News – Politics – Opinion – Podcasts
Andrew Cline 
Turnpike tolls and state park fees have stayed flat for years as inflation has eaten away at their value. To fight the effects of inflation, legislators voted this year to increase tolls and park fees for non-residents. Gov. Kelly Ayotte vetoed both bills, but in August legislators overrode those vetoes. Now that they’re law, here’s a … Read more
In 2017, 49% of Americans said a four-year college degree was worth the cost, according to NBC News polling. Last year, it was down to 33%. This week, the University of New Hampshire responded to those cost concerns by unveiling a pair of three-year online bachelor’s degrees available through the College of Professional Studies. These … Read more
In 2015, the year New Hampshire legislators began a series of business tax cuts, revenues from the state’s two primary business taxes were a combined $561.7 million. In the decade since, business tax revenues grew $3 billion in nominal dollars, or $2.5 billion in real dollars. From 2016-2025, the state collected $2.5 billion in new … Read more
With the passage into law of House Bill 1300, voters this fall will have the opportunity to cap their local school district budget increases and administration spending. How would this work? Josiah Bartlett Center President Andrew Cline wrote in NH Journal in May about the strange fact that Massachusetts has a statewide property tax cap, but New … Read more
Higher electricity prices are coming for Granite Staters this August. As you shake your fist and yell at the electricity gods, just remember one thing: More fuel = lower prices, and that includes the fuel we call natural gas. Confusingly, the media won’t stop suggesting the opposite. Here’s how New Hampshire Public Radio reported on the … Read more
Last year, a bipartisan majority of legislators agreed to legalize manufactured homes in all residential zones in the state. But it never happened. Though House Bill 685 passed both chambers on voice votes, it died in conference committee. The bill was an effort to open the housing market to a cheaper, smaller form of residential dwelling that … Read more
Granite Staters are often told that our low taxes are a liability and that copying the other New England states’ higher-tax, higher-spending model would improve affordability and the overall quality of life. New polling from the University of New Hampshire Survey Center suggests that the exact opposite is true. A series of UNH surveys released … Read more
In 1776, Josiah Bartlett really could’ve used a good cell phone plan. Stuck in sweltering Philadelphia as July crawled ever closer on the calendar, the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy’s namesake Founding Father was getting nervous. New Hampshire’s lead delegate to the Continental Congress, Bartlett was a passionate patriot. His first year as a … Read more
On March 21, Laconia launched New England’s first social district, a designated area where drinking is allowed in public under tightly regulated conditions. With Motorcycle Week looming, critics on social media mockingly predicted disaster. A week later, Joia Hughes, Laconia’s economic development and housing director, summed up the damage. “No problems,” she said. Mayor Mike … Read more
At the request of Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the New Hampshire Fish & Game Department has paused a proposed increase in fishing and hunting license fees. Department officials say the increases are needed to shore up the budget. The last fee increase took effect in 2016. A decade’s worth of inflation has eroded the value of … Read more
New Hampshire’s unique state tax structure is hard to understand, especially for people who don’t own a business. More than a third (36%) of the state General Fund and Education Trust Fund revenue comes from business taxes. The vast majority of that comes from the Business Profits Tax (BPT), but the lesser-known Business Enterprise Tax … Read more
As the 2026 legislative session wound down, it looked as though Republicans wouldn’t be able to agree on one of the party’s signature issues: cutting business taxes. During committee of conference negotiations last week, word spread (and was even reported in the news) that a House-passed Business Enterprise Tax cut was dead. House and Senate … Read more
The New Hampshire Turnpike System facilitates tourism and commuting in the Granite State. The three toll roads slash travel times in key corridors, which improves quality of life and helps the state’s economy grow. Turnpike users pay a small fee for the convenience of using these roads vs. more congested and slower local roads, essentially trading cash … Read more
Remote work, flex time, and independent contracting have reshaped the American workforce, creating new opportunities for both employers and employees. But in some states, including New Hampshire, outdated labor laws create obstacles to innovation, lost opportunities for employees, and unnecessary costs for employers. To modernize New Hampshire labor laws, legislators are addressing two outdated statutory … Read more
New Hampshire public school enrollment continues to decline at a faster rate than teacher employment, a Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy analysis of state data shows. Over the last 15 years, public schools in New Hampshire lost students at nearly three times the rate at which they lost teachers. From the 2011-2012 school year … Read more
Movers from Massachusetts to New Hampshire brought with them $5.95 billion in net adjusted gross income (AGI) from 2012-2023, IRS data show, representing a massive transfer of wealth from the high-tax Bay State to low-tax New Hampshire. New Hampshire’s net personal income gain from Massachusetts movers grew tenfold from 2012-2019, then suddenly doubled to a … Read more
Massachusetts lost an estimated 145,000 residents to New Hampshire over the last 20 years, a Josiah Bartlett Center analysis of U.S. Census migration data shows. For scale, that number of people living in one place would be Massachusetts’ fourth-largest city, larger than Cambridge and slightly smaller than Springfield. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 369,368 … Read more
New England state renewable energy mandates will double energy costs, cause rolling blackouts, while NH policies reduce regional costs With New England state governments committed to reducing their carbon emissions at least 80% by 2050, residents and businesses can expect electricity rates to double, along with rolling blackouts, according to a new joint report completed … Read more
New Hampshire led the American colonies 250 years ago by adopting a constitution that created an independent government before anyone else. So it’s fitting that in 2026, New Hampshire could achieve another first for independence. Like all Americans, government employees have the constitutional right to free speech and free association. In 2018, the U.S. Supreme … Read more
“Whatever the State identifies as comprising constitutional adequacy it must pay for.” — N.H. Supreme Court, Londonderry School District SAU #12 v. State of New Hampshire, 2006 Since the state lost its first Claremont education funding case in 1993, legislators and governors (including Democratic Gov. John Lynch in 2011-2012) tried to undo the decision with … Read more