricaded himself in his office
and called the Fire Marshall to clear the building. Although that failed to happen, only a fraction of the
citizens who came to watch their government in action were able to see or hear what occurred. Those in
the room were treated to the Finance Chair yelling “Shut up! Get Out!” several times. Those who couldn’t
make their way into a sardine-style packed, hot room stood in equally congested and steamy conditions in
hallways and down stairwells.

The Speaker was last seen being escorted from the back door of the Statehouse by a big, strong state
trooper – a public employee whose rights were being jeopardized just moments before.

Late Breaking News: Given this discussion of process, an email arrived this evening
that sheds some further light into how the budget process is being handled. Among
other issues, leadership discusses how they expect the floor debate over the budget to
go (translate this into this is what they want or else).
There will be a Democrat-sponsored floor amendment to strip the Kurk Amendment from House
Bill 2. The Majority Office understands that this is a controversial issue that has affected many of
you personally. Therefore, we will be allowing this to be a vote of conscious [sic]. However,
Republican leadership will be voting against all floor amendments.

Just to be very clear here. Leadership will allow one and only one vote of conscience (or one vote for
constituents whichever the case may be) on only one subject (collective bargaining). Can we infer from
this that the remainder of the votes better be unconscionable?? Seems to be where they are headed.

Using a Scalpel?? to Fix the Budget

When they were mere candidates for office, our new legislators’ favorite refrain was that they would use a
scalpel to address the budget. That scalpel is beginning to look an awful lot like a machete at the
moment.

At 862 pages, the budget for the entire operation of state government is not an easily
digestible document. But little by little, as the numbers are combed over a picture is
beginning to emerge. As former District 4 Senator Kathy Sgambatti notes in a recent
editorial:

The state budget is the closest thing New Hampshire has to a state plan. It sets priorities and
funds the needs of our citizenry. The only thing that can be discerned from this plan is that New
Hampshire intends to grow the income disparity in the state, leave its children in need wanting,
abandon its most vulnerable adults, increase its health care costs while decreasing coverage, and
compromise our children’s education.
Many citizens will suffer greatly over the next two years. The larger problem is that this budget
guarantees the need for greater state expenditures in the future. It will ensure that for years to
come, people will be in jail who could have been productive, families will breakup for the lack of
support, the cycles of poverty and abuse will grow, our workforce will be less qualified and our
environment and our safety will be compromised. The best predictor of income is a high school
diploma. The best predictor of abuse and neglect is poverty. The best measure of a government is
its adherence to principles of simple human decency.
Principles of Simple Human Decency?
The following are just a select few of the rather inhuman impacts that will result from the proposed House
budget:

· 800 children will no longer have healthcare coverage under Healthy Kids. Healthy Kids will be
dismantled. Costs for those children transferred to Medicaid services are likely to rise. See “Testimony of
Deborah Fournier” at NH Fiscal Policy Institute at http://www.nhfpi.org/research/state-budget/testimony-
on-hb1-and-the-proposed-closure-of-nh-healthy-kids.html
· 3,400 children diagnosed with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED) will be eliminated from the
mental health system. Their needs will not disappear. Rather, the costs for serving these children will
shift to family members, special education and local school budgets, hospital emergency departments
and inpatient units and law enforcement.
· 3,540 adults with Severe Mental Disability, including those diagnosed with severe mental illness or
severe and persistent mental illness, will be eliminated from the mental health system. Their needs will
not disappear. Suicides among this group will increase, the danger to others will increase and contact
with law enforcement will increase. Costs will shift to family members, hospital emergency departments,
hospital inpatient units, and law enforcement.
· 700 adults whose mental illness is currently under control, who are low utilizers of the system, but
who could become more severely ill, will be eliminated from the mental health system. Their needs will
not disappear. Folks currently leading productive lives with a small helping hand will be at risk for relapse
and when that occurs, more costly, restrictive care.
· A waiting list will be created for those who are eligible for care, but for whom the community-based
system does not have the resources to provide care. Their needs will not disappear. The burden for care
will shift to family members, primary care physicians, school systems and local hospitals. Risks of
harming themselves or others in the community will increase.
For a comprehensive overview of the impacts on people with mental illness, please see the “Mental
Health Impact Statement” issued by the NH Community Behavioral Health Association at
http://www.nhcbha.org/downloads/REPORT2011-03-NHBudgetProposal-
MentalHealthImpactStatement.pdf

Justice and Safety – Not So Much

There are a number of budget items that will affect the safety of New Hampshire citizens or impact their
ability to access timely justice, or any at all.

