Part 3 of a three part series of Guest Posts by the Honorable Paul Mirski, member of the NH House of Representatives (and one of the Fathers of Conservatism here in NH). He is seeking to be the Majority Leader in the NH House of Representatives.
- Part Three suggests five or six overriding legislative themes and then goes on to provide a basket of choices for legislative action that are drawn directly from our current Republican Party Platform. If members consider all of the media focus on Tea Party initiatives over the last 18 months, they will see that those Republicans who began rewriting our platform eight years ago were well ahead of the curve.We’re ready right this minute to create change. We don’t have to go searching for ideas.
Previous sections: Part 1, Part 2
PART 3
Proposed Republican Initiatives for the 2011 – 2012 Legislative Session:
The idea that all individuals ought to be able to seek and achieve their unique destinies is our core belief.
Six Initiatives to get control of State spending:
- Prioritize ALL functions of government and analyze costs accordingly.
- Repeal all unwarranted increases in size and cost of government enacted during the 2007–2008 and 2009-2010 sessions.
- Repeal all related tax and fee increases enacted during the 2007–2008 and 2009 2010 sessions.
- Initiate Sunset Review for all state agencies.
- Reform New Hampshire’s State Employees’ Pension System
- Return oversight and control over curriculum, administration, and funding of education to the smallest forms of political subdivision capable of educating New Hampshire’s children.
Education Reform:
Despite New Hampshire’s high standing relative to other states, too many children graduating from High School in New Hampshire are unprepared for life. Decline in performance in schools across the state has been in proportion to the growth of staff and programs promoted by state and federal education departments. State building standards and state funding formulas precipitate ever more expensive and extravagant school building projects at the expense of the delivering and funding of basic education. Seventy to eighty percent of all property taxes are spent on schools. Here are four suggested objectives for improving education outcomes in New Hampshire:
Return to local control of education.
Return control of education and control of all spending, taxing and decision making to the smallest political subdivisions capable of delivering a curriculum specifically tailored to serve the educational needs of the children served by that political subdivision.
- Returning to local control of education will require the nullification of the NH Supreme court’s Claremont Decisions.
- Establish tax abatements or tuition tax credits to assist in school choice.
- Opt out of No Child Left Behind and remove NH schools from all other federal influence.
- Indemnify teachers from frivolous lawsuits .
- Institute merit pay for teachers.
- Recodify education rules and statutes.
Judicial Reform:
- Establish an independent Administrative Office of the Courts on the federal model.
- The suspension of jury trials by the justices for budgetary reasons revealed the need to improve the method of administrating NH’s court system so that the justices as well as judges throughout NH’s judicial system are better able to focus on the caseload before the courts.
- Extend right-to-know to the non-adjudicatory functions of the judicial branch.
- Establish a standing House Committee to hear citizen petitions for redress of grievances.
- Adopt a constitutional amendment to Part II, Section 73-a of the New Hampshire Constitution to restore the traditional role of our General Court as New Hampshire’s supreme legislative authority.
Enterprise, Jobs and Competition:
- Establish a standing House Committee on Enterprise Jobs and the Economy.
- Analyze the tax systems of all fifty states as well as high performing foreign city states and other relevant political subdivisions to determine the degree to which New Hampshire might adopt fiscal, tax, and regulatory policies that would make it a more competitive place for entrepreneurship and the creation of new business and jobs.
- Repeal all regulations and increased taxes imposed upon New Hampshire businesses between 2004 and 2010 that have served to suppress business growth and the creation of New Hampshire jobs.
- Determine the degree to which tobacco taxes and other taxes could be reduced to stimulate cross border retail sales and improve overall state tax revenues and then restructure said taxes accordingly.
- Reduce electric rates on businesses and residential customers by extracting NH from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
- Reform statewide land use regulations to ensure a competitive housing market for all family income levels.
Government Agency Reform:
- Prioritize ALL government services according to constitutional criteria and need.
- Establish zero based budgeting for all agencies and departments.
- Establish incentives and rewards for state employees who provide implementable and effective ways to more efficiently and cost effectively serve public needs.
- Establish a method of Sunset Review for all state agencies.
- Reform New Hampshire’s State Employees’ Pension System.
- Establish a defined contribution plan for state workers [A 401(k) is a “defined contribution plan].
- Establish the line item veto.
- Provide for the Peoples Veto
- Require legislative approval of all proposed agency rules prior to implementation.
- Require a legislatively approved cost/benefit analysis of any and all proposed federal grants and aid prior to acceptance federal funding by any agency of the state.
Taxes and Spending:
- Repeal evergreen clauses in government employee contracts.
- Authorize municipal spending caps.
- Repeal state codes and regulations that prevent the economical rehabilitation of public buildings for municipal and school use.
- Recodify laws, rules and regulations that are presently exempt from falling under the provisions of Part I, Article 28-a.
- Amend the NH Constitution to prohibit any new tax on income.
- Repeal the view tax.
- Review the efficacy and impact of all taxes that inhibit enterprise, investment, and saving such as the Interest and Dividends Tax and Business Enterprise and Business Profits Tax.
Health Care:
- Increase providers of NH health insurance.
- Allow for purchase of health insurance across state lines.
- Repeal health insurance mandates.
- Opt out of national health care.
Election Law:
- Require a photo ID to vote.
- Establish a proper definition of domicile for the purpose of voting.
Environment:
- Promote land use reform that will encourage more sensible subdivision of land and innovative creation of open space that will also improve a towns property tax base.
- Promote land use reform that will increase the value of every community’s tax base.
- Reform highway policies to permanently ensure efficient and timely transport of goods and services using EXISTING state highways.
New Hampshire’s topography works against cost effective creation of new highway rights of way and the laying out of new roads is further hampered by environmental regulations. New Hampshire needs to address highway development and maintenance requirements for the future, focusing on preserving and enhancing use of existing rights of way that will preserve speed and ease of use. Added curb cuts diminish speed and efficiency. NH can’t afford to promote highway inefficiencies that diminish trade and commerce.
Personal Freedom:
- Enhance the Right of Self Defense.
- Enact the Castle Doctrine in NH permitting the right of self-defense wherever a person has the legal right to be.
- Revise existing statutes to ease or eliminate concealed carry laws.
- Reform privacy laws:
- Prohibit unauthorized surveillance of individual acts wherever a person would normally have the expectation of privacy.
Family and Community:
- Advocate a presumption in favor of joint custody and favor equitable treatment of both parents in child custody and child support determinations
- Guarantee due process in the Family Courts and especially with respect to the rights of those accused of child abuse or neglect.
- Require parental consent for minors seeking abortion.
Mr. Mirski is seeking to be the Majority Leader in the NH House of Representatives.
