Citizens Report: Weekly Newsletter

State Senate Commerce Committee rejects legislation that would have moved New Hampshire towards a partnership healthcare exchange under Obamacare The Senate Commerce Committee voted 3-2 against HB 668 this week, which would have moved New Hampshire towards a partnership healthcare exchange under Obamacare. Citizens for A Strong New Hampshire applauds the Senate Commerce Committee's decision to reject HB 668. In 2012, HB 1297 was signed into law by Governor Lynch. HB 1297 prohibited the state of New Hampshire from planning, creating, or participating in a state health care exchange. The bill also established guidelines for interaction with a federally-facilitated exchange created for New Hampshire. We are encouraged by the Senate Commerce Committee's recommendation to reject HB 668 and prevent New Hampshire from moving towards a state partnership exchange under Obamacare. This piece of legislation was just another attempt by Governor Hassan to circumvent last year's law against creating a state healthcare exchange. In addition, this 'exchange' has been reported to only include one provider, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, thus implementing a state run monopoly. The bill will be voted on by the entire State Senate next week.

New Hampshire House rejects legislative oversight in approval process of state union contracts On Tuesday, the House voted 191-135 rejecting SB 153, a bill that would have offered legislative oversight through the fiscal committee with collective bargaining agreements entered into by the state. Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire was disappointed that the House was unwilling to include the fiscal committee into collective bargaining agreements entered into by the state. This bill would have required the state to follow the same approval process that is expected at the county and local levels and would have provided integrity and transparency into the process.

Join Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire for a visibility at Senator Jeanne Shaheen's Town Hall meeting next week After months without public events for Granite Staters to ask Senator Jeanne Shaheen the tough questions, she will finally be attending a Town Hall meeting next week in Manchester and Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire will be there to fight for the issues we believe in.   We are asking you to join us for a visibility outside of Senator Shaheen's Town Hall to call on her to support policies that create jobs, lower taxes and improve the economy. When: Friday, June 7th from 10:30am - 11:30am  Where: Saint Anselm College, Institute of Politics  100 St. Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH 03102 Please RSVP if you can attend to Kristin@strongnh.com

Help us reach more Granite Staters!

Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire is working hard to educate Granite Staters on the important issues facing our state and country, but we need your help to spread that message. If you have friends or family that might be interested in reading our weekly e-newsletters,be sure to forward this link along to them and have them sign up.

Citizens for a Strong New Hampshire is active on Twitter and Facebook, so be sure to follow us there, too!

NH Senate Republicans Comment on Passage of Pro-Jobs Legislation

The New Hampshire Senate

Republican Majority Office

Concord, NH – Senate Republicans released the following statements on the passage of two pro-jobs bills during today’s session.

Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) on the passage of HB 598, increasing the reasonable compensation safe harbor for Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) owners:

“In 2011, I was proud to sponsor SB125 to reform the state’s LLC statutes and establish a minimum safe harbor threshold of $50,000 for small business owners to draw as a salary.  HB598 increases that threshold to $75,000 which will allow small business owners to keep more of what they make each year without worrying about intrusive audits of their finances.  By establishing a more appropriate threshold, this legislation removes concerns about shifting levels of taxation and is another important step to ensuring New Hampshire remains a business-friendly state that nurtures our small businesses.”

Sen. Jeanie Forrester (R-Meredith) on the passage of HB676, extending the Coos County Job Creation Tax Credit:

“The Coos County Job Creation Tax Credit has been an added incentive to North Country businesses to create jobs throughout the recession by providing a credit against the business enterprise taxes a business would pay on new employees.  As the state and the region continue to work our way back from the economic downturn, it is important that this incentive remain in place to remove some of the disincentive to hire and instead encourage the creation and expansion of business and job opportunities across the North Country.”

Both bills passed by votes of 24-0, without amendment, and now head to the Governor for her signature.

Werherecoalition.org - Ready for another new tax?

Concord, NH (April 2, 2013) -- Should the federal government pass the “Main Street Fairness Act” into law? Do not let the title fool you.  This legislation will in fact shut down most small businesses and many large ones. Instead of creating “fairness”, it will put an end to the free market that exists now on the internet.
 
For small businesses that use the internet to do business, this new legislation would require you to file with the tax collectors in every state. That will require you to comply with no less than 9,600 different tax codes that are changing everyday without you realizing it.
 
Now here is the icing on the cake, if you are audited by a state that you have sent products or provided services in, in order to defend yourself, you will have to travel to that state.
 