A select list in this regard includes the following fall-out of the proposed House budget.

· Eliminates the Consumer Protection Bureau

· Reduces support for Victims of Domestic Violence
· Cuts drug and alcohol treatment for 25,000 people
· Eliminates program for Children in Need of Services (CHINS)
· Closes NH State Prison in Berlin
· 100 court employees to be laid off
· Limits judicial appointments to 2011 levels

Education – The Less the Better

If they can’t just outright dismantle those government run schools, they can sure try to starve them! At
least this crew is intellectually honest (well, that is now that they are in power they are being intellectually
honest – nobody seems to remember them saying these things on the campaign trail!).

For example, Rep. Kyle Tasker, r, Northwood clearly has a plan to get teachers to transfer to private
schools or at least to volunteer their time and skills to teaching our children (anyone out there recall the
days of teachers working for a roof over their head and a meal??) In response to a constituent’s
questions about “attacks on teachers” by this legislature, Rep. Tasker explained “We would prefer
teachers get jobs at private schools where they would negotiate their own contracts and make
more money than the state can afford to pay them….they should consider the joys of serving their
community as compensation for any pay or benefit cuts they may receive.” (Yes, once again you
have read that correctly.)

The following are just a few ways that our Aldermen of Dullardsville would accomplish the de-education of
our young through a budget that:

· Slashes dropout prevention and vocational technical programs

· Eliminates grants to schools & local community organizations through State Arts Development
impacting 363,00 students
· Slashes funding for the University System and Community College
· Reduces special education programs to the lowest allowable legal level
· Robs money from NH Excellence in Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund to fund state
government’s obligations. This fund is wholly privately funded and no state monies go into it. RSA 6:38
states: There is hereby established in the office of the treasurer the NH excellence in higher education
endowment trust fund which shall be kept distinct and separate from all other funds. These monies were
intended to be used for scholarships for our students. This does not belong to the state.

And, that’s just for starters before they get their constitutional amendment that will allow them to
completely walk away from any responsibility for funding education in our state!

Anything Else?
Unfortunately, yes. The list of damage goes on almost endlessly.
· Just in case a stand-alone bill doesn’t do the trick, the repeal of the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative was also put into the budget and any monies currently in the fund are transferred to the General
Fund.
· Repeals catastrophic aid program
· Suspends catastrophic aid payments to hospitals (this actually constitutes an approximate $160
million tax on hospitals as they already pay it to leverage federal monies and combined these funds
defray uncompensated care)
· Eliminates Service Link, a program that coordinates care for thousands of elderly New Hampshire
citizens
· Repeals prevention programs for juveniles and ends incentive grants for such programs
· Suspends funding for the developmental disabilities waitlists
· Suspends funding for foreign tourist promotion (this may not be a problem because by the time these
folks get done with their destruction it is unlikely that visitors will want to come here anyway)
· Suspends reimbursements for Foster Grandparent program
· Eliminates the Division of Safety Services within the Department of Safety
· Suspends funding for Alzheimer Disease and Related Disorders program

And, that’s still only a partial list. BUT,

They did manage to create a special legislative account to hold a $3

million slush fund! Gotta love it!
Just so this doesn’t appear all one-sided, there are some groups who benefit from this budget. The
following is a partial list:

· Charter schools will receive a larger grant than that apportioned for adequacy.
· Cigarette smokers will get a 10 cent per pack break
· If you’re getting married your license will cost you about $5 bucks less (but a divorce – if you are
allowed to get one – won’t be any cheaper)
· Vehicle registrations will be about $35 less but that will be offset by increased car repairs from driving
on further distressed roads (and it will be a whole lot more if a bridge collapses and you end up fishing
your vehicle out of the drink)
· Filing fees for condominium and land sales full disclosure act charges would go down
· If you’re looking for a license to sell animals or birds customarily used as household pets (do we use
them for anything else??) you will soon be getting a bargain price
· If you’re in a partnership, sole proprietorship or S-Corp you’re about to get a bonanza in being able to
declare pretty much any amount of money as reasonable compensation because the Department of
Revenue Administration won’t be able to prove otherwise in any case
· If you’re into finfishing in coastal or estuarian waters your license would cost less
· If you eat out or sleep out you will pay less in rooms and meals taxes (but by the time you pay your
higher property taxes from all the things the state will no longer cover, that might not be possible anyway)
· Getting a copy of your birth certificate will cost you about $3 less – but, if you’re like me you might not
want to know how long you have lived to see the day that our state was taken over!
· If you own a business, you may be paying less in business profits taxes (but then you probably won’t
have as many customers given the destruction of the middle class so that might not be much of a bonus).
Also, the fact that any out-of-state advertising will be eliminated along with the position of economic
development director in the Department of Resources and Economic Development is likely to lead to
fewer shoppers up our way.

