CONCORD – House Republican Leader Dick Hinch (R-Merrimack) issued a statement upon the approval by the House of Representatives of HB735, relative to carbon pricing.
“This would have been the largest tax increase in New Hampshire history, yet House Democrats let this bill live for an entire year. They let their members on the Science committee work on and amend it. They must have thought it had merit. They apparently just figured out that voting for an $800 million per year energy tax was probably not how they want to enter an election year so they tabled it, rather than take a stand on it. Republicans wanted to vote to shoot this thing down, which is what it deserved, to say the very least.”
“No other state has this type of egregious tax. Testimony from experts said that this would raise the price of gas by over one dollar per gallon, affect heating fuels by a similar steep hike, raise electric costs, and affect every aspect of our economy in a severely negative manner,” Hinch said. “It would disproportionately hurt the poor, elderly, and those living in rural parts of the state. It would drastically increase energy costs for local governments that would necessitate property tax increases.”