The New Hampshire House Finance Committee passed its version of the next two-year state budget along party lines Wednesday.
A key issue for budget writers going forward will be forecasting state tax revenue.
The House committee's budget rejected many of Gov. Chris Sununu's top priorities, including a new forensic psychiatric hospital and further business tax reductions.
The House also adds a new tax on some capital gains.
The House plans to send an additional $150 million to schools, and restart revenue sharing with cities and towns, which was suspended in the recession.
As the state Senate now gets ready to ramp up its budget work, New Hampshire Revenue Commissioner Lindsey Stepp is warning that receipts from business taxes, which have surged lately due to changes at the federal level, may slow.
"For fiscal year 19 we are 37 percent over plan, we are 18 percent ahead of prior year. I'm going to bet that 18 percent is going to go down after April," Stepp said.
Stepp believes up to $100 million of business taxes collected last year is unlikely to be repeated this year.