I just hope that my VERY conservative son, who I mentioned at the outset of this tome has read this far. I
suspect we’ll find another moment of the meeting of the minds that this goes a tad beyond fiscal
absurdity!

Oh Yes, The Senate – I Almost Forgot

While the Senate is taking up about forty-eight House bills this week, the majority are low profile and often
technical or housekeeping in nature.

The Senate will take up two House bills that are in some respects contradictory to one another. One, HB
218, would repeal the New Hampshire Rail Transit Authority and the other, HB 72-FN-A would establish a
state aeronautical fund. On the surface, at least, it would appear that the House has voted in favor of
supporting air transportation while voting against consideration of rail transportation.

Of the two bills, HB 218 repealing the NHRTA, has been a controversial bill from the moment it was
introduced. Opposed by such noteworthies as the Republican Mayor of Nashua, Donnalee Louzeau as
well as the Nashua and Manchester Chambers of Commerce, opponents of the repeal note that the
NHRTA is comprised of volunteers who are conducting a study of passenger and freight rail
transportation through a grant that the Authority received. They maintain that this has not cost the state
any money and that the remainder of the grant is being jeopardized under HB 218. Supporters of the bill
contend that they do not believe rail transportation is economically viable and deserves no further study.

HB 218 became considerably more high profile when media reports surfaced of the House leadership
allegedly violating the Committee process. On the day of the House Transportation Committee vote,
Speaker Bill O’Brien entered the committee room, asked the Democrats on the committee to leave and
spent some 30 minutes in a caucus with the remaining members. When the committee reconvened, five
members of leadership had taken one-day seats in order to vote on the recommendation for the bill which
was then recommended for passage. The subsequent House vote was 190 – 119 in favor of repealing
the NHRTA.

This bill will be heard by the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday, March 31 at 11 a.m. in Rm.
103 of the LOB (Legislative Office Building).

By comparison, HB 72-FN-A establishing a state aeronautical fund found easy support both among the
House Transportation Committee as well as the House as a whole. This bill passed on a voice vote by
the chamber. It will be taken up by the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday, March 31at 9
a.m. in Rm. 103 of the LOB.

Obtaining a copy of your birth certificate will cost a bit less if HB 36 passes the Senate. The current cost
of the first copy is $15 and each additional copy $10. Of those amounts, the town clerk retains $4 for
issuing the first copy and $3 for each subsequent copy. The Secretary of State’s office conducts the
searches of vital records for the requests and issues original copies. HB 36 is one of a number of bills
that seek to roll back any increases in fees for services provided by state agencies and departments that
were instituted in the previous budget cycle. The Secretary of State concludes that the results of this bill
will be a decrease in state revenues by $350,000. HB 36 will be heard by the Senate Ways and Means
Committee on Tuesday, March 29 at 1:15 p.m. in Rm. 100, SH (Statehouse).

A bill that garnered a huge outcry from state retirees of the NH Retirement System, HB 231, has arrived in
the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee in an amended form. As originally
written, this legislation would have required substantial increases in a state retiree’s contribution to their
medical subsidy – in some cases ranging upwards of half that retiree’s pension. As amended, the House
eliminated any language specifying a contribution by a state retiree. That change was in response to
testimony before the committee that charging retirees a portion of their medical benefit was a breach of
contract that was a condition of their retirement. However, the amended bill does specify a limitation of
funding to $27.5 million which includes the costs of administration of the benefit. Opponents of this bill
argue that this limitation is likely to result in underfunding for this benefit.

Jackie Cilley
8 Oak Hill Road
Barrington, NH 03825
(603) 664-5597
 HOUSE COMMITTEE MEETINGS
MONDAY, MARCH 28
HOUSE LEGISLATIVE FACILITIES SUBCOMMITTEE (RSA 17-E:2), Room 100,
State House.
9:00 a.m. Regular meeting.