The scary part is that during the recent budget debate on Capitol Hill there was a nonbinding vote on this legislation. It garnered over 70 votes in the Senate that would have been enough to pass.
 
Some of you might remember years ago the state of Massachusetts tried to force a tire company in New Hampshire to collect information on the people they sold too and to charge the Massachusetts sales tax on any purchases made by Massachusetts residents. Thankfully the case was taken to the Supreme Court and the court found in favor of the New Hampshire business and against the state of Massachusetts. This does provide some legal precedence, but we all know how that works when it comes to legislation on the Hill.
 
Proponents of the Marketplace Fairness Act will tell you it will not affect your small business, that you have to make over a million dollars to meet the requirement, but don’t be fool by that either. If you deal in high cost items and a few sales hit that mark you will be held accountable. This is based on gross sales, and there are no parameters built in to consider the cost of running the business itself.  It is a false exemption that doesn’t even include a definition from the federal tax code and it is far too low.  The US Treasury Department labels small business with those doing business in excess of $10 million and the SBA labels it at $30 million. 
 
The last thing any of us need is yet another new tax on top of the recent increased payroll tax and the number of other forms of taxation and fees that are being debated on the Hill and in your state capital right now.
 
Speak up and out about this intrusive tax that will destroy the free market enterprises that exist today on the internet. I suggest visiting: http://werherecoalition.org/
The revolutionary market place of the internet could be just one vote away from destruction, is that vote coming from your Senator or Congressman? I think you should ask, don’t you?

MPP - NH: Medical Marijuana Bill Approved by 80% of House

House approves bill by record 286-64 margin

Statement below from the nation’s largest marijuana policy reform organization, the Marijuana Policy Project

CONCORD – A bill allowing seriously ill New Hampshire residents to use marijuana for medical purposes moved one step closer to becoming law Wednesday afternoon when the House voted in favor by a record 286-64 margin.

Similar bills passed the House with more than two-thirds support in 2009, 2011, and 2012, but this year’s total represents the strongest show of support yet by the House.

House Bill 573, sponsored by Rep. Donna Schlachman (D-Exeter), was previously approved 14-1 by the House Committee on Health, Human Services, and Elderly Affairs. The committee made a number of changes to the bill, including a language change — from “medical marijuana” to “therapeutic use of cannabis” — which was suggested by the New Hampshire Medical Society. As amended, the bill would allow qualifying patients to cultivate up to three mature plants or obtain cannabis from one of five non-profit, state-regulated alternative treatment centers.

The bill will next be considered by the Senate, which passed similar legislation in 2009 and 2012. Gov. Hassan previously expressed support for making medical marijuana legal in the Granite State.

Statement from Matt Simon, a New Hampshire-based legislative analyst for the Marijuana Policy Project:

“This overwhelming vote comes as a great relief to patients who have been waiting years to legally follow their doctors’ advice. Patients should not have to live in fear of arrest in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state, and it’s a great relief for them to see such strong, bipartisan support from the House.”

# # #

The Marijuana Policy Project, the nation’s largest marijuana-policy-reform organization, has been responsible for changing most state-level marijuana laws since 2000. For more information, visit http://www.marijuanapolicy.org.

Bill Cosponsored by US Rep Shea-Porter Garners Bipartisan Support, Passes House

Builds on Shea-Porter’s promise to stand-up for middle class Granite Staters and updates banking laws to eliminate a costly, duplicative requirement

WASHINGTON, D.C. –This evening, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 749, the Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act. This bill was cosponsored by Congresswoman Shea-Porter and will cut red tape for local banks and credit unions while eliminating duplicative mailings to consumers.

“To create a strong economy and a growing middle class, we need a regulatory system that works for both businesses and consumers,” Shea-Porter said. “This bill supports that principle, and I hope it’s an indication that Congress will work together to cut red tape for businesses, ease burdens on middle class families and keep our economy moving in the right direction.”

Under current law, all financial institutions are required to give annual privacy notices to all of their customers that explain information sharing practices.  Financial institutions are required to give these notices each year even if privacy policies have not changed from the previous year. This at best creates unnecessary and redundant waste for financial institutions and customers, and at worst causes consumers to ignore notices that may contain information about important changes.

Under the bill passed today, institutions must send notification only when they change privacy-related policies or practices. As a result, businesses will save millions of dollars each year on duplicative mailings and each mailing is more likely to contain information relevant to the consumer.

H.R. 749 was endorsed by the Credit Union National Association, the American Bankers Association, the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, the Independent Community Bankers of America, the Consumer Bankers Association and the Financial Services Roundtable.