House Democrats Put Politics Over Students

Concord, NH- House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) released the following statement after the House acted on three bills to expand the Education Freedom Account program. 

“Since the legislature instituted the Education Freedom Account program, the intention from the very first draft has always been for it to be universal. Out of an abundance of caution, we started small and have gradually increased it. Ultimately removing the income cap entirely is in the best interest of New Hampshire taxpayers, parents, and students.”

“The fact remains that we now have the most popular education choice program in the country. By failing to provide this flexibility to all children, we are playing petty games with their futures, putting politics over people. This is discrimination against every family who may not fall under an arbitrary level of poverty set by the federal government. While the opposition would like to make our children wards of the state from cradle to grave, one-size-fits-all government run schooling is not the answer for every student.”

“We look forward to every child having access to their chosen educational pathway, after the coming elections in September and November.”

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House Republicans and Friends Across New Hampshire, On Tuesday, House Republicans will introduce HB1422, also known as the Consumer Tax Relief Act. House Republicans know that every savings matters to Granite Staters amidst record inflation and the high cost of living, and we are working to find every avenue to lower prices. This package of Tax Cuts will make sure that you have more of your hard earned money left in your pocket. Meanwhile, House Democrats will introduce a bill to reimpose the Interest and Dividends Income tax on your retirement savings, an absolute assault on the New Hampshire Advantage.  Then, on Wednesday, House Republicans will introduce HB1561. Having heard consistent worry towards people who many legislators have deemed at risk, in a gesture of goodwill, our party wanted to account for them in our wildly successful Education Freedom Accounts Program. We hope to provide better educational opportunities for people who are concerned about the spread of contagious diseases such as COVID-19, those who identify as LGBTQ, those who suffer from eating disorders and mental health issues, and those whose districts have inappropriate PFAS levels in their water. Surely, we can all work together to lift up and provide new pathways for these disenfranchised populations that we have heard so much about.  Finally, please note that State Offices will be closed on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

All the best, Jason Osborne, House Majority Leader

MESSAGE FROM THE MAJORITY LEADER  House Republicans and Friends Across New Hampshire, The first two days of session this past week delivered some significant wins for Republicans.   The budget we passed last year, although balanced and containing an important tax reduction, nonetheless represented an exorbitant increase in state spending. Any surplus funds extracted from taxpayers in this biennium must be returned to the taxpayers in the form of additional tax rate reductions or given to future taxpayers in the form of paying down our debt. Passage of HB436 is a great start toward ensuring our budget surplus is not squandered. We defeated HB601, which would enroll New Hampshire into the Medicaid direct certification program for free and reduced meals – automatically adding anyone who qualifies for Medicaid into free and reduced meals. This bill is estimated to cost the State of New Hampshire roughly $190.3 million in additional education spending over the biennium. Just this past spring, the legislature considered students eligible for free and reduced meals, and as a result, increased spending by $193 million. Not only is this irresponsible and redundant spending, but also a gross violation of parental rights and our constitutional right to privacy. There are many reasons parents may not enroll their children in programs such as the free and reduced meal program, and this bill would share personal data between agencies and districts without parental consent. Additionally, we defeated permanent Medicaid Expansion, ranked- choice voting, allowing individuals to change their gender on their birth certificate, and another Democrat attempt to raise electric rates on ratepayers. And, for the time being, we managed to lay on the table two bills aimed at allowing nonresidents to be issued drivers’ licenses- including Real IDs. We passed, on a bipartisan vote, a prohibition on genital mutilation for minors, and I thank the brave members on the other side of the aisle who risked being alienated by their caucus for voting the right way on this bill. There is currently no data on these types of surgeries and pushback against this bill shows there is a significant misunderstanding that parents are being led to believe these surgeries are safe. This bill will hold transgender care to the same scientific standard as other medical specialties – while putting limits on doctors and protecting children, who are not small adults as some would argue. Our work is just beginning. Monday will begin our busy session of public hearings and exec sessions. While there are many great pieces of legislation sponsored by Republicans aiming to expand your freedoms and keep more money in your pockets, there are just as many that would allow the government more interference in your lives. We will do our part, but we need your help. Please take a look at the hearings coming up in our calendar and make your voices heard.

All the best,

House Republicans and Friends Across New Hampshire,

This past week there were some important maneuvers New Hampshire’s government took in order to further protect ratepayers.  Last Friday I was pleased to see Governor Sununu veto HB147, which would have extended the timeline for Burgess Bio to get their finances under control. While no one likes to see a company have to potentially close its doors, Burgess’s management has been provided over 5 years of chances, and $200 million in subsidies, to put forth a financial plan. During that time they have presented nothing other than asking for more bailout money. Back in 2017, Maine faced a similar situation. An investment company siphoned millions of dollars from the government at taxpayers’ expense. We do not want to see the same thing happen here.As Governor Sununu said, “enough is enough.”  In case you missed it, 5 other New England States recently sent a letter to ISO-New England requesting that they create an executive-level environmental justice position. Yesterday I signed on to a letter to ISO-New England with Governor Sununu, Speaker Packard, and 10 other legislators asking them to reject this request. Not only would this position work to further policy goals that fall outside of ISO-NE’s mandate, but this would be a terribly wasteful expense. We should not be prioritizing expensive social policy over ratepayer affordability.    This past session year the legislature took important steps to protect ratepayers, and it remains one of our top priorities. We will continue to fight to ensure reliable and affordable energy.

All the best, Jason Osborne, House Majority Leader

MESSAGE FROM THE MAJORITY LEADER
 

House Republicans and Friends Across New Hampshire,
 

It was a historic day in the House yesterday as we voted to concur with the Senate budget bills. Of course there are aspects of this budget that I do not like, but there are many items that we could not afford to pass up. Should this have gone to a committee of conference, there was a very good chance that we could have lost on items that we worked hard to include. 

I am proud that this budget contains reforms to the state of emergency law. I am proud that we accomplished an accelerated phase out of the Interest and Dividends Tax – NH’s income tax. We were successful in passing a sunset on the Medicaid Expansion program, ensuring that it does not become permanent. And, overall, this budget spent less than what the House originally sent to the Senate.

We passed over $200 million in Meals and Rooms tax distributions to municipalities. We passed a record investment in education funding – over $2 billion dollars over the biennium. We passed Investments in mental health, system of care for the elderly, and childcare. And we passed over $200 million in Meals and Rooms tax distributions to municipalities, over $70 million in highway block grants to municipalities, and $6 million for municipal bridge aid grants.

As you can see, there are many great things in the state budget. This was a budget based on the hard work of the House, and much of what is in the budget was also in the House version. We will not stop here. We will continue to fight for House priorities that may not have made it in to the final version to ensure we live up to all of our promises to Granite Staters. 
 

All the best, 

Jason Osborne, House Majority Leader

Majority Leader Osborne Statement on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization Decision

Concord, NH – NH House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) issued the following statement following the Supreme Court of the United States decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case:

“Last year, we passed legislation that put limits on the most extreme and unnecessary late-term abortions. A majority of Granite Staters and Americans oppose the idea of allowing abortion up until the very moment of birth, and our laws now affirm that sentiment. This year, the House passed additional legislation that upheld our basic values regarding this issue on a unanimous bipartisan vote. While today’s ruling returning complete authority over abortion back to the states where it belongs is a great triumph for Federalism, it does nothing to change the accessibility of these services in New Hampshire.”

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