NH GOP - Lynch's Failure of Leadership Continues: Let's Raise the Gas Tax

Concord, NH – Just days after experts predicted that gasoline will see “huge price increases in some places and a peak average price of $4.05 a gallon” by this spring, Governor John Lynch proved just how out of touch he is by announcing a plan to increase the gas tax.  Families across New Hampshire are struggling in a tough economic recovery, yet Gov. Lynch and New Hampshire Democrats want to force an additional burden onto their already cash-strapped budgets.

“New Hampshire families are already looking for ways to do more with less, so an additional tax increase will only make matters worse and dampen any economic recovery we might see,” said New Hampshire Republican State Committee Chairman Wayne MacDonald.  “What’s worse is that a gas tax increase tends to hit low- and middle-class families the hardest because costs to heat their homes and drive to work already take up a larger share of their budget.”

“Department of Transportation officials said Tuesday that in order to keep up with the needs, the state needs to reinstate the $30 registration surcharge that was repealed last year, and increase both tolls and the gas tax.” (Garry Rayno, “State: Transportation Funds Inadequate for Current Need,” New Hampshire Union Leader, 2/15/2012)

Governor Lynch wrote a letter to the House Public Works Committee saying anything short of this plan would be “complacent.”  Yet, just last year even the Obama Administration came out in opposition to a gas tax increase because “people can little afford to buy a gallon of gasoline, let alone if we were to raise the tax on it.” (Link to Video)

“[L]ast week price trackers told USA Today to expect gasoline at $4 a gallon by this spring.  Tom Kloza of the Oil Price Information Service told the newspaper that this spring will be chaotic, with huge price increases in some places and a peak average price of $4.05 a gallon.  Other analysts made similar predictions.” (Mark Hayward, “Granite State Gas Prices Heading to $4?” New Hampshire Union Leader, 2/13/2012)

AFPNH - Contact Your Legislators and Governor Lynch on These Important Issues

Granite State Gatherings February 14 –BARC GOP Monthly Meeting at JJ Goodwin’s Restaurant in Center Barnstead at 6:30PM. Click here for more information. February 14 - Southern NH 9.12 Project Meeting at Windham Senior Center at 7PM. Click here for more information. February 14 – Corey Lewandowski at the Bedford GOP Monthly Meeting at the Bedford Public Library at 7:30PM. Click here for more information. February 15 – Manchester GOP Meeting at NHIOP at St. Anselm’s College at 6PM. Click here for more information. February 15 – Kevin Smith at Sandown GOP Meeting at Town Hall at 7PM. Click here for more information. February 15 - Farmington Democratic Party Congressional Candidates’ Forum at Farmington Town Hall at 7PM. February 16 – Concord GOP Meeting at Home Town Pizza at 7PM. Click here for more information. February 18 – Goffstown-Weare GOP Meeting at Goffstown Parks and Recreation Building at 9AM. Click here for more information. February 18 – Ovide Lamontagne at Sullivan GOP Meeting at 12 Main Street in Newport at 9AM. Click here for more information.

There are several issues and action items for your attention this week. First, tomorrow the House will vote on HB 1560 which would return money and authority for healthcare back to the states where both can be better managed by establishing a Health Care Compact. Tomorrow’s vote will be significant to the fate of this bill so I encourage you to sign the petition below showing your support of the Health Care Compact legislation.  Please CLICK HERE to sign the petition and feel free to forward the link along to your friends and family. Second, tomorrow the Senate is expected to vote on SB 227 which would change the status of the members of the board of tax and land appeals so that members ARE NOT full-time employees but would receive per diem and mileage reimbursement for attending to board duties. I testified in support of this legislation at a recent hearing. You can CLICK HERE to listen to my testimony which begins at about the 37:18 mark and concludes at 46:45. Third, there are two bills in Committees this week to watch as well. Today, I testified before the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee on behalf of HB 1490 which would remove New Hampshire from the cap-and-trade scheme known as RGGI. AFP-NH is proud to work in support of this bill which will allow rate payers to keep more of their money. On Thursday, there will be a Senate Finance Committee hearing on SB 150 at 1PM. This bill, if amended, will allow small business owners to purchase the same health insurance policy as larger companies at the same rate. I encourage all small business owners to contact the Senate Finance Committee and voice your support for the passage of this legislation by calling 271-4980. You can also obtain contact information for all the Committee members by CLICKING HERE. Finally, as you may know, HB 648, the bill prohibiting public utilities from using eminent domain to take private property for transmission lines has been sent to Governor Lynch for consideration. I encourage you to contact Governor Lynch and urge him to sign this bill protecting the private property rights of NH landowners! Please contact Governor Lynch via phone at 271-2121 or use THIS LINK to email him today. Sincerely, Corey R. Lewandowski State Director Americans for Prosperity New Hampshire P.S. Thank you for your ongoing vigilance on these important issues. If you would like to donate to our efforts, please CLICK HERE.

