NHGOP Chairman Statement on Lynch Pension Reform Veto

JOHN LYNCH PENSION REFORM VETO SETTING THE AGENDA FOR UNION BOSSES

CONCORD- Jack Kimball, Chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party today released the following statement on Governor John Lynch's veto of SB3.

 "John Lynch is a union-pocket politician who has taken tens of thousands in campaign contributions from unions and union bosses.   He has proven he is only interested in setting the agenda for the union bosses and not the taxpayers."

RLCNH URGES REPUBLICANS TO COURAGEOUSLY DEFEND THEIR MANDATE FROM VOTERS

Right to Work and RGGI repeal are top-priority GOP efforts to promote jobs and economic opportunity

CONCORD, N.H.―Republican members of the New Hampshire House and Senate must find the courage to pass legislation to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and make New Hampshire the 23^rd Right to Work state in the country, said Andrew Hemingway, chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire.

“Both of these bills—the repeal of RGGI and the Right to Work bill—will promote jobs and economic opportunity in the State of New Hampshire, which is exactly what the people of New Hampshire elected Republicans to do,” Hemingway said. “Republican lawmakers have to stop worrying about the loud Democratic minority that is obviously against these efforts. After all, the Democrats’ spend-then-tax, big-government agenda is why the people threw Democrats out of office.

“The people who elected Republicans should not have to come to Concord to defend the clear message they sent in November to get government out of the way so the private sector can create jobs and economic opportunity,” Hemingway continued. “These voters should have the confidence that the Republicans they elected will have enough courage to see through the smokescreen created by the Democratic machine. They should have the confidence that Republicans will pass needed job-attracting legislation like Right to Work and free up more private capital for job creation by eliminating unneeded tax schemes like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.”

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie just announced this week that he would remove New Jersey from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, calling the program “a failure” that “is not effective in reducing greenhouse gases and is unlikely to be in the future.” He said the initiative was simply a tax scheme designed to “tax electricity, tax our citizens and tax our businesses.”

“If Democratic New Jersey can identify the failure, false hope and negative affect on businesses and job creation of the RGGI scheme, then it is incumbent on the New Hampshire Republican supermajority to answer the call of voters and eliminate this economically crippling initiative,” Hemingway said.

South Carolina’s U.S. Senator Jim DeMint recently commissioned a study that shows Right to Work states have more new residents, more new businesses, more new jobs and faster income growth than forced unionization states like New Hampshire. The Senator pointed out how unions are taking people’s hard-earned money as they are “struggling … to put food on the table” just to keep “counterproductive work rules” in place.

“No one should be forced to give up a part of their paychecks to a private, third-party organization just go get and keep a job,” Hemingway said. “Unions should not fear Right to Work so long as they have no problem being accountable to workers who voluntarily join their organizations. If workers believe unions provide a benefit to them on the job, then they will join even with Right to Work legislation in place. Giving workers that choice will ensure companies can prosper, which will in turn allow them to hire more workers. That’s just what New Hampshire needs right now.”

NH House Leadership Statement on HB 474 (Right to Work) concurrence vote

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today offered the following statement regarding the House’s vote (225-140) to concur with the Senate version of HB 474, Right to Work legislation for New Hampshire.

 “Right to Work is the single greatest opportunity to create jobs in New Hampshire that the legislature will pass this year.  This means more manufacturing jobs, more service jobs and more companies coming to the Granite State to grow.  If Governor Lynch is committed to growing our economy and creating jobs, he will sign this legislation at the first opportunity,” said O’Brien.

 “The legislation is about protecting the New Hampshire Advantage and making New Hampshire the most competitive state in the Northeast.  With Right to Work, we will be taking one more step ahead of our neighbors and giving businesses one more reason to come here.  I certainly hope that the Governor considers the economic growth this bill will bring and signs this into law, making job creation a higher priority than special interests,” remarked Bettencourt.

Josiah Bartlett Center - Budget Protest Video

Budget Debate heats up inside and outside State House

As the New Hampshire House debated and ultimately approved the state's two-year, $10.2 billion budget, thousands of protesters rallied on the steps of the State House to voice their opposition to the significant budget cuts for most state agencies, and to proposed changes in collective bargaining rules.  New Hampshire Watchdog's Grant Bosse heard first-hand from the protesters about their concerns.  Watch our exclusive video report now.

NH Watchdog covers the State House

But the budget wasn't the only big issue in Concord this week.  The House also sent repeal of the RGGI program to the Senate, and approved a Constitutional Amendment requiring a super-majority vote from both houses to raise taxes, fees, or borrowing, and blocked the use of eminent domain for projects like Northern Pass.  The Senate approved a provision to effectively end teacher tenure in New Hampshire.  Read more about these important issues at New Hampshire Watchdog.

Support The JBC

As New Hampshire's only free market think, the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy has a unique responsibility to push for a smaller, more responsible, and more open government.  Our New Hampshire Watchdog site shines a light into the unexamined corners of New Hampshire government.  Our newest project, NHOpenGov.org, is a powerful tool allowing anyone to dig into how New Hampshire officials spend our money.  But we can't keep the pressure on without your help.  We are entirely dependent your contributions to continue our work.  Please make a tax-deductible contribution to the Josiah Bartlett Center right now.  Don't wait.  You'll forget all about it.  Click the Contribute Button now.

750,000 Lines and Counting!

Earlier this week, we uploaded the remainder of the spending data from 2009 to NHOpenGov.org. Every last dollar spent by the state in Fiscal Year 2009 is now in our search-able database. Looking forward, with the assistance of the Executive Council and the ongoing cooperation of the Department of Administrative Services, we will soon be adding monthly data updates from the current fiscal year, and eventually compiling every state transaction from 2009 onwards.  NHOpenGov.org is a powerful tool to keep New Hampshire government accountable to the people.  Please try it for yourself.

