Money, Money, Money

As we noted in a dispatch last week, the House Finance Committee has scheduled two-day executive session on House Bill 1, House Bill 2 and House Bill 25 beginning today.

The committee will also host a three-hour budget explainer presentation for House members on Tuesday, March 29. The House will not meet in full session this week, but there are scheduled sessions for March 30 and March 31 to complete voting on all bills originating in the House.

The Senate, meanwhile, will meet in session Wednesday to consider more than 34 bills and amendments. The Daily dispatch will bring you previews of the Senate session tomorrow.

Northern Pass

On Tuesday, the House Science, Energy and Technology Committee will continue work sessions on two proposals — House Bill 648 and House Bill 649 — connected to the Northern Pass hydroelectric project (see earlier Daily Dispatch here). The committee’s reporting deadline for both bills was extended to March 24.

According to the Concord Monitor, a recent public hearing in Franklin by the U.S. Department of Energy generated strong pro and con opinions on the economic and environmental impacts of the proposal to bring Canadian hydroelectric power into the regional power grid. The project would include a planned $350 million generator conversion project in Franklin and an estimated 40 miles of new right-of-way contracts in the northern part of the state.

>> Tuesday, March 22, work sessions for the House Science, Energy and Technology Committee on House Bill 648 and House Bill 649, Legislative Office Building, Room 304, beginning at 10:15 a.m.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

To prepare for the flurry of activity, today we begin a series of dispatches looking at some of the bills we’ve followed from early stages through public hearings and committee votes. We start with bills that are on the “consent,” or voice vote calendar.

This process bundles up scores of new pieces of legislation and lets lawmakers agree to the committee recommendations on each bill, all by voicing just one vote. The official name for killing a bill is voting it “Inexpedient to Legislate,” commonly shortened to ITL. Short for “Ought to Pass,” an OTP recommendation means the committee supports the bill in question.

To help you follow along, the committee names in bold are linked to previous Front Door Politics dispatches covering these bills.

Education

The committee gave a unanimous Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) recommendation for House Bill 39, which targeted the state’s curriculum requirements for an adequate education.

Election Law

House Bill 223, which would eliminate election-day voter registration, received an ITL recommendation.

Executive Departments and Administration

Back in November, we highlighted the progress of a study committee looking into establishing a state meat inspection service. House Bill 339 would establish just such a service, and received a unanimous Ought to Pass (OTP) committee recommendation.

Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs

Two pharmaceutical take-back bills are headed for passage after receiving unanimous OTP committee recommendations. House Bill 71 would allow communities and private entities to establish drug take-back programs, and House Bill 426 would allow for institutions such as nursing homes and correctional facilities to re-allocate unused drugs.

Municipal and County Government

House Bill 144, a proposal to repeal the PACE, or clean energy district legislation from last year, has been amended to changes some funding mechanisms in a way that satisfied committee concerns about the new program. The PACE changes are headed for passage after a unanimous OTP recommendation by the committee.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

The House Science, Energy and Technology Committee will meet in Representatives Hall to consider two measures:

• House Bill 648, denying all eminent domain petitions to any large-scale transmission project, sponsored by Rep. Laurence Rappaport (R-Colebrook)
• House Bill 649, establishing guidelines for regional planning commissions to do separate economic and social impact studies on the Northern Pass project, sponsored by Rep. Rick Ladd (R-Haverhill)

In its current incarnation, Northern Pass calls for building 140 miles of direct-current transmission line in New Hampshire, from the Canadian border to a converter terminal in the City of Franklin (the terminal would convert Canadian direct current application to American alternating current). The 1,200 megawatts of Canadian hydro-power would then be sent to a substation in Deerfield and connected to the New England power grid. An estimated 45 miles of new right-of-way agreements would be needed in the North Country for 135-foot-tall transmission towers, to be spaced about 800 feet apart.

Opponents such as the organization Bury the Northern Pass say the privately financed project will mar the landscape, drive down property values and generate little economic benefit beyond the converter station. Passions ran high last month when a hearing about changing the state’s renewable energy portfolio standards to include large-scale hydro-power was seen as an endorsement of the Northern Pass project. Dozens of people showed up to speak against Northern Pass, and the related did not make it out of committee.

If it goes forward, the Northern Pass transmission lines would be built, owned and maintained by Northern Pass Transmission LLC, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities (which also owns PSNH). On the Canadian side, Hydro Renewable Energy Inc. (a subsidiary of Hydro-Quebec) would pay transmission fees to Northern Pass Transmission.

