Pelham - Windham News 6 - July 1, 2011


Charlie with Improvement Bill


Outdoors Fishery


Chalk


A big thanks to Representative Frank Guinta (R-NH) for his support of a bill introduced by Representative Rob Wittman (R- VA) seeks to ensure that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Marine Fisheries Service is required to set catch limits based on sound science. The bi-partisan legislation, known as the Fishery Science Improvement Act (FSIA), is endorsed by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus as well as a broad coalition of conservation, sport fishing, and marine industry groups. “We applaud the vision and leadership of Mr. Wittman and the other FSIA co-sponsors,” said Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation President Jeff Crane. “The sport fishing community is facing an unacceptable situation in which arbitrary deadlines are being allowed to trump the essential need for science-based management of our marine resources. We are grateful to Mr. Wittman and his colleagues for identifying the problem we have in federal saltwater fisheries and taking action on this issue.” As amended in 2006, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) requires Regional Fishery Management Councils to put in place annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) for every fishery by December 31, 2011. The requirements were intended to end over fishing by 2011, but were predicated on two critical assumptions: NOAA Fisheries would make decisions based on up-to-date and accurate stock assessments, and the agency would improve catch data to better anticipate potential problems in a given fishery. Neither of these obligations has been met. This bill amends the law and protects sport fishing.


Charlie Chalk can be reached at outdoorswithcharlie@areanewsgroup.com Legislative Lynne Ober State Has Balanced Budget


by Lynne Ober It wasn’t easy, but a balanced budget was passed and depending upon which newspaper article you read, people were quoted as hating it or loving it. In a Sunday editorial, the Manchester Union Leader opined, “New Hampshire will finally have a balanced state budget for the first time in years, and Governor John Lynch’s only contribution was to sit off to the side and throw stones at it. On Wednesday, legislators passed a budget that was very different than Lynch’s past two budgets in several important ways: 1) it was balanced. 2) it was balanced without gimmicks, phony revenue estimates, federal stimulus funds, borrowing, or last-minute tax and fee increases. 3) it actually reduced state spending compared with the previous budget.”


State spending was reduced by 11 percent. Not only have no taxes been raised, but borrowing for operating expenses was eliminated. Senator Chuck Morse said that the budget did exactly what families and businesses have to do—it made tough choices to live within a budget. “We did not overspend and we did not underspend. We were realistic and lived within our means—that’s what voters told us to do last November.” Morse added, “Over the past four years, Governor John


Lynch and the Democratic leadership brought us a 24-percent increase in spending and 100 increased or new taxes and fees. While this may be a line we’ve heard often, its sting should not be lost. In 2007, Democrats increased or created 22 new taxes and fees; in 2008, there were 13; in 2009, there were 44; and finally, in 2010, there were 21.” The Union Leader went so far as to call Governor John Lynch


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‘Governor Flynch’ because “on Friday he did what he always does: He took both sides. He let the budget become law, but he refused to sign it.” Without a doubt, the budget season was difficult for all. Just as the legislature was about to reach a budget compromise, Governor Lynch met with them in public session and explained that he needed an additional $5.1 million dollars to balance the current year (FY 2011) budget. This was not a total surprise, as the red ink stood at $50 million in March when the House had to pass the budget to the Senate. Despite somewhat better revenues in the ensuing months coupled with Governor- mandated spending cuts, there was still more red ink than the Governor could cover with a Rainy Day fund raid. Governors may without legislative approval take money from the Rainy Day fund to balance the budget, but Lynch found himself in a position of needing millions more than was currently in the Rainy Day fund. As a result, monies earmarked to reduce nursing home rates were diverted to balance this year’s budget. Representative Neal Kurk said, “The governor asked for and was given a lapse, which by law was included in HB 2, one of the budget bills, of $5.1 million in a $180 million line for payments to nursing homes (private and county) for the care of Medicaid patients.” This addition to the budget alone made it nearly impossible for the governor to veto the budget because he had no other legal way to cover the over-spending of the last two years and balance the year ending June 30, 2011. Senator Jeb Bradley said,


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“From my vantage point, it is a budget that makes tough choices, establishes priorities, and makes long-


overdue reforms so that government services will be delivered in a more cost-effective manner—all of which will enable New Hampshire’s competitiveness and future job growth.” Bradley and Morse also pointed out that the governor initially proposed significant reductions to hospitals for uncompensated care, cuts to programs that serve troubled youth, catastrophic aid for schools districts’ special education costs, Healthy Children, and to the Post-Secondary Education Commission, as well as cuts to virtually every state agency except prisons. Some but not all of this was restored by the recently passed joint House-Senate budget. There is no doubt that there is something to love and something to hate in every budget. When federal funds are added to all fund sources, the state budget is $10.3 billion and of that amount, $4.42 billion are state operational funds. There were trade-offs that please no one. For example,


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Governor Lynch down-shifted pension costs to towns and school districts by refusing to fund the state subsidy for these costs. Pensions are funded by employee contributions, employer contributions, and the interest earned while that money is held pending a retirement, but the state had been kicking in a large percentage of these costs to towns and school districts. Through pension reform that saw employee contributions go up between two and two and a half percent as well as the legislature kicking in $3.5 million to cover the subsidy, towns and school districts will not see an increase in employer payments. Without this reform plus funding added to the budget, it was expected that property taxes would have increased by $85 million. Lynch also stopped payments to school districts for previously bonded construction projects and for kindergarten aid as well as payment for kindergarten portable classrooms for the third and final year. In our areas, Litchfield, Hudson, Pelham, Salem, and Windham benefited from these dollar restorations. These were also added back into the budget so local taxpayers will not bear these costs in their property tax payments. Unfortunately, the money used to cover the above costs came at the expense of the state’s college system, which saw their state funds cuts to cover these municipal costs. There were trade-offs. For every program that was restored, other programs were cut. Some were happy and some were not. The Governor cut all money to the disabled waiting list, but the legislature restored some funding. The budget has also mandated that HHS will begin to use a Managed Care model, used successfully in private enterprise, in order to stretch dollars. Bradley said that managed care would save millions while not impacting quality care. Revenues for the coming two years are reasonable. We should not see the blotch of red ink from deficit spending that marred the state’s budget this past year. “The 2011 Legislature established two goals: New Hampshire would not raise taxes that would harm economic recovery and New Hampshire government would live within its means—just as working families and small business owners have been forced to do in the current economic climate,” said Bradley. However, tough choices had to be made and every commissioner was asked to set his/her priorities and pitch in to help stop spending. Several taxes were cut, including the much-talked-about, 10-cent-per-pack tax cut on cigarettes. Economists insist that if government would allow free enterprise to flow that more revenue would be raised. House Speaker Bill O’Brien wanted to test this oft-discussed theory. The Ways and Means Committee held an economic summit and during that summit were told that if cigarette taxes were reduced slightly that New Hampshire would see an increase in the Rooms and Meals tax, gasoline tax, BET, and BPT taxes while holding revenues on the cigarette taxes level. Detractors insist that making this small cut will cost millions and nothing will be gained. The legislature built in an automatic sunset of this reduction if revenues do not increase. Those who worked on the budget believe that it reflects the economic realities of our times and forces the state to begin living within its means—just as you and I have to do.


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