Expect a veto fight over the “Right to Work.” House Bill 474 would prevent public sector unions from collecting fees from non-union employees who are nonetheless covered under the union’s collective bargaining agreements.
Lynch has five days to sign the bill into law or veto it. Or let it become law without his signature — but that’s not likely.
Remember the recent uproar over public employee unions in New Hampshire? The one about eliminating collective bargaining obligations when labor contracts end?
It was slipped into the House budget proposal, but the N.H. Senate has stripped the controversy from its version of the budget. And now, a Senate committee has reshaped House Bill 580, which also included a collective bargaining provision that organized labor strongly opposed.
Later today, the Senate Finance committee will hear public testimony for the first time on the overall $10.3 billion biennium budget passed by the House last month.
Expect a long list of speakers to line up in Representatives Hall to support or oppose the myriad proposals for revenue and spending in 2012-2013. Senate budget writers have until June 2 to complete their version of the budget, at which point the House and Senate will have to hammer out any differences.
The committee is scheduled for two (2) two-hour sessions this afternoon and this evening on the main budget bills, House Bill 1 and House Bill 2.
What does it mean to be a Right-to-Work state?
Depending on one’s political perspective, it could mean more employee freedom and a better business climate, or it could mean lower pay for workers.
The New Hampshire Senate will give its answer to the question Wednesday when it takes up one of the more controversial issues of the session with House Bill 474.
The vastly outnumbered N.H. House Democrats face almost certain defeat in the battle over the 2012-2013 biennium budget. But, with the floor amendments they’ve introduced, it’s clear they don’t plan to go down without a debate about how to raise and spend state funds.
Altogether, there are 19 Democrat-sponsored floor amendments to the House Finance Committee’s version of House Bills 1 and 2, which together comprise the state budget. …
The finer points of a proposed $2.796 billion two-year general fund budget for New Hampshire will be presented to lawmakers today by the House Finance Committee, in advance of a vote later this week. Here are a few notable points…
The N.H. Senate is in session today to vote on more than 40 bills and amendments. Here is a sampling of the proposals we are keeping an eye on — retirement system reform, expanded gambling and car registration.
Our midstream progress report 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.
The battle over the 2012-2013 New Hampshire state budget has officially commenced, and Gov. John Lynch will make the case for his $4.7 billion budget proposal to lawmakers at a public hearing tomorrow.
When Democratic Gov. John Lynch delivers his state budget address tomorrow, it will be a dramatic change from his last budget speech in February 2009.
Democratic majorities in both the N.H. House and Senate have been replaced by Republican super-majorities, and the state’s budget crisis has deepened. The next two-year budget hasn’t even been crafted yet, and deficit estimates range from $400 million to the $1 billion figure claimed by Republican leaders.
