Today, we remember those who gave their lives so that we can be free. To those that have served, those that are serving, and those who will serve, you have our deepest thanks.

The Senate is slated to vote on this bill next week that will increase electricity bills for all New Hampshire ratepayers and businesses as part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)! HB 306 will increase the RGGI tax by 30%. I’m paying enough already. Are you? Call your Senator to fight this. Even better, take a vote away from this bill’s supporters by re-electing Joe Osgood.

For all the complaining that the NH Democratic Party engages in regarding “out of state interests”, this is pretty ironic:

NHGOP CALLS ON NORELLI TO STOP PAYING DUES TO NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF STATE LEGISLATURES
NCSL Actively Campaigning For Internet Sales Tax Legislation That Would Damage NH Advantage

Concord – New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Jennifer Horn sent the following letter to Speaker Terie Norelli today asking her to stop paying taxpayer funded dues to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). The NCSL is lobbying for the passage of the Internet sales tax bill that will hurt New Hampshire small businesses. Speaker Norelli also serves as president of the NCSL:

April 29, 2013

The Honorable Terie Norelli
State House
107 North Main Street
Concord, NH 03301

Dear Speaker Norelli,

On behalf of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee, I am writing to formally request that you seek to end New Hampshire’s payment of dues to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Under your leadership as President, the NCSL is actively supporting a disastrous Internet sales tax bill that will hurt New Hampshire small business owners. It is outrageous that Granite State taxpayers are being forced to fund an organization that is campaigning for legislation that will damage the New Hampshire Advantage.

According to the Legislative Accounting Office, New Hampshire taxpayers spent $126,879 in fiscal year 2013 on dues owed to the NCSL. The NCSL is using this money to fund a campaign to urge Members of Congress to support the job-killing Internet sales tax bill.

This legislation would burden New Hampshire small business owners with onerous new regulations and allow states with a sales tax to expand government by taking more money out of the pockets of working families. As Speaker of the House and NCSL President you must stand up for New Hampshire by demanding repayment of the dues paid to the NCSL and remove funding for the payments of these dues from the upcoming state budget.

While Senator Kelly Ayotte and other elected officials have spoken out against the Internet sales tax bill, you have said nothing. You have sat on your hands as President Obama, the leader of your party, and the NCSL, an organization that you oversee, have championed this devastating legislation. Your shameful silence raises serious questions about whether you would rather stand with New Hampshire, or quietly serve the interests of the states with a sales tax that you represent as NCSL President.

New Hampshire can no longer afford to fund an organization like the NCSL that is trying to damage our small business community. I look forward to your prompt response to this pressing matter.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Horn
Chairman, New Hampshire Republican State Committee

The North Charlestown Methodist Church is sponsoring a fund-raising breakfast for the Dupont family on Saturday. Please feel free to share the following …

· Pancake Breakfast to benefit the Dupont family of Charlestown whose house burned down:

· Saturday, May 4, 7-10 am, all you can eat full breakfast, handicap accessible

· $6.99 adults, $2.99 kids 6-12, kids five and under free

· North Charlestown Methodist Church, River Road/12A, off Rt. 12 between Claremont and Charlestown

Whether we agree or disagree with our legislators on a particular issue, Granite Staters expect our representatives and senators to be in Washington voting on our behalf. On Monday, Senator Jeanne Shaheen missed a vote for cloture on an issue particularly important to “Sales Tax Free” New Hampshire, S.743, legislation commonly known as the “Internet Sales Tax.”—- The Senator’s missed vote coupled with her refusal to take a leadership position against an Internet Sales Tax is a pattern of passiveness that could have a crippling effect on New Hampshire small businesses.

In response to Sen. Ayotte’s strong stance against S. 743, the Market Fairness Act, more appropriately known as the “Internet Sales Tax,” Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire thanked her for recognizing that this proposed legislation would have disastrous effects on small businesses in New Hampshire. Senator Ayotte saw the harm this bill would cause to businesses in New Hampshire, pushed to prevent this bill from happening, and even sponsored the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act of 2013.