Politics

In a rare bipartisan vote every member of the New Hampshire Congressional delegation voted to extend a payroll tax holiday for millions of average workers.

The payroll bill wasn’t released publicly until last night and many members studied it until late in the evening. 

The bill puts around one thousand dollars into the pockets of average workers.

Many Republicans didn’t like that the tax cut wasn’t paid for and comes from money that’s intended for the Social Security Trust Fund.

But Second District Republican Congressman Charlie Bass says it was important to pass the bill so that Congress can move onto other pressing matters.

The New Hampshire House of Representatives is currently awash in education bills, many of which will never see the light of day. However, some of these bills are setting the stage for big discussions about public schools, the role of the state, and the rights of parents.

To help sort through the confusion, the following is a roundup of bills coming before the House between now and Crossover day.

Today marked Governor John Lynch's last State of the State address. And, as one might expect during a slow trudge toward recovery, the bulk of Lynch focused either directly or indirectly on the economy.

Gov. John Lynch gives his final state of the state address to the House and Senate. Read the transcript of the  live tweets from the Statehouse below:

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That's all for our live coverage! Check with NHPR and NHPR.orgthis afternoon for more coverage and analysis. #nhsots

40 minutes ago

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Highlights from Gov. Lynch's state of the state address.

State of the State Address - Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Opening

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Senate President, Madam Chief Justice and members of the judiciary, honorable members of the Executive Council, House and Senate, and my fellow citizens of New Hampshire:

First, let me thank our great first lady, Dr. Susan Lynch. For eight years, Susan has juggled our family and her medical practice with service to organizations such as Walk New Hampshire and the Prouty. She has been a strong advocate for children and families. Thank you, Susan, for your love and support of our family and me, and for your commitment to New Hampshire.

Gov. Lynch will deliver his final state of the state address to the House and Senate on Tuesday, Jan 31.  He announced in September of 2011 that he would not seek a fifth term.

NHPR and NHPR.org will carry this speech live from the Statehouse at 11 a.m.

As the New Hampshire legislature begins whittling down a bevy of economy-related bills, we thought it would be helpful to offer you a brief, on-going roundup of what we believe are some key economic issues the General Court will be looking at, and why. We've also included resources if you'd like to research and track these issues on your own, or get in touch with the governor or your legislator.

This is not a comprehensive list of business– and economy-related legislation. But unlike most of our posts, this piece will be a living document. We'll be keeping track of some key legislation, adding things to watch for, and otherwise updating the post as needed.

The New Hampshire House has passed its redistricting plan. Below are three maps to help  you see what's proposed and how it's different from today's voting districts.

• The first map shows the proposed House districts, including the "floaterials" which appear as green overlays on the map
• The second is the proposed districts without the floterials, colored by the number of representatives which would be elected from each district.
• The third is the previous districts, color coded in the same way.

New Districts with Floterials  | New Districts without Floterials | Previous Districts