Critical Week to Speak Out on the State Budget
- Amplify NH
- May 5
- 5 min read
As New Hampshire’s Senate Finance Committee continues to deliberate the House-approved $15.36 billion budget, Granite Staters are still left grappling with the threat of the deep cuts to essential services and costs raised in the House Republican budget. If they take effect, these cuts are poised to jeopardize access to critical health care services, harm our public education systems and universities, as well as eliminate critical state offices.
This week, let’s take a closer look at what’s on the line as the Senate compiles their budget and how Granite Staters can take a stand against the inclusion of harmful provisions:
What’s on the Line in the Senate Budget Debates?
As we explored in a previous newsletter, the budget passed by NH Republicans at the State House last month will raise costs on Granite Staters across the board, making essential services and resources inaccessible or cutting them entirely. As the Senate compiles their own budget and considers the House’s cuts and inclusions, here are some of the lowlights and what they would mean for Granite Staters if the Senate were to adopt them in their version of the budget:
The NH House Republican budget will increase your property taxes:
This budget cuts the Meals and Room tax distribution to cities and towns by $11.2 million, which will need to be offset by local property tax increases.
This budget expands the use of public taxpayer dollars to fund private and religious schools and could divert more than $100 million per year away from public schools, which will need to be offset by local property taxes.
The NH House Republican budget increases healthcare costs:
This budget will raise the cost of prescription drugs by eliminating a program that identified more than $6 million in savings for prescriptions for Granite Staters in just one year.
This budget eliminates the Family Planning Program, which will increase costs on birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment for lower-income Granite Staters.
This budget endorses Kelly Ayotte’s new healthcare income tax, which forces low-income Granite Staters to pay a 5% tax on their income for healthcare insurance premiums.
This budget cuts $52.5 million in funding for hospitals and healthcare providers, which will force them to increase costs on healthcare services for all Granite Staters.
The House Republican Budget makes housing less affordable:
By eliminating the Housing Appeals Board, this budget creates more red tape, increases the time it takes to settle disputes between towns and developers, and will lead to fewer affordable housing units being built.
This budget eliminates the Housing Champion grant program, which provides $5 million in funding to towns and cities to increase housing, and will result in fewer new housing units and higher housing costs.
The House Republican Budget increases the costs to educate our kids:
This budget cuts funding for early childhood education, which is already severely underfunded.
According to a recent NH Fiscal Policy Institute analysis, the state’s failure to adequately fund early childhood education cost $22,416-$35,004 in lost earnings to Granite State families and reduced revenues of state government, local governments, and small businesses.
This budget cuts $50 million from the University System of NH, eliminates $5.4 million in scholarship funding, and cuts $4 million from the Community College System, which will increase the cost of education for hardworking Granite Staters.
With a 2023 court ruling that NH is underfunding public education by close to $1 billion per year, this budget fails to address this court ruling and leaves local property taxpayers shouldering the cost burden.
Stand Up for a Better Budget on May 6
Tomorrow, Tuesday, May 6 at 1 PM, a public hearing on the state budget will be held before the Senate Fiscal Committee. The hearing will take place in Representatives Hall at the New Hampshire State House.
Those who wish to testify must attend in person— there will be no remote attendance options. Those interested in submitting a comment ahead of the hearing can do so here.
If you are unable to attend the hearing, contact your state senator by phone or email to urge them not to support NH Republicans’ harmful budget measures. You can find your state senator’s information here.
Make your voice heard by attending this hearing and demanding a better budget from your state Senators!
Join Our Training This Week!
This Thursday, May 8,, Amplify NH will be hosting our latest Digital 101 training from 6:30 PM- 7:30 PM for anyone just starting out in the digital activism space. We’ll cover all the basics you will need to get started expanding your activism from in person to online. From a breakdown of different social media platforms, to how to amplify content across platforms and audiences, to starting to create your own content, this training is perfect for anyone! You can sign up for the training below:
Take Action This Week!
Attend the public Senate budget hearing at 1 PM on Tuesday, May 6, at Representatives Hall in the State House.
Speak out against harmful budget measures by calling your state senator.
Join us for our Digital 101 training on Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 PM.
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Thank you,
Ryan Mahoney
Executive Director