This week’s RLCNH Report is out, and there are lots of good bills still on the table on issues ranging from prohibiting the implementation of Obamacare exchanges, reigning in the judiciary, and pension reform to education tax credits, right to work, and smart meters. Full list of bills as well as information to take action is after the jump.Please email ALL Representatives and ALL Senators to support the following bills:
- HB 1297 prohibits the implementation of a state health benefits exchange under Obamacare and will save the state about $15 million to $20 million a year. The passage of this bill would make the repeal or amendment of Obamacare much more likely in Washington. Urge the House to Concur with the Senate Amendment.
- CACR 26 passed the Senate in an altered and less effective form than the version passed by the House, but the amendment would still restore the Legislature’s role as the sole law-making branch of government by amending Part 2, Article 73-a in the constitution. For more information, see Carolyn McKinney’s recent op-ed and the video of a seminar and panel discussion sponsored by the National Heritage Center for Constitutional Studies. Urge a Committee of Conference to try and strengthen this amendment’s language.
- SB 229, as amended by the House, enacts a major pension reform dependent on whether a study committee internal to the Legislature files a report prior to Nov. 2, 2012, and then it implements a plan effective November the next year. The plan is better than nothing, but the Legislature really should use some political courage and implement a plan now without all the complications. Urge Senators and Representatives to hold a Committee of Conference and pass real reform now!
- HB 1617 repeals Chapter 151-C, the certificate of need board law, though with the Senate amendment, this won’t occur until 2018. Regardless, the bill will start to unravel the grievous errors of so-called “progressive” ideology in New Hampshire that have led to the decline of quality medical care and natural cost controls in the state. Urge a Committee of Conference to move up the repeal of the CON board law.
- SB 332 as amended by a House Amendment to the bill, adds the text of HB 628, the TSA Accountability Act, and will help shine a light on bad TSA behavior and potentially bring it to an end. Urge the Senate to Concur with the House Amendment to this bill.
- SB 266 limits the use of Smart Meter gateway devices to spy into private homes and businesses without a property owner’s consent. This bill is headed to the governor! Urge the governor to sign this bill.
- SB 372 and HB 1607 are bills that create tax credits against the business profits tax and the business enterprise tax for businesses who contribute to a scholarship fund for private schoolers and home schoolers. This will encourage competition for education and will likely increase the quality and decrease the cost of education, over time. Urge the Senate and House to hold a committee of conference on one of these two bills so the concept can become law.
- SB 229 would fix the state’s pension system for good by creating a defined contribution plan rather than a defined benefits plan for retirees. Urge the Senate to Concur with the House Amendment to this bill.
- HB 1677 is a common sense right to work bill that protects workers from having to pay dues to a third-party just to get a job and feed their families. Urge the Senate to take this bill off the table and pass it.
- HB 383 prohibits public unions from collecting “agency fees” from non-members. Urge the Senate to take this bill off the table and pass it.
- HB 1560 is an act relative to the interstate Health Care Compact, which would free New Hampshire to create its own systems for managing Medicare and Medicaid. Urge the Senate to take this bill off the table and pass it.
- HB 574 is a property rights bill, which repeals an unconstitutional law that punishes people who have gone out of the way to prepare their families for the worst. Urge the House to concur with the Senate Amendment or to call a Committee of Conference to strengthen the bill.
- Please also review the RLCNH position on CACR 12 and CACR 8 at the bottom of this RLCNH Report and take appropriate action as your conscience dictates. The House and Senate are getting ready to develop final language for an educational funding reform plan. Urge representatives and Senators to consider the RLCNH position in their deliberations.
Please email ALL Representatives and ALL Senators to support these efforts.
