In what is shaping up to be the busiest period yet for lawmakers this session, the House will meet twice next week to vote on dozens of bills — on Tuesday after Gov. John Lynch’s budget address to the Legislature and on Wednesday for its regularly scheduled session.
Two bills that we have reported on this session in Front Door Politics — one to cut state funding for public television and the other to cut the state’s rooms and meals tax rate – will have full House votes next week.
Defunding Public Television
House Bill 113, sponsored by Rep. Steve Vaillancourt (R-Manchester), would cut all state funding to New Hampshire Public Television — estimated at around $5 million for the next two years. The measure was recommended by the Finance Committee with a 19-6 vote in favor. Vaillancourt told the Portsmouth Herald last month that his proposal was “the easiest five million we can cut” from the budget.
The measure would prohibit the University System of New Hampshire, which oversees NHPTV, from using state money to fund the state’s only non-commercial television station.
“We are not just a television station,” testified New Hampshire Public Television president and CEO Peter Frid before the Finance Committee last month. “We are a multi-media, community-centered institution that offers online services, and maintains numerous partnerships with community, educational, state and municipal agencies to extend the value of the public’s investment.” Frid estimates that NHPTV serves more than one million viewers a month and that the loss of state revenue would impact as much as one-third of the station’s $8.5 million annual budget.
Reducing Rooms and Meals Tax
House Bill 166, which would reduce the rooms and meals tax from 9 to 8 percent, was recommended by the Ways and Means Committee by a 16-5, party line vote. The committee’s majority report by Rep. Laurie Sanborn (R-Loudon) said, “Reducing the tax is good for our economy, encourages people to spend money here, and helps our business community grow and create jobs.”
The Minority report by Rep. Christine Hamm (D-Hopkinton) said it was doubtful that consumers would be concerned by a 70 cents tax difference for a $70 hotel bill. “Since the commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development confirmed that assumption when he testified there had been no impact on the state meals and rooms revenues that could be attributable to the rate’s increase in 2010, and since the state is in need of sustainable revenues, the minority considers a reduction of this rate to be unnecessary and inadvisable at this time,” Hamm wrote.
If enacted, the bill is estimated to cut state revenues between $16.3 million and $27.2 million.
Redefining Renewable Energy
House Bill 302 would change the state’s Renewable Portfolio Standards law and, among other impacts, add large hydropower plants to the list of what’s considered “renewable” (see earlier posts from Feb. 4 and Feb. 7). As expected, following the public hearing for HB 302 on Feb. 8, the Science, Energy and Technology Committee gave it a unanimous thumbs-down. The Inexpedient to Legislate recommendation has relegated the to be killed on the consent calendar next week.
>> The House and Senate will meet in joint session on Tuesday, February 15, at 10:00 am.
>> The House will meet immediately after the budget address until 3:00 p.m., and will reconvene on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 10:00 a.m.
>> The Senate will meet in session on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 1:00 p.m.
This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.