NH Budget

Pamela Rogers is a mother of four, who, lately, has the entire house to herself.

“I’m getting a little taste of what it’s like to be an empty nester. I don’t really care for it, but ...” Pam says.

Three of her kids have left home. One is in the military, one’s on a mission trip, another in college in Idaho.

We recap the fate of the state's death penalty and the efforts to override the governor's veto. The state files two statewide lawsuits against eight companies, including 3M, DuPont and its spinoff, Chemours, for environmental contamination caused by PFAS chemicals. Senate budget writers try to wrap up the state spending plan with a close eye on education funding. And we preview the events in celebration of the bicentennial of the New Hampshire State House.

GUESTS:

  The New Hampshire House approved a $12.9 billion state budget today.

The budget passed by the Democratic majority does not include many of Gov. Chris Sununu's proposals.

We focus on the state budget following Governor Chris Sununu's budget address on Thursday, Feb. 14. We provide some context for the state's priorities and examine what new efforts the governor is highlighting. We also take a look at what was not covered in the budget address. The democratically-controlled legislature will now begin a months-long process of debate and negotiation over some $13 billion worth of spending over two years. 

Governor Chris Sununu presented his proposed state budget today in a speech to lawmakers that kicks off a months-long process of debate and negotiation over some $13 billion worth of spending over two years.

Governor Chris Sununu will deliver his budget address on Thursday. The address will take place in front of the newly Democratic-controlled New Hampshire House and Senate and will provide clues about where the governor and state lawmakers are likely to find consensus - and conflict - during this budget-building session, set to go through June. 

Legislators find the state may be on the hook to pay a lot more money to hospitals for people with no insurance or for those on Medicaid.  A proposed constitutional amendment that would give crime victims more rights gets hung up in a House committee.  And the state emphasizes cost and competition in its new energy plan. 

Catch up on this week's stop N.H. stories:  The New Hampshire House and Senate pass an $11.7 billion budget. Despite a Republican majority, GOP leaders had to work hard to pass this spending plan, but it's now on its way to the Governor's desk.  Another fraught issue for both sides of the aisle: a bill funding full-day kindergarten.  And more than 80 Great Dane dogs were rescued from a puppy mill operating out of a mansion in Wolfeboro.

New Hampshire’s 400 plus state lawmakers had their last session day Thursday and they had one major item left on the agenda to get through – passing the state’s next two-year budget.

Online scratch tickets could soon be a reality in New Hampshire.

Lawmakers are betting on this expansion of the New Hampshire state lottery to generate millions of dollars in revenue in the next two-year state budget.

That $11.7 billion spending plan is set to go before the full House and Senate on Thursday.

N.H. House and Senate negotiators reach a deal on the $11.7 billion budget this week but the spending plan is facing pushback from both sides of the aisle ahead of next week's full vote. At a hearing on the Northern Pass project, opponents show up in force. And bears continue to make news in the Granite State. 

It was another busy week: former FBI Director James Comey gave testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee yesterday, Governor Sununu aligned with President Trump on his decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, and there's more wrangling over the state budget. 

New Hampshire legislators begin the final stage of the state budget-writing process this week. On Friday, a handful of senators and House members will gather to hammer out a compromise plan for state spending over the next two years.

Billions of dollars are at stake, and NHPR’s newsroom has been keeping an eye on several key policy areas. Here's an overview on where several big-ticket items stand.

After more than ten hours of debate, the New Hampshire Senate passes a GOP-crafted state budget along party lines. The N.H. House will vote on the plan next week. Three significant pieces of voting legislation are up for a final vote in the House.   Former Manchester Police Chief David Mara takes over as the Governor's Advisor on Addiction and Behavioral Health, known as the "drug czar".  Mara currently serves as interim police chief in Portsmouth. 

All eyes have been on the Senate after the House failed to pass its own version of the budget earlier this year – for the first time in decades.  The Senate budget includes much of what House budget writers agreed on, though it spends less and includes business tax cuts.