Home » December 30th, 2010
Entries posted on “December, 2010”
How much will social issues matter at the State House this year? New Hampshire’s budget is clearly at the top of the agenda, if this fall’s campaign promises bear fruit. But the bills filed so far indicate that social matters are on the table, too.
Will the gay marriage law of 2009 be repealed? Will medical marijuana get a closer look? Will parental notification for teenage abortions be restored?
These are a few policy questions that lawmakers will consider when the 2011 legislative session opens Jan. 5. In our latest installment of previewing proposed bills, we look at three hot-button bills that will likely garner headlines — including here at Front Door Politics — in the next few months.
December 30th, 2010 | Posted in abortion,children,Daily Briefing,Family,gay marriage,Health,Justice,marriage,medical marijuana | Read More »
The fight about health care and insurance continues, and it’s not just about federal reforms — although that certainly takes a front seat in the upcoming legislative agenda. Stopping federal health care reform is the goal of at least seven health care-related bills that will be considered when New Hampshire’s 2011 legislative session opens Jan. 5.
Today, we continue our survey of newly proposed laws with a snapshot look at the health care bills and some particular developments to keep an eye on.
December 29th, 2010 | Posted in Commerce,costs,Daily Briefing,Health,health care,health insurance,hospitals, clinics, nursing homes,insurance | Read More »
A likely flashpoint on the horizon for environmental and energy policy in the upcoming legislative session will be the proposal to repeal New Hampshire’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI.
Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack) is so far the sole sponsor of the repeal bill. But we hear from Jim Rubens, an outspoken Republican environmentalist, that getting out of RGGI is part of his party’s agenda.
December 28th, 2010 | Posted in Commerce,Daily Briefing,electricity,energy sector,Environment & Resources,Government,Property,renewable energy,state budget,utilities | Read More »
Happy Holidays from Front Door Politics! Today our senior correspondent Michael McCord is enjoying a much deserved four-day weekend. We hope that you also are appreciating the holiday season and traveling safely through New Hampshire’s winter wonderland. We’ll be back tomorrow with the Daily Dispatch, continuing our weeklong preview of major legislation coming up for [...]
December 27th, 2010 | Posted in Daily Briefing | Read More »
It’s a lightning rod in many states, and New Hampshire’s education system is no exception. So far nearly three dozen education-related bills have been filed for the upcoming legislative session. Today we take a look at a handful we find noteworthy at this early stage of the game.
December 23rd, 2010 | Posted in Daily Briefing,Education,funding,home schooling | Read More »
We begin our breakdown of the more than 900 bills being proposed for the 2011 legislative session with a continuation of yesterday’s dispatch: taxes.
Some 14 bills (so far) with a focus on taxes have been submitted by Republican lawmakers in the House and Senate (no Democratic lawmakers have yet signed on to any of these bills). Following is our snapshot of a few bills worthy of discussion at this early stage:
December 22nd, 2010 | Posted in business taxes,Commerce,Daily Briefing,Government,Money,small business,state budget,taxes | Read More »
Cutting spending was a campaign promise of many Republicans who swept into office this fall. But that’s not stopping some budget hawks from calling for a different approach: raising taxes.
Yesterday, we recapped a conservative study encouraging spending cuts as the mechanism to resolve New Hampshire’s budget deficit, reportedly estimated at anywhere from $200 million to $800 million. In today’s Daily Dispatch, we bookend that consideration with another recent study — this one by the liberal-leaning New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute.
December 21st, 2010 | Posted in Daily Briefing,Government,Money,state budget,taxes | Read More »
New Hampshire’s new legislative leaders are getting budget cuts started with their own office staff.
Both Senate President Peter Bragdon (R-Milford) and House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) have made cutting their chambers’ operating and personnel budgets a priority. And we’re not sure if there’s a chicken-egg effect, but a recent study by a Republican-leaning New Hampshire policy center recommends healthy budget cuts for the legislative budget for 2011 and beyond.
December 20th, 2010 | Posted in Daily Briefing,elections,Government,state budget | Read More »
With business clearly on their mind, a group of lawmakers has founded the New Hampshire House Business Coalition. The group says it’s the next step in delivering on campaign promises of focusing on job creation and expanding New Hampshire’s economic base — and that to be pro-jobs means being pro-business. They’ll likely hear from the N.H. Business and Industry Association, which just released its policy priority list for 2011.
December 17th, 2010 | Posted in business taxes,Commerce,Daily Briefing,Government,jobs & unemployment,Money,small business,state budget,taxes,Work | Read More »
We’ve focused so far on House leadership and committees, but today we move to the Senate. Assignments have been made by the new Republican Senate President Peter Bragdon of Milford and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Sylvia Larson of Concord. We feature some highlights here, and provide a link to complete listings. There are Republican chairs [...]
December 16th, 2010 | Posted in committees,Daily Briefing,Government | Read More »
