The New Hampshire Senate has approved a bill to triple state funding for job training programs.
The Democratically-controlled Senate passed the bill along party lines 14-10 Thursday. Supporters said it fills in the gaps of existing programs, and would be of particular help to recent high school graduates entering trade professions, older workers on their second or third careers and those in recovery from addiction.
The bill, which now goes to the House, would increase the amount transferred from the state's unemployment insurance trust fund to a job training fund from $2 million to $6 million each year. Republicans argued the state already spends more than $80 million per year on job training and that the bill amounts to a tax increase on small businesses.