NHDP - Chair Ray Buckley on Governor Lynch's State of the State Address

Concord - New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley released the following statement on Governor John Lynch's final State of the State address. 

"Governor Lynch has once again shown himself to be a strong leader, focused on the best interests of the people of New Hampshire, and working to move our state forward. There is no wonder the people of New Hampshire elected Governor Lynch to an unprecedented fourth term.  He has helped to strengthen our successful strategy despite the best efforts of legislative Republicans who have been actively working to undo our success. 

"For seven years, the Governor's strong leadership has brought people together to make progress for New Hampshire during some of the toughest times in the last century.  I hope the Legislature will heed the Governor's call for common sense solutions at the State House and change their focus from issues such as weakening our public safety laws and discriminating against certain segments of our population.  They should join the Governor in focusing on jobs and the economy."

"Governor Lynch has stood up for our New Hampshire advantage and state he loves. Over the past twelve months, he has served as much needed check against the legislature's Tea Party agenda."

Senate President, House Speaker to Hold Media Availability After State of State

New Hampshire

State Senate and House of Representatives

Joint News Advisory

CONCORD – Senate President Peter Bragdon and House Speaker William O’Brien Tuesday will hold a media availability 30 minutes following the Governor’s State of the State address to offer their response.

When: Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Time: 30 minutes after State of State Address
Where: Lobby, Legislative Office Building

Stayworkplay.org - Stay Work Play and Governor Lynch Committed to Keeping 20-30 Year-Olds in NH

January 23, 2012 – Stay Work Play has partnered with New Hampshire Governor John Lynch and the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation to host an event on January 26^th aimed at partnering with organizations throughout the state to help retain and attract 20-30 year olds and encourage them to stay work and play in New Hampshire. Governor Lynch has sent out invitations to more than 50 organizations throughout the state to help Stay Work Play build their Board of Advisors, a coalition made up of small and large businesses and other organizations throughout New Hampshire with a focus on retaining our young educated workforce.

"As Governor, my top priority remains giving businesses the tools they need to be successful and create jobs. But in order to fill those jobs, we need to ensure New Hampshire continues to have a highly skilled and educated workforce," Governor Lynch said. "Our young people are vital to the future of our workforce and our state's economy. That's why I encourage businesses and organizations from across New Hampshire to partnerwith Stay Work Play so that we can keep the creativity and talents of more of our young people here in New Hampshire."

New Hampshire has a tradition of producing a highly skilled and educated workforce but NH’s population and workforce are aging. Meanwhile, many New Hampshire high school students attend college outside of New Hampshire, and many New Hampshire college graduates leave the state to seekemployment. Stay Work Play’s goal is to keep New Hampshire in the minds of young people as they consider employment and lifestyle options. Securing a young workforce is vital to New Hampshire’s economy, and Stay Work Play is leading the way in an effort to make our state more attractive to young workers.

As Michael Skelton, Corporate Communications at Public Service of New Hampshire, said, "Ensuring New Hampshire's business community continues to grow and thrive in large part depends on avibrant workforce. By encouraging young workers to remain in New Hampshire,Stay Work Play plays an important role in building the workforce of tomorrow.”

Stay Work Play is proud to invite business and community leaders from all over New Hampshire to learn more about their efforts and discuss how business, education, and government leaders can work collaboratively to support ongoing economic, workforce, and community development. This event will help kick-off a new phase for Stay Work Play and help better bridge the needs of our business community with the needs of our student population who are currently looking beyond New Hampshire’s borders for professional opportunities.

“At Dyn we equate Stay Work Play to the 21st Century equivalent of a travel and tourism bureau - a necessary institution for generation X and millennials to stay and be attracted to the state,” said Jeremy Hitchcock, CEO of Dyn. “The old NH Advantage where we hope that the world educates our students and that they move back to NH is an obsolete theory. Stay Work Play has been, and will continue to be, instrumental in Dyn's growth and success as a great place to work."

Please note that this event is by invitation only, but to find out more about the Stay Work Play Board of Advisors including how your organization may get involved, please visit http://stayworkplay.org/about-us/board-advisors or contact Executive Director, Kate Luczko, kate@stayworkplay.org, (603) 860-2245. Founding Stay Work Play Board of Advisors members include: Public Service of New Hampshire, University System of New Hampshire, New Hampshire College and University Council, New Hampshire Housing, Grappone Automotive Group, Sheehan Phinney Bass and Green, Campus Compact, New Hampshire Public Radio, Leadership New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Cookson Stephens Corp, Dyn Inc. and Business New Hampshire Magazine.

About Stay Work Play: Stay Work Play is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization established in 2009 to build off the work of the 55% Initiative, an effort originally launched by the University System of New Hampshire to help encourage more college students to stay work and play in the state after graduation. The effort gained additional support through the work of the Governor’s Task Force on Young Worker Recruitment and Retention, which recommended the creation of an independent organization to lead an effort to serve younger workers in the state and create a web portal that could servetheir informational and networking needs. Additional information on the organization can be found on the website, www.stayworkplay.org