JOINT LEGISLATIVE FACILITIES (RSA 17-E:2), Room 100, State House

9:15 a.m. Regular meeting.

OIL FUND DISBURSEMENT (RSA 146-D:4), Room 305, LOB

9:00 a.m. Regular meeting.
TUESDAY, MARCH 29
STATE RETIREE HEALTH PLAN COMMISSION (RSA 100-A:56), Room 306, LOB
1:00 p.m. Organizational meeting.

WAYS AND MEANS, Room 202, LOB

1:30 p.m. SB 35-FN-A, relative to exemption from the definition of utility property for
purposes of the utility property tax.
2:00 p.m. SB 130-FN-A, repealing the tax on gambling winnings.
2:30 p.m. SB 168-FN, conforming the interest and dividends tax to federal tax
definitions.
Executive session may follow.
MONDAY, APRIL 4
BOARD OF MANUFACTURED HOUSING (RSA 205-A:25), Room 201, LOB
1:00 p.m. Regular meeting.

INTERBRANCH CRIMINAL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE COUNCIL (RSA 651-E),

Administrative Office of the Courts, 2 Charles Doe Drive, Concord
1:00 p.m. Regular meeting.

PERFORMANCE AUDIT AND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE (RSA 17-N:1), Room 212,

LOB
1:00 p.m. Organizational meeting and regular business.

TASK FORCE ON WORK AND FAMILY (RSA 276-F:1), Room 206, LOB
1:15 p.m. Organizational meeting.
TUESDAY, APRIL 5
RESOURCES, RECREATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Room 305, LOB
10:30 a.m. SB 85, naming a bay in the town of Meredith Johnson Bay.
11:00 a.m. SB 47, extending the commission to study water infrastructure
sustainability funding.
11:30 a.m. SB 106, naming the visitor center at Jericho Mountain state park for Robert
Danderson.
1:00 p.m. SB 105, exempting highway trail crossing from evaluation requirements for
certain all terrain and trail bike trails.
1:45 p.m. SB 32, relative to water withdrawals for snow making.
2:30 p.m. SB 21, relative to exemptions from excavating and drainage permits.
Executive session may follow.
TRANSPORTATION, Room 203, LOB
10:00 a.m. SB 26, establishing a committee to study the classification of motor
vehicles.
10:20 a.m. SB 29, relative to the definition of “moped” and relative to motorcycle
endorsements.
10:50 a.m. SB 60, relative to the definition of commercial motor vehicle.
11:15 a.m. SB 66, relative to nonresident fees for motorcycle rider education.
11:45 a.m. SB 99, relative to trailer brakes.
1:30 p.m. SB 31, relative to revocation or denial of a driver's license for drug or
alcohol involvement by persons under 21 years of age.
2:10 p.m. SB 98, revising the international registration plan.
Executive session may follow.
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
STATE FEDERAL RELATIONS AND VETERANS AFFAIRS, Room 203, LOB
9:30 a.m. Informational meeting on veterans’ issues.
10:00 a.m. SB 140-FN, relative to the disposition of military justice fines.
10:30 a.m. SB 102, establishing a commission to study the effects of service-
connected post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury suffered in the line
of duty by members of the armed forces and veterans.
Executive session may follow.

STATE VETERANS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RSA 115-A:2), NH National Guard,

Aviation Facility, Regional Drive, Concord
5:00 p.m. Regular meeting.
FRIDAY, APRIL 8
ADVISORY COUNCIL ON UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION (RSA 282-A:128),
NH Employment Security, 32 South Main Street, Concord
9:00 a.m. Regular meeting.

NEW HAMPSHIRE COMMISSION ON DEAFNESS AND HEARING LOSS (RSA 125-

Q), Room 205, LOB
1:30 p.m. Regular meeting.

STATE SUGGESTION AND EXTRAORDINARY SERVICE AWARD PROGRAM (RSA

99-E), Room 101, LOB
9:30 a.m. Regular meeting.
TUESDAY, APRIL 12
COMMERCE AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS (BANKING/BUSINESS DIVISION), Room
302, LOB
10:00 a.m. SB 28, establishing an exemption from the licensing requirements for
nondepository first mortgage bankers and brokers for persons providing loans for
certain seller-financed transactions.
10:30 a.m.
...

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