>> Wednesday, March 9, public hearings on HB 648 and HB 649 in the House Science, Energy and Technology Committee, Representatives Hall at the State House, beginning at 10:15 a.m.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

Our midstream progress report on the N.H. Legislature continues today, checking up on the status of some featured legislation we’ve covered so far this session.

For more background on each bill, click the links to the corresponding dispatches in the bolded heading.

Retirement System Fix

The latest Republican-backed proposal to overhaul the state retirement system has its first public hearing this Friday. Senate Bill 3, sponsored by Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), has started its legislative journey in the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee.

No Adequacy Change

A bill to redefine education adequacy was rejected by the House Education Committee. Rep. Ralph Boehm (R- Litchfield) proposed eliminating the current statewide requirements for education in the arts, world languages, health and technology. These are among the components of an adequate education that school districts must provide, according to a law passed in 2007 to meet state Supreme Court guidelines.

Boehm, vice-chair of the House Education Committee, had argued that local communities should have the right to determine the definition of an adequate education for their students. On Feb. 24, the House Education Committee voted 15-0 to recommend against Boehm’s bill. House Bill 39 is scheduled for a March 16 vote in the full House.

Members Only

A bill to restrict membership on House study committees to lawmakers is scheduled for a vote Tuesday by the House Legislative Administration Committee. Sponsored by Rep. Laurie Harding (D-Lebanon), House Bill 190 has received bipartisan support.

The measure follows a strong bipartisan House vote last year instituting a rule (not a formal law) that limits membership on House study committees to legislators. Previously, some study committees had invited members of the public, industry experts, or representatives from state agencies to serve.

RGGI Repeal Passes in House

Since December, we have followed a proposal to repeal a 2008 law and remove New Hampshire from the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. House Bill 519 is sponsored by Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack).

After a daylong hearing earlier this month, the bill was recommended for passage by a party line vote in the House Science, Energy and Technology Committee. It then passed the House Wednesday, 246 to 104. Before heading to the Senate, HB 519 will have a second trip in the House through the House Finance Committee.

Rethinking Renewables Gets Rethought

A few days after we wrote the headline “Renewable Energy Could Get a Whole Lot Bigger,” the bill at the heart of the dispatch (House Bill 302) died in its committee at the request of its own sponsor. Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack) said he hadn’t planned on stirring up any controversy when he proposed making large-scale hydroelectric power part of New Hampshire’s renewable energy portfolio.

His proposal, however, drew out critics of the Northern Pass electric transmission line project in the northern part of the state. They were joined by supporters of solar energy development, which would have been impacted by a change in the law. The Renewable Portfolio Standards law also was already up for review later this year.

On Feb. 15, the full House agreed by voice vote with a unanimous House Science, Energy and Technology Committee recommendation to kill the legislation.

Hemp Not

The latest attempt to legalize the growing of industrial hemp was rejected by lawmakers. As we reported in early February, Rep. Derek Owen (D-Hopkinton) has sponsored at least seven similar bills since 1998. This year’s effort met the same fate as previous attempts. House Bill 101 was rejected by an 11-7 vote in the Environment and Agriculture Committee, in part because federal law prohibits the growing of industrial hemp. By a 304-51 roll call vote, the full House voted down HB 101 on Feb. 15.

Sex Registry Study Committee Measure Rejected

A bipartisan proposal to study the effectiveness of the state’s sex offender registry did not get much support in committee or in the full House. House Bill 122 was sponsored by Rep. James MacKay (D-Concord) and Sen. Sharon Carson (R-Londonderry). The House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee recommended House Bill 122 be killed, and the full House concurred in a voice vote on Feb. 15.

House Votes to Defund NHPTV

The House Finance Committee is again considering a proposal to prohibit any state funds from being sent to New Hampshire Public Television. House Bill 113, sponsored by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R-Manchester), already passed the same committee and the full House by a 262-102 vote on Feb. 15.

All bills dealing with spending that pass full chamber votes are sent to the Finance Committee for second consideration — even bills that started there. If, as expected, it passes again through the same bodies, HB 113 will move to Senate.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

Sponsored by Rep. Beatriz Pastor (D-Lyme), PACE became law last year, but hasn’t yet been used. A move to repeal it will be considered in an executive session in the House Municipal and County Government Committee today. But Pastor tells Front Door Politics that Republican committee leaders gave her a chance to change PACE in order to save it.

This rooftop solar electric system is at work on a rooftop in Durham, NH. (photo courtesy Revision Energy)

The PACE program allows cities and towns to finance residential and commercial energy efficiency and clean energy projects through municipal loans of up to $35,000. Each loan is to be paid back by the property owner who receives it, through increased tax payments for up to 20 years.