NH Council follows Arlinghaus' advice on health insurance exchange

In his weekly column in the Union Leader, JBC President Charlie Arlinghaus advised the New Hampshire Executive Council to "take it slow" on approving a $666,000 planning grant to set up a Health Insurance Exchange under ObamaCare.

"The concern about setting up an exchange is that we would be creating a program designed around a law that we know will have to be changed. If the whole law isn’t thrown out – and that remains a possibility – enough of it certainly will be that even its most ardent supporters will want to change it to make it work in light of a new reality. Why comply with rules we know won’t be in effect?

We also know we don’t want and can’t afford a Massachusetts-style $29 million exchange. Let’s not set one up. If Utah’s experiment is promising we can import that when the time comes. Let’s give it a chance to operate and then decide.

Another obvious concern is with federal regulation. Utah’s experiment doesn’t in any way resemble the prototype of ObamaCare, the Massachusetts system. The federal statements on it have been noncommittal. It is still likely that federal regulators will eventually force exchanges to comply with all of the federal mandates in a way that make them more or the same as a federally-managed exchange."  Read the whole thing.

On Wednesday, the Council took that advice, and unanimous tabled the health insurance exchange grant.  Arlinghaus gets results!

Inside the Cloakroom- Taxes, Tenure, and Northern Pass

  In this week's episode of The Cloakroom, we take a closer look at CACR 6, which would require a super-majority vote of both the House and Senate to approve any increase in state taxes, fees, or borrowing.  We interview Representative Gary Richardson (D-Hopkinton) about his objections to the constitutional amendment.  We also sit down for an inclusive interview with Senator Jim Forsythe (R-Strafford) on the eve of Senate passage of his proposal to end teacher tenure in New Hampshire schools.  And we capture highlights on the debate over whether utilities projects like Northern Pass should be barred from the use of eminent domain. 

Watch the latest episode of The Cloakroom now.

NH Watchdog Poll Results

Last week, we asked you if Northern Pass should be built.  Our readers overwhelmingly answered no.

This week, we ask if it should be easier for local school officials to get rid of under-performing teachers.  Click the Vote Button to take the NH Watchdog Poll.

Josiah Bartlett Center - Exclusive Footage of NH Union Protests

Unions Protest NH Budget

This week, hundreds of members of state and local labor unions converged on the Legislative Office Building in Concord to protest the House Finance Committee's vote on the state budget, including a controversial provision to ban Evergreen Clauses in all public labor agreements.

Grant Bosse files this exclusive video report capturing the protests, the debate over the Evergreen proposal, and the raucous committee proceedings.  Watch our exclusive video report now.

Support NH Watchdog

As we build our multimedia empire, and provide unmatched coverage of the New Hampshire budget debate, it may seem like New Hampshire Watchdog is an unstoppable public policy juggernaut.  But we can't continue to shine a light on state government without your support.  Please become a member of the Josiah Bartlett Center with a tax deductible contribution today.

Union Leader Praises NHOpenGov.org

March 20, 2011

The Josiah Bartlett Center last week launched a site that allows anyone to view state spending documents online. With a click of the mouse, state government just got vastly more transparent.

On the center’s NHOpenGov.org site, anyone can view any state expenditure. Want to know how much the Department of Education spent on books in 2008? It’s there ($3,667). Want to know how much the state Office of Health Management spent at Walgreen's in West Lebanon? It’s there ($7,499).

The database is searchable by department, vendor and expense category. Or, if you like, you can browse it.

State expenses are now fully open to public scrutiny.

In creating this site, the Bartlett Center has done the people of New Hampshire a tremendous public service.

We all owe center president Charles Arlinghaus (who also is a freelance columnist for the New Hampshire Union Leader) and his crew a big thank you.

Debunking the Myth of the Underpaid State Worker

For years, we've heard that public employees sacrifice higher salaries in the private sector as a trade-off for better health care, retirement benefits, and job security.  But after several years of pay raises that outstripped their colleagues in the marketplace, New Hampshire's state employees now take home a bigger paycheck on average than private sector workers.  Charlie Arlinghaus debunks the myth of the underpaid state worker in his latest Union Leader column:

"Six years ago, state salaries were about 12% below the average of all workers, although total compensation was higher because of benefits. Today, state government employees make about 5% more in salary than the average all workers and enjoy dramatically more generous retirement and health benefits on top of it.

When state employee union president Gary Smith retired last year, it was surprising he didn’t make a bigger deal out of his remarkable success.

It was often said that state employees make much lower salaries than their private sector counterparts and have higher benefits in exchange. That’s no longer the case. State employee make more on average in salary and have more generous health and one of the only defined benefit health plans left.

The data makes it difficult to call the state a miserly employer."

Read the whole thing.

Inside the Cloakroom with Jeb Bradley and PSNH's Martin Murray

The Cloakroom, our new weekly video magazine, takes an in-depth look at the complex issues facing New Hampshire.  This week in The Cloakroom, Grant Bosse interviews Sen. Jeb Bradley about his bill to reform the NH Retirement System and learns more about the controversial Northern Pass project with PSNH spokesman Martin Murray.

Watch the latest episode of The Cloakroom now.


Northern Pass- Take the Poll

Should Hydro-Quebec and PSNH build 180 miles of power lines across New Hampshire to bring cheap, clean hydro power to the New England grid.  Click the Vote Button to take the NH Watchdog Poll.