The Business and Industry Association has come out in opposition to seven bills before the legislature this session.
Some of the targeted bills would increase workers comp disability payments,prohibit employers from firing workers for criticizing their companies, and forbid discrimination against unemployed job applicants. BIA President Jim Roche says legislators should instead focus on cutting down on regulations and increasing STEM education in schools. Both of which are included in the BIA’s Strategic Economic Plan.
“New Hampshire’s at a fork in the road. One road leads New Hampshire toward becoming just another expensive, not very business-friendly, Northeast US state," Roche says. "The other road, articulated in the Strategic Economic Plan for New Hampshire, will lead New Hampshire to stand alone in the Northeast US as a place where businesses thrive, create jobs, generate tax revenue.”
The BIA hasn’t called for lawmakers to fully adopt its economic plan. And the association is neutral on a House bill would establish a state plan. But Roche says it’s “redundant.”