PACE supporters say the program meets a financing need banks and other forms of financing have yet to fill – and would help local taxpayers save significant amounts of money on their energy use.  (See an earlier Daily Dispatch here for more explanation about the debate over PACE.)

Rep. Carol McGuire (R-Epsom) disagrees. She opposed the original PACE legislation, and told Front Door Politics in January that it was “not good public policy,” presented too much risk for local taxpayers, and “would benefit the few at the expense of everybody else.” McGuire sponsored this year’s PACE repeal bill, House Bill 144, which goes to executive session today.

The repeal bill was originally scheduled for a committee vote on Jan. 27, but Pastor says committee chair Rep. Beverly Ferrante (R-Derry) and vice-chair Rep. Franklin Sterling (R-Jaffrey) gave her time to address “the concerns the committee” had about the original legislation. Those concerns included

• the type of bonds that municipalities could use to set up the revolving loan funds to finance energy improvements
• how to establish a municipal “loss loan” program to protect municipalities against possible default by property owners who get the loans, and
• clarifying whose repayment would be prioritized (the municipality or a mortgage holder) in case of default

“We have proposed amendments to answer those concerns,” Pastor says. In particular, she says the issue of repayment precedence — which has been complicated by federal mortgage regulations — has been solved by only allowing residential applicants who no longer have mortgages to use the program (commercial property applicants fall under different guidelines).

“For communities who choose to go down this road, we have made it strong enough to get it started and to work in a narrow framework,” Pastor says. She adds that the process “has been truly bipartisan.”

That acknowledgement is brought into relief by an even bigger energy debate falling mainly along party lines. The House voted 246 to 104 Wednesday to repeal the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). House Bill 519 now goes to the House Finance Committee before crossing over to the Senate.

>> Thursday, Feb. 24, Municipal and County Government Committee, executive session on HB 144, Legislative Office Building, Room 301, 1 p.m.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord, with contributions from Hilary Niles.

By a party line, 13-5 vote, the House Science, Energy and Technology Committee gave House Bill 519 an “ought to pass” recommendation last week. The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack) has moved quickly from its public hearing on Feb. 10 to an executive session on Feb. 15 to this Wednesday’s full House vote, with no further subcommittee or committee work sessions in between.

RGGI is the cap-and-trade program for Northeastern electricity power generation companies such as Public Service — New Hampshire’s largest power generator. These utilities can either reduce their carbon dioxide emissions or purchase pollution allowances at quarterly auctions. New Hampshire joined RGGI, which is the only cap-and-trade program of its kind in the nation, completely in 2009.

The program is believed to cost ratepayers somewhere between 36 to 40 cents per month. Money made from the sale of pollution “allowances” is funneled through the state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for grants toward energy efficiency and alternative energy projects, which in turn are designed to cut energy demand and, theoretically, cut carbon dioxide emissions in the New England region.

The competing majority and minority reports from the committee offer ideologically opposite views on climate change science, the scope of government, regional solutions, whether the bill has been properly vetted, and the role of public investments.

First, the majority report to repeal RGGI:

“It was clear to us that RGGI was really all about the money and not about the climate. It is not the role of state government to subsidize or prop up private businesses; RGGI created the illusion of free money to those who were fortunate enough to receive funding, and many think that funding should continue indefinitely,” wrote Rep. Frank Holden, R-Lyndeborough.

“The majority believes it is not the proper role of government to create burdensome mandates which take a small amount of money from the many (electric ratepayers), funnel that money through multiple levels of bureaucracy (RGGI, Inc. and NH PUC), and redistribute a large amount of money to the few. The majority believes that RGGI was a stealth tax, hidden in the electric rates of our constituents. RGGI also has added to the size and scope of New Hampshire’s state bureaucracy; we need to shrink the size of government. Finally, the majority believes that New Hampshire does not need a complex and expensive multi-state scheme to find solutions to our environmental and energy challenges. New Hampshire has the ability to control emissions and protect our environment by developing uniquely New Hampshire solutions.”

The minority report was written by Rep. Naida Kaen, D-Lee, who was the prime sponsor of the original RGGI authorization bill (House Bill 1434) in 2008.

“The minority believes that this bill should have been retained in committee for a proper vetting, and to provide a better understanding of the potential consequences of its passage. Some of the possible outcomes of the passage of this legislation, as amended, are likely to be that New Hampshire electric rate-payers will continue to pay at least $5 million on their electric bills while the State of NH gives up $13 million annually in proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative auction. To date more than $28 million has gone largely to help local municipalities weatherize municipal buildings, thereby reducing local taxes, and to assist families and businesses save money by becoming more energy efficient, all of which reduces our dependence on foreign oil and ultimately reduces all ratepayers’ electric rates. The minority believes that modification of the program may be warranted, but that the decision to repeal should be properly reviewed so as to avoid potential damage to NH’s economy and to many citizens of the state.”

