|
Week Four - February 6, 2009
This electronic publication, known as The Advocate, is brought to you each Friday by your Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with our friends at Devine Millimet & Branch, and ActiveEdge. Please use this piece to review what has happened in Concord this past week, read about our Chamber's lobbying efforts relating to those activities, and preview what we are doing on behalf of our Chamber members in the coming week.
This Week’s
Update
Below are the items we are working on this week.
New Hampshire Budget Deficit Spins Out Of Control
This week, Linda Hodgdon, the Commissioner of the Department of Administrative Services, predicted that the budget shortfall for the current fiscal year would be upwards of $300 million. If her prediction is correct, and there seems to be a sense around the State House that it is correct, the Governor has a big problem on his hands. A $300 million deficit would mean that, even with the drastic cuts that the Governor made last year by executive orders and in HB 30, which just passed the House this week, the cuts would amount to only a little more than half of that deficit. Even throwing in all the money in the State’s Rainy Day Fund would not serve to cover the difference. Although there may be some in Concord who will look to extract even more from places like private healthcare providers who care for the State’s Medicaid population, we think it’s time for the State to look long and hard at the State’s own house. What programs are necessary, and what programs are optional? Let’s not balance the State’s budget on the back of New Hampshire businesses. We will be eagerly awaiting the Governor’s budget presentation on Thursday.
HB 412: Business Incentives
Our own Representative Pete Hinkle of Merrimack has sponsored HB 412, an expansion to the Research & Development tax credit law that passed in 2007. R&D is a long term investment in the future and will help create new business opportunities. 71 companies have applied for the tax credit since it was created in 2007. Many additional companies are interested in applying for the credit. The State should increase the credit to $2M due to the evident additional demand. New Hampshire has slipped in the hi-tech area over the last few years, losing its leadership position to a number of other states across the country, and this bill could be a step toward regaining that position. Neither NH DRED nor DRA took a position on the bill. The High Tech Council, as well as your Chamber, supported the legislation. The odds of HB 412 passing are slim due to the economic downturn; but, the Chamber believes it is still important to support all incentives that will create a stronger business climate in this State.
Business Burdens: HB 662, 663, 652
HB 662, which advocates for paid sick leave for employees, was heard this week by the House Labor Committee and a standing-room only crowd. Many businesses provide paid sick leave as a part of the employment benefits package. However, how sick leave is paid varies from business to business. Some utilize an “earned time off” or “paid time off” program that allows hours worked to accrue time to use toward vacation, personal or family illness, doctor appointments, school volunteerism, and other such activities of the employee’s choice. Also, the benefits offered to employees of business vary, depending on the resources of the employer, the type of employee the business is seeking and the input from employees. Business needs flexibility in order to meet its employees’ needs with benefit packages. This bill will interfere with the flexibility a business requires in the area of employee benefits. This legislation will force those employers to break time off into separate categories that will add administrative time to the employer and may be detrimental to the employee. The legislature should not mandate benefit packages. This bill goes against at least three of the Chamber’s guiding principles:
- Does the issue in question allow for a healthy balance between government
oversight and free-market principles? No.
- Does the issue impact the cost of doing business within New Hampshire? Yes.
- Does the issue in question promote or foster job growth or economic
development? No.
We will work tirelessly to defeat yet another bill that, if passed, will contribute to New Hampshire being business-unfriendly.
Another bill heard before the Labor Committee to a full house was HB 663, which creates a process for employers to request employment flexibility. According to the sponsor, a similar bill is working its way through the Federal system. Employees, ages 25-40, want more family time and flexible work schedules. Not all employers have the ability to allow flex time due to their type of business. The bill would override individual contracts and attempt to micro-manage businesses. Even the process of administering flex time ties up the time and productivity of businesses. This bill could be a problem for the State and municipalities as well as business. How can this work in a city or town? The town or an employer can say “no,” but only after a lengthy process. The Municipal Association, along with the Chamber and other business organizations, oppose this bill. It’s a new employee benefit mandate. Most companies try to work with their employees to be sensitive to their needs. We all know happy employees contribute to a businesses success. This bill is cumbersome and will increase costs of business, non-profits and government. Please, New Hampshire, let business run without all the interference.
Not only was the House Labor Committee packed this week, but the House Environment and Agriculture Committee was overflowing as HB 652 was heard. This bill is one more attempt by the Sierra Club to institute an extremely costly environmental impact process on all projects undertaken by a public agency; a private project with any public money; or, any project that is leased, permitted, licensed or certified by a public agency - in other words, almost all projects. One State Representative suggested if a project has to have a comprehensive environmental impact statement, it should also have a regulatory impact statement. The Departments of Environmental Services and Transportation opposed the bill, as well as your Chamber, Associated General Contractors and other business groups. This same idea has come up for the last four years, had an exhaustive study and no one can find a way to adopt an environmental policy statement for the State that does not have consequences. The current New Hampshire law and the National Environmental Policy Act are sufficient. With so many huge economic issues in the state, hopefully the House Environment Committee will not move this bill forward.
The Weeks Ahead
Things will begin to get really interesting starting next week. The Governor will unveil his budget for 2010-2011, in which we expect to have some major cuts. In addition, the Governor has to balance the 2009 budget by June 30th. All of this has to occur when there is bill after bill putting more regulation and burdens on the business community at a time when everyone is struggling. Stay tuned.
Acknowledgements
This weekly update is made possible by the generous support of Devine Millimet & Branch, one of the state’s top law firms and our Chamber’s contracted representative in Concord. If your business has a legislative or local issue that needs strategic consulting and attention, they are a valuable resource that can help navigate you through both local and state processes.
This weekly update is designed and maintained by our friends at ActiveEdge, and we thank them for their help in delivering this piece to your inbox every Friday!
If you have questions about this update, or comments to share
with us about other issues in Concord, please email Chris Williams
at cwilliams@nashuachamber.com.
We want to be sure we're representing you to the best of our ability,
so do not hesitate to reach out to us!
J.
Christopher Williams
President & CEO
Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce
151 Main St.
Nashua, NH 03060
Phone: 603.881.8333
Fax: 603.881.7323
| 
