New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch has vetoed a bill that would require the Legislature's fiscal committee to approve all collective bargaining agreements entered into by the state.
Under the current system, the executive branch has negotiated contracts between public employers and employees, while the Legislature decides through the budget process how much money is to be spent on personnel, wages and benefits.
Lynch says the bill dramatically changes that, and would turn the fiscal committee into its own state negotiating team that would have to approve each item involving three unions, eight contracts and 27 subcontracts, many of which contain hundreds of provisions.