The legislature has passed a new state budget…..Total spending is 8.6 billion dollars -- 2.7 billion of that coming from state taxes…… The package includes Governor Lynch's proposal to add 28 cents to the tobacco tax…..While he has reservations, Lynch says he will sign the budget into law as soon as it reaches his desk.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Josh Rogers has more.
The decisive vote came in the house and was not on the budget itself but on its trailer bill -- the companion measure that allows the spending plan to be put into effect …….Governor Lynch had last week said lawmakers failed the public by larding the trailer bill with policy matters that deserved greater public scrutiny……At the time didn't rule out a veto…But after the votes……Lynch allowed the state got best budget it could get under the circumstances.
"Back in November we were faced with a budget deficit of close to 300 million dollars. Back then a lot of people didn't think we could come up a budget that eliminated that huge deficit. So now we're at a point where we've eliminated the deficit and we've funded a number of priorities that are important to us as a state, so I think on balance it's as good a budget as we could pass at this point in time."
Lynch's take on the budget was echoed by most who supported the plan……In the senate…..That support was widespread…and….bipartisan…..The house was a different story……There nearly all democrats opposed the bill……and they were joined by about 30 member of the GOP……..
"This is my third time going through a budget cycle and one thing I'm amazed by is that I hear from leadership on both sides of the aisle this is the best we can get….."
John Gibson is a Republican from Merrimack…..Citing the budget's near doubling of traffic fines……He accused budget writers of "nickling and diming the working families."
"The citizens of Nh deserve better than the trailer bill…..Let the conferees work on this over the summer -- let them endure some questions that need to be asked."
Democrats also had plenty of questions……ranging from cuts to the L-chip land conservation program to the budget's inclusion of polices to allow the state to crack down on seniors who spend down their assets to become Medicaid eligible……..Another key point of contention was a late move by budget writers to used an 11 million dollar surplus found in the health and human services budget to retain a telecommunication tax exemption. Stoddard House democrat Dan Eaton said that move defied logic.
"It does not make sense when we had a critical budget year and huge deficits to make up --programs being cut right and left that we signed a committee of conference report that left 13 million dollars of federal money on the table and flushed it down the toilet. It does not make sense that we downshifted 19 plus million dollars to the counties."
But despite such arguments, house leadership was able to hold the line……In large measure by arguing that the budget contained more good that bad…..Deputy Speaker Ken Weyler sat on the budget committee of conference. He stressed his belief that the spending package compared favorably to any of the five budgets he'd helped negotiate.
"There is no imaginary revenue. There is no vainly hoped for big discounts in the back of the budget…There isno big one time federal largess that will save us: This is a solid budget."
Overall, the budget spends about 140 million dollars more than the current one……..And about 66 million dollars less that that originally proposed by Governor Lynch.
