The Governor, Senate President and Speaker of the House have issued talking points (summarized below) regarding the Committee of Conference budget to be voted upon Thursday June 22, 2017.
Click here to download the Talking Points.
A RESPONSIBLE BUDGET FOR NH
1. Budget lives within our means
a. Total spending is $11.727 billion; General Fund is $4.915 billion
b. Lowers revenue by $24 million (General Fund revenue growth .9 % in first year and 1.7% in the second)
c. Spends $104 million less from Senate Budget in total funds and $24 million less in general funds
d. Spending is under both the House and Governor’s budgets
e. There are no new taxes or fees in this budget
2. Promoting job creation though small business tax cuts, lowers energy costs
a. Working to strengthen a business-friendly, competitive state by
b. Lowering the BPT rates from 7.9% to 7.5% and
c. Lowering the BET rates from .675% to .5%
d. Allows small businesses to expense capital purchases up to $500,000 for investment and job creation
e. Eliminates the Energy Consumption Tax entirely to reduce electric rates for businesses and homeowners
f. These steps help grow New Hampshire’s economy and shows our state is open for business and we want small businesses to grow, create good jobs, and reinvest in their business. We’ve seen real results already:
i. Unemployment among the lowest in the nation
ii. Business tax revenue 12.1% ahead of projection in FY ‘17
iii. NH economy fourth-fastest growing state in the nation
3. Growing NH’s Rainy Day Fund
a. Responsibly grows the rainy day fund from $9 million to $100.7 million
b. This protects New Hampshire’s bond rating and strengthens our financial position
4. Meeting the Needs of New Hampshire Citizens
a. Heroin and Opioid crisis: Provides strong leadership and a commitment to solving this problem by:
i. Creates a new youth drug treatment center in Manchester at the underutilized Sununu Youth Services Center
ii. Doubles funding to Commission on Alcohol and Substance Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery
iii. $56.8 million to the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services, $23 million increase over the previous biennium
b. Mental Health – Addresses the needs of people waiting in emergency rooms for mental health treatment by:
i. Adding 60 new beds for community treatment options; and,
ii. Adding a fourth rapid response mobile crisis unit to divert hospitalizations for mental health issues
c. Prioritizes families with disabled children
i. Provides $57 million more in funding towards the developmentally disabled community and waiting list
d. DCYF – Overhauls a failed system; provides direction and resources to change organizational culture
i. Adds new case workers to deal with caseload capacity
ii. Creates an office of the Child Advocate to provide greater oversight and transparency
iii. Requires lead attorney to be supervised by the Attorney General to enhance effectiveness in prosecutions
5. Prioritizes education and reducing burdensome student debt by:
a. Investments in NH students by funding $5 million in student scholarships to attend NH colleges
b. Encouraging student involvement in STEM by grants to schools, partnering with businesses in FIRST Robotics