House and Senate pass budget with veto proof majorities

Joint news release (Concord) House and Senate leadership issued the following statements regarding today’s passage of HB 1 and HB 2: Statement from Speaker of the House William L. O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon: “Promises made, promises kept. The New Hampshire House and Senate have delivered on the commitment we made last year to live within our …

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Sen. Morse: Our next state budget will be way more responsible than the last

By CHUCK MORSE Special to the Union Leader Published Jun 14, 2011 As the House and Senate form committees of conference to develop a compromise budget, one thing is certain: Both budgets are taking our state down the path toward fiscal responsibility. Over the past four years, Gov. John Lynch and the Democratic leadership brought …

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House Leadership Statements on Veto of HB 133

The following statements were issued by House Leadership following the announcement that Governor Lynch has vetoed HB 133. “With this veto, the Governor is sending exactly the wrong message to employers that New Hampshire is going to make it harder to create jobs.  Last November, the voters sent a clear message that they wanted more jobs, …

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Full Senate and House vote to pass Retirement Reform

(Senate Press Release) SB3 now heads to governor’s desk with veto proof majorities (Concord) The Senate and House made a big statement on a major issue today with both houses voting to pass reforms to the state’s retirement system by veto proof majorities. The votes were 19-4 and 250-112 respectively.  SB3 now heads to Governor …

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Poll: Granite Staters favor ‘right-to-work’ legislation

From NHJournal.com: A new survey by Magellan Strategies for NH Journal shows that a near majority of Granite Staters support so-called ‘right-to-work’ legislation. Forty-nine percent of New Hampshire voters support right-to-work, whereas only 37% oppose it. Fifteen percent is undecided. The Republicans in the House are scrambling to amass enough votes to override Gov. John …

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NH Journal: Lynch vetoes right-to-work bill, took big bucks from unions

For the full report, please visit NHJournal.com Union bosses were grinning from ear to ear on Wednesday when New Hampshire’s Democratic Gov. John Lynch vetoed the right-to-work bill that passed both chambers of the legislature by huge majorities. An investigation by NH Journal shows those union leaders paid a handsome price for Lynch’s veto. Unions …

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Op-Ed: Republicans deserve credit for environmental efforts

As a proud member of Republicans for Environmental Protection for several years, I was disappointed a few weeks ago to read the Concord Monitor’s opinion on what the New Hampshire House of Representatives has done with regard to environmental issues (“End the war on the state’s environment,” editorial, April 17). Like all areas of state …

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Op-Ed: ‘Right-to-work’ law will boost economy

By Rep. Gary Daniels April 30, 2011 Most state legislators hear regularly from our constituents about their top concerns. While the national debt and international engagements certainly carry a great deal of interest nationally, and balancing the budget without raising taxes or fees garners a lot of attention at the state level, by far the …

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David Hess Named Hooksett Citizen of the Year

David Hess will add one more title to his resume on April 23, which already includes federal military judge, Air Force veteran, legal counsel for the town of Hooksett, school district moderator, conservation advocate, Budget Committee member, state representative, and Assistant Attorney General for the state of New Hampshire. His hometown will honor him with its Citizen of the Year designation.

Op-Ed: Those eligible for help will still be served

In the recently passed House budget, there is absolutely no need to reduce the psychiatric services provided to New Hampshire’s mental health beneficiaries eligible for state services.

Currently, the state provides 80 percent of the revenue needed to operate 10 community mental health centers, yet only 39 percent of their patients are state eligible for services.

The reductions in mental health services contained in the budget passed by the New Hampshire House are an attempt to ensure that state payments to the community mental health centers are used for only services rendered to those eligible for state care, not to subsidize care for those not eligible for state services.