In the fiscal analysis of the bill, the Public Utilities Commission estimated if the state withdraws from RGGI, it would lose between $9.8 million and $18 million in funding from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund in the next budget year. The final funding figures would depend on the auction price for allowances and the rate of economic recovery. Ratepayers would still pay a surcharge because the state belongs to the regional power grid, which charges RGGI fees regardless of participation.

If the Republican majority in the House votes to repeal RGGI, the measure would then move to the Senate. Current Senate President Peter Bragdon (R-Milford) and Sen. Bob Odell (R-Lempster) were co-sponsors of the original RGGI bill three years ago.

>> Wednesday, Feb. 23, full House session scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Representatives Hall.

New Hampshire saw the question asked and answered Wednesday when two tax cut proposals were approved by the full House. In a rare parliamentary move, House Republican leaders then stopped, or “tabled” the bills, preventing them from moving to and being considered by the Senate, where they would receive a second round of public hearings, committee considerations, and floor votes.

Norma Love of the Associated Press reported that House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Stephen Stepanek (R-Milford) urged the House to cut the rooms and meals tax (House Bill 166) and a telephone tax (House Bill 37), which combined would shave as much as $64 million from revenue estimates for the 2012-2013 biennium budget. But, after the bills passed by wide margins, Stepanek offered a motion to table the bills because, he said, “We do not have the necessary funds (now) to pass this tax reduction.”

Former House Speaker and Democratic House leader Terie Norelli (D-Portsmouth) said the parliamentary move was a “sleight of hand gimmick” that allows House Republicans to get the public relations benefit of tax cuts without having to deal with the revenue-draining consequences of their actions.

“We have been told they plan to do this with every tax cut bill,” Norelli tells Front Door Politics. “If you don’t have the money (for tax cuts), why bring it forward? What kind of public policy is this?” she asks.

Norelli says that during her four years as Speaker and more than 14 years in the House, she had never seen such a parliamentary “tabling” action for revenue or spending bills. She says bills that pass the House are rarely — if ever — tabled, the exception being new information or a study that could cause House members to reconsider their votes. Norelli expects the tax cut proposals will emerge later in the session during budget negotiations with the Senate. In her estimation, that would mean less transparency, public input and legislative debate.

Stepanek agrees that tax cuts could be revived later in the session during budget negotiations with the Senate — if there’s money to pay for them.

Some rank and file Republicans were not pleased with Wednesday’s tabling motion, and 31 voted against it. According to the Associated Press story, Rep. Tony Soltani (R-Epsom) said the tax cuts should have been moved to the Senate. “We give you a tax cut and take it away. Why can’t we be honest about it?” Soltani asked.

The House Republican Office did not return a call seeking comment and further clarification for this dispatch.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

The House Science, Energy and Technology Committee heard testimony from dozens of supporters and opponents of House Bill 519, which is sponsored by Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack). Public interest was large enough for the committee to move the hearing to Representatives Hall. The hearing was also streamed live over the Internet.

Barry and co-sponsor Rep. Andrew Manuse (R-Derry) told the committee that RGGI was not working environmentally and was an economic drag on the state. “RGGI is a stealth tax that never shows up. It’s hidden on your electric bill,” Barry said at the hearing about the extra cost paid by ratepayers.

But former Rep. David Borden (D-New Castle) said HB 519, not RGGI, “was bad for New Hampshire and bad for New Hampshire businesses.” He said it would stall the progress the state has made in alternative energy and energy efficiency development to decrease the state’s dependence on outside sources of electricity and heating oil. RGGI-funded grant projects for residents, nonprofits, businesses and governmental entities (state and local) have totaled more than $28 million since 2009, said Gov. John Lynch in written testimony to the committee.

RGGI is a cap-and-trade program for electricity power generation companies such as Public Service of New Hampshire — the state’s largest power generator — that can either reduce their carbon dioxide emissions or purchase pollution allowances at quarterly auctions. Public Service is the only utility in the state that generates and distributes electricity.

New Hampshire joined RGGI completely in 2009 and it is believed to cost ratepayers somewhere between 36 to 40 cents per month. Economist Ross Gittell from the University of New Hampshire testified that there was no evidence that RGGI has hampered economic development in the state. He also said that ratepayers would still pay a surcharge because the state belongs to the regional power grid, which charges RGGI fees regardless of participation.

