Can reducing New Hampshire’s tobacco tax actually increase state revenues from tobacco taxes?
Assuming a big increase in sales due to the lower tax rate, that’s the idea behind a bill that’s getting its second public hearing today. House Bill 156 passed the House last month, and is now with the Senate Ways & Means Committee. But the bill’s fiscal note, prepared by the N.H. Dept. of Revenue Administration, predicts a different future.
We continue our today with our snapshot tour of some of the more the 250 bills and amendments that lawmakers will consider over a scheduled three days beginning tomorrow.
In this installment, we look at five bills that are part of the so-called Regular Calendar for the House this week — meaning they are subject to floor debate and roll call votes where every lawmaker’s vote is recorded. These are measures we’ve covered this session, encompassing issues including medical marijuana, abortion, the Financial Resources Mortgage scandal, and taxes.
A pack of smokes with that bottle of booze? One NH bill up for public hearing next week proposes selling tobacco at certain state liquor stores. Meanwhile, a cluster of insurance laws are lined up together: If you can be charged more for bad credit, can a good education earn you a discount? Also, reinstating the stack, who pays for medical bills, and a would-be change in a law on public hearings gets changed in its own public hearing.