Rep Laura Jones Facebook - Speaker O'Brien: LIST OF GOP REPS WHO VOTED TO INCREASE NEW HAMPSHIRE’S GAS TAX BY A BILLION DOLLARS

Rep Laura Jones

5:31am Mar 7

From former Speaker O'Brien: LIST OF GOP REPS WHO VOTED TO INCREASE NEW HAMPSHIRE’S GAS TAX BY A BILLION DOLLARS

David Hess (Hooksett), Deputy Republican Leader
Shawn Jasper (Hudson), Republican Whip
Frank Tilton (Laconia)*
... Mark McConkey (Freedom)
John Graham (Bedford)
Dave Danielson (Bedford)+ o
Charlene Takesian (Pelham)* + o
David Kidder (New London)* + o
Priscilla Lockwood (Canterbury)+ o
Bill Friel (Atkinson)
Aboul Khan (Seabrook)+ o
Dave Milz (Derry)
Kevin Waterhouse (Windham)+
John Sytek (Salem)
Jim Grenier (Goshen)* +

* Voted for 25% home heating oil tax increase

+ Voted against super-majority to tax ballot question

o Voted against right to work

The Republican constituents of these representatives have to talk with them about whether they are in the Big Tent or the wrong tent.

Voting to increase the gas tax by 83% after some of them voted to pass a 25% increase on the gas tax bill, not to allow a ballot question about a super-majority to raise taxes, and not to allow Right to Work has nothing to do with keeping their promise not just to run as Republican candidates, but also to vote as a Republican legislators.

BTW, if you want to use the information on this posting or even cut and paste it as your own, go ahead. Otherwise, please keep it on this FB page for our use.

NH House Leaders React to Elimination of Emergency Surcharge to the Unemployment Trust Fund

CONCORD – New Hampshire House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and Majority Whip Rep. Shawn Jasper (R-Hudson) today offered the following statements in response to the announcement that New Hampshire employers were notified that the emergency surcharge put in place under Maggie Hassan and her fellow Democrats in 2010 will be removed.  According to the Department of Employment Securities notification, the reduction applies to taxable wages paid to employees starting in the 4^th Quarter of 2012, beginning October 1.

The surcharge was first introduced by then Senator Maggie Hassan (D-Exeter) in 2009 and took effect January 1, 2010, requiring that employers pay the additional rate increase into the Unemployment Trust Fund because the fund fell below $150 million.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“Sen. Hassan has said this legislature is extreme.  Perhaps to Maggie, any lowering of the burden of taxation on employers is no doubt extreme, but in her mind raising the unemployment tax on employers three times, as she did when she last held elected office, is moderation.  In reality, there only two things extreme here: the first is the stark transition between legislative Republicans lowering numerous business taxes over the last two years, and Maggie Hassan having increased spending by 25% in the prior four years, paid for by over 100 tax and fee increases, when she lead Democrats in the state Senate, and the other is Maggie Hassan herself.  To her, the burdensome rate by which she increased taxes and fees, including this now-eliminated surcharge tax on our businesses and employers, is just what government does.  Hardworking New Hampshire taxpayers know differently and are growing tired of Maggie’s excuses.  The removal of Sen. Hassan’s tax on employers signals that our economy is becoming stronger, our employment conditions becoming more favorable, payrolls are increasing and we can’t afford Maggie again.”

House Majority Whip Shawn Jasper

“I am appalled at the lack of responsibility Maggie has taken for the taxes and fees she had a direct hand in increasing as a leader in the Senate including this tax on job creators. This legislature has had to do reconstructive surgery to our tax and fee structure in order to allow New Hampshire businesses to stop hemorrhaging jobs and start hiring again. I would suggest that if our businesses and job creators appreciate the removal of this .5% tax, they should call Sen. Hassan and ask her to support the reelection of Speaker O’Brien and this legislature, who can be credited with setting us back on the right track after the train wreck of the prior Democratic legislative majority.”

NH House Speaker Blasts Democrat Governor Candidates for Opposing Death Penalty for Killings During Burglary in “Kim Cates” Bill

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien today blasted the three Democrat candidate for Governor for opposing a law to allow the death penalty for first degree murder committed during the act of burglary.  The “Kim Cates” bill (HB 147), signed into law by Governor Lynch last year, was sponsored by O’Brien in response to the tragic slaying of Kimberly Cates of Mont Vernon and allows prosecutors to seek the death penalty for this additional crime.  At the Granite State Debate televised last night at St. Anselm’s College, the three candidates all stated that they would have vetoed the bill had it come to their desk as Governor.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“I was stunned to hear that each of the Democrats running for Governor would choose to deny justice for families who have lost a loved one to such a heinous crime as having a murderer commit burglary and kill someone in the sanctity of his or her home.  Our homes should be a place of safety, and to see these Democrats so callously disregard the sense of wellbeing in our own homes is staggering.  My own community has seen the tragic reality of this type of violence that has shattered our security, and this law has helped to restore our confidence in our own homes, while ensuring that any other families who experience this type of tragedy know that there will be justice.  I am appalled by these candidates who would strip us of this comfort and bring us back to a time when murderers did not need to fear the most serious consequences for their actions.  I hope they come to my community, walk with me, talk to our residents and reconsider their misguided position on this important issue.”

NH House Leaders Comment on Federal Approval of Law to Clarify Voter Forms that Requires Those who Vote in NH to Reside Here

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today offered the following comments in response to the state receiving federal approval of Senate Bill 318.  The law, which was passed over Governor  Lynch’s veto, clarifies that to vote in New Hampshire, an individual must be a resident of New Hampshire.  The law also requires the Secretary of State and Attorney General to follow up on any individual who registers to vote without providing his or her identity.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“A fundamental premise of having elections that reflect the will of the citizens of a community or a state is that those who vote should be those who live in the city or town, and certainly the state, in which they are voting.  This commonsense law simply clarifies what should be obvious to all of us – people should vote where they live.  We are appreciative that the federal Department of Justice has now approved this, as well as all of the other election-related laws that the Legislature has passed.  It is a testament to the careful thought and planning that has gone into all of the work that we have put into these steps to restore integrity to the voting process.”

House Majority Leader Pete Silva

“This bill goes a long way to undoing the damage that the Democrats did to our voting laws in their efforts to create a permissive environment that was ripe for voter fraud.  We have made huge strides to give our citizens the confidence that the strength of their votes has not been diluted by the types of shenanigans that takes place in other states, and which was placed front and center for all of us from the videos of dead people being allowed to vote in the presidential primary.  Frankly, I’m surprised that the Obama administration didn’t try to block this, since it will make it harder for them to try to steal elections here, but they undoubtedly realized that the backlash from New Hampshire residents would be even worse for them.”

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Attachment: USDOJ Approval letter for SB 318

NH House Speaker Comments on July Revenues up $7.9 Million

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following comment in response to the release of state revenues being up $7.9 million for July.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“We are off to a good start for the new fiscal year, with revenues up almost 9% for the month of July.  It’s good to see that business taxes are healthy for the month, particularly the business enterprise tax (BET), which is a sign of the state’s employment strength, and it was up nearly 28% over projections.  The tobacco tax was also up again, after being right in line with projections for the last six months of the last fiscal year.  This is a solid first month, and that’s important, since we know that we have several fiscal challenges for this year.”