NH House Commerce Committee Votes to Prohibit ObamaCare Exchanges in New Hampshire

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien, House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, and Rep. Andrew Manuse offered the following statement on their cosponsored House Bill 1297, which would prohibit the implementation of healthcare exchanges in New Hampshire. The House Commerce and Consumers Affairs Committee voted 10-6 to recommend passage of the bill when it comes to the full House.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“House Bill 1297 will slow the progress of Obamacare in New Hampshire by prohibiting state officials from implementing or aiding the federal government in implementing a state exchange. Creating an exchange would only entrench ObamaCare in New Hampshire and serve as a contract with the federal government that the state agrees to pick up the tab for the healthcare mandate. Several times the House has asked our Attorney General to join the 26-state lawsuit against Obamacare. If we truly want to do this, we should not adopt a strategy that will make us complicit in the law we're trying to overturn. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear this case in March and it makes no sense to waste taxpayer money, federal or otherwise, on a law that might not stand.”

House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt

“President Obama is cheering on the creation of state exchanges, because each state that creates one makes his dream of implementing Obamacare closer to reality. It is easier to repeal a theoretical bureaucracy than a real one. Obamacare says that the states must meet certain federal standards or give way to further federal takeover. The bottom line is this: as far as these exchanges go, there is no such thing as local control. Let's keep up our promises to voters by passing this law and prohibiting the State of New Hampshire from creating a state exchange that would be the nail in the coffin of the New Hampshire Advantage.”

Rep. Andrew Manuse, House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee

“Exchanges were installed as a ruse to trick State Legislatures into voluntarily accepting the terms of Obamacare, which are otherwise unconstitutional, and to also get state Legislatures to pay for the cost of the health insurance exchange program starting in 2015.

"President Obama used 'local control' rhetoric to encourage states to do all the dirty work of implementing Obamacare for him. His analysis assumed that states would want to adopt their own exchanges to try and maintain control of health care, but in reality, all they would be doing by adopting a state exchange is agreeing to pay for the cost of administering the exchange after a certain year. Thus, the federal cost would be minimal because the major costs would be downshifted to the states. The federal government would maintain control, either way.

"Most importantly, rejecting these state exchanges will add New Hampshire to the list of states opposing this unconstitutional law. By doing this, it doesn't matter how the Supreme Court rules on this law. Because of flaws in the way federal exchanges would be implemented by the law, Congress would have to reopen the law to make changes, and this will give policymakers an opportunity for a better and affordable market-based health reform effort to be advanced.”

NH House House Speaker Comments on Passage of Legislative Oversight Committee of Department of Environmental Services

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following comments on the passage of House Bill 1435, which establishes a committee to oversee the Department of Environmental Services (DES).

House Speaker William O’Brien

“This bill provides an avenue for legislative oversight and will ensure that the agency carefully considers the impact the Department of Environmental Services has on New Hampshire communities and convinces the legislature that the impact will be positive. It also creates a mechanism to provide feedback for the Department. We will continue to focus on legislation this session that brings more efficiency and accountability to state government and House Bill 1435 is such a reform.”

NH House Speaker Comments on Passage of HB 1666

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following statement on the passage of House Bill 1666, which would require legislative approval of any collective bargaining contract entered into by the state. HB 1666 passed 232 to 119.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“Oversight by elected officials in the collective bargaining process for the public sector means that taxpayers will finally be at the negotiating table and not just agency heads, which promotes accountability within state government. This gives the legislature a role in determining the fairness of contracts that the State negotiates and as stewards of taxpayers’ hard earned money we must support policies that bring government accountability and integrity.”

NH House Speaker Comments on Passage of Bill to Put State Contracts Online

CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien offered the following statement on the passage of House Bill 1686, which requires that all state contracts awarded by RFP’s to be posted on the state website after the bid is awarded. The bill passed on a voice vote.

House Speaker William O’Brien

“This legislation will bring transparency to the state contracting process by making it easier for citizens to access what contracts are awarded to whom and for how much. New Hampshire citizens have a right to know who the State is conducting business with and unsuccessful bidders should have the opportunity to see the details of the winning bid as compared to their own. We estimate saving over a million pieces of paper and saving taxpayer money by transitioning to this electronic bidding process. House Bill 1686 will bring more transparency and efficiency to state government—both goals that we remain committed to this session."

Bettencourt Comments on Senate Changes to CACR6

CONCORD - House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) today offered the following comments on the New Hampshire Senate's changes to CACR6:

"Simply put, the Senate's amendment to CACR6 makes it easier for your taxes to be increased. The House version of CACR6  places necessary hurdles to tax and fee increases in the form of a three-fifths majority vote. We've seen in other states that spending caps simply create a ceiling that state spending rises to.

The Senate’s decision to amend CACR6 has not only jeopardized the House’s ability to pass a constitutional amendment on education funding, but also any hopes of expanded gaming’s passage in the House. CACR6, as it passed the House, was Republicans assurance that we could not only continue to grow jobs and expand our economy by having a low tax environment here in  New Hampshire, but also gave us the confidence that gaming revenues would not be used to simply grow big government. We see no support in the House for the Senate changes to CACR6. The importance of CACR6 to a broad spectrum of Republicans in the House cannot be overstated and as a result this may compromise our ability to garner the necessary support for the Senate version of CACR12."