HB 519 supporter Grant Bosse, the lead investigator with the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, testified that no one will know if RGGI has cut CO2 emissions until next year when the first compliance reports will be issued and that allowance price and sales volume have become weaker than expected. He also found fault with the competitive grant making process from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund.

In the fiscal analysis of the bill, the Public Utilities Commission estimated that if the state withdrew from RGGI, it would lose between $9.8 million and $18 million in funding from the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Fund in the next budget year. The final funding figures would depend on the auction price for allowances and the rate of economic recovery.

The original RGGI bill, House Bill 1434, was co-sponsored in 2008 by current senate President Peter Bragdon (R-Milford) and Sen. Bob Odell (R-Lempster). So far, HB 519 has no Democratic co-sponsors.

>> Tuesday, Feb. 15, executive session of the House Science, Energy and Technology Committee on House Bill 519, Legislative Office Building, Room 304, 3 p.m.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

In what is shaping up to be the busiest period yet for lawmakers this session, the House will meet twice next week to vote on dozens of bills — on Tuesday after Gov. John Lynch’s budget address to the Legislature and on Wednesday for its regularly scheduled session.

Two bills that we have reported on this session in Front Door Politics — one to cut state funding for public television and the other to cut the state’s rooms and meals tax rate – will have full House votes next week.

Defunding Public Television

House Bill 113, sponsored by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R-Manchester), would cut all state funding to New Hampshire Public Television — estimated at around $5 million for the next two years. The measure was recommended by the Finance Committee with a 19-6 vote in favor. Vaillancourt told the Portsmouth Herald last month that his proposal was “the easiest five million we can cut” from the budget.

The measure would prohibit the University System of New Hampshire, which oversees NHPTV, from using state money to fund the state’s only non-commercial television station.

“We are not just a television station,” testified New Hampshire Public Television president and CEO Peter Frid before the Finance Committee last month. “We are a multi-media, community-centered institution that offers online services, and maintains numerous partnerships with community, educational, state and municipal agencies to extend the value of the public’s investment.” Frid estimates that NHPTV serves more than one million viewers a month and that the loss of state revenue would impact as much as one-third of the station’s $8.5 million annual budget.

Reducing Rooms and Meals Tax

House Bill 166, which would reduce the rooms and meals tax from 9 to 8 percent, was recommended by the Ways and Means Committee by a 16-5, party line vote. The committee’s majority report by Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Loudon) said, “Reducing the tax is good for our economy, encourages people to spend money here, and helps our business community grow and create jobs.”

The Minority report by Rep. Christine Hamm (D-Hopkinton) said it was doubtful that consumers would be concerned by a 70 cents tax difference for a $70 hotel bill. “Since the commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development confirmed that assumption when he testified there had been no impact on the state meals and rooms revenues that could be attributable to the rate’s increase in 2010, and since the state is in need of sustainable revenues, the minority considers a reduction of this rate to be unnecessary and inadvisable at this time,” Hamm wrote.

If enacted, the bill is estimated to cut state revenues between $16.3 million and $27.2 million.

Redefining Renewable Energy

House Bill 302 would change the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards law and, among other impacts, add large hydropower plants to the list of what’s considered “renewable” (see earlier posts from Feb. 4 and Feb. 7). As expected, following the public hearing for HB 302 on Feb. 8, the Science, Energy and Technology Committee gave it a unanimous thumbs-down. The Inexpedient to Legislate recommendation has relegated the to be killed on the consent calendar next week.

>> The House and Senate will meet in joint session on Tuesday, February 15, at 10:00 am.

>> The House will meet immediately after the budget address until 3:00 p.m., and will reconvene on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 10:00 a.m.

>> The Senate will meet in session on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 1:00 p.m.

This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.

Rep. Richard Barry (R-Merrimack), the sponsor of a bill to change the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards law, told Front Door Politics Monday morning that the Science Energy and Technology Committee has decided to give the proposal an “inexpedient to legislate” recommendation in advance of tomorrow’s scheduled hearing. Barry said he did not intend for the House Bill 302 to benefit large-scale hydro electric providers, such as Hydro-Quebec’s pending Northern Pass project. (See our Friday, Feb. 4 Daily Dispatch for more information about HB 302.)

On a related scheduling note, Barry’s bill to withdraw New Hampshire from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will receive an all-day public hearing in Representatives Hall at the State House on Thursday, Feb. 10, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. House Bill 519 would repeal the cap and trade program known as RGGI, designed to control New Hampshire’s carbon dioxide emissions. (See our Dec. 28 Daily Dispatch for more information about repealing RGGI.)

This breaking news post was written by Michael McCord and Hilary Niles.