Back on May 17th, the New Hampshire Senate Ways and Means Committee produced revenue estimates $14 million below what the House handed to them.
By May 21st, they had changed their mind.
In an unusual move, the Senate Ways and Means Committee opted to revisit the revenue estimates for the General and Education Trust Funds they had decided and voted upon individually on May 17. The Committee concurred with the House Ways and Means Committee revenue projections for the Fish and Game Fund, and adopted the projections from the Governor’s proposed budget for the Highway Fund. The Committee then reopened the General and Education Trust Fund revenue estimates, and after a series of recesses decided to increase projected revenues for the Business Profits and Business Enterprise Taxes, the Interest and Dividends Tax, and the Real Estate Transfer Tax for the upcoming State Budget biennium.
It sounds like someone called someone or took them aside and set them right.
I am reminded of the dark days when the New Hampshire Legislature, EC, and Governor were all controlled by Democrats. To justify their desire to spend budget writers were commanded by Durham Democrat Marjorie Smith to “Look to the sky when you do revenue estimates because we need the money.” A few short years later we had an $800 million dollar hole in the budget that Bill O’Brien and company had to fix.
I hope that’s not what is happening here, but I know better than to hope when it comes to politicians and money.
