CONCORD – House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett) offered the following statement relative to the House vote on SB415, a bill that would deposit the remaining surplus funds from FY2013 into the Rainy Day fund. Democrats on the Finance committee proposed the bill be sent to interim study. The committee recommendation passed in committee on party lines, 13-10. The committee recommendation of “Refer for Interim Study” passed the full House by a vote of 151-127.
House Republican Leader Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett)
“What is there to study? In just the last month, we’ve done all of the work an interim study committee could possibly do. Just look at the New Hampshire’s Rainy Day fund balance. It’s just $9.3million, which is not enough to run state government for more than a day and a half. We’ve also seen two major bond rating agencies issue negative credit alerts on the state’s financial outlook citing our low reserve fund balance as a factor in their analysis. What other piece of negative news could we possibly be waiting for?”
“Former State Treasurer Cathy Provencher testified in January that we should strive to have 5%-10% of general fund unrestricted revenue in reserves. Our current balance represents just 0.7% – less than 1% – of general fund unrestricted revenue. Passing SB415 would be a small but important and necessary step in reaching that goal. I’m sorry House Democrats would rather spend the surplus rather than use it to contribute to our financial security.”