Concord
Republicans tout the plan as fiscally sound and say it fulfills the state’s needs. Senate Democrats, however, have argued it doesn’t go far enough to address addiction treatment, higher education costs and workforce development. Reflecting that division, the plan passed the Senate Finance Committee in a 4-2 party-line vote.
Since Republicans control the Senate chamber 14 to 9, the budget blueprint is likely to pass. However, members are expected to offer dozens of amendments from the floor.
Here is what the proposal includes:
Substance Abuse
The state’s juvenile detention center would be partially converted into substance abuse treatment for minors. Roughly $2 million to retrofit the Manchester Sununu Youth Services Center would come out of the so-called “alcohol fund,” which pays for treatment, recovery and prevention services. The budget doubles the percentage of state alcohol profits going into the fund, but would let the Health and Human Services commissioner tap the money to operate the Sununu Center. There is no cap on how much the commissioner could take, meaning most of the fund could be diverted into the center. The fund is controlled by the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. While the fund used to receive 5 percent of liquor profits, the formula was slashed last year to 1.7 percent.
Public Schools
School districts still would see a drop in stabilization grants, but charter schools would get a bump. Under the Senate plan, charter schools would get an additional $250 per pupil in 2018 and another $125 in 2019. The moratorium on school building aid would remain in effect, but the plan launches a new Public School Infrastructure Revitalization Trust Fund overseen by the governor’s office, not the state Department of Education. The fund would be used for projects at public schools that could include improving internet access, as well as addressing security and structural deficiencies that pose an immediate safety hazard.
Funding for full-day kindergarten is not included in the state budget, but it is making its way through the Legislature as a stand-alone bill. In its current form, which recently passed the House Finance Committee, full-day kindergarten would be funded by allowing keno, an electronic lottery game.
Business Tax Cuts
Business tax rates would continue to decline under the Senate-approved budget. The business profits and enterprise taxes rates would drop in 2020, resulting in an estimated loss of $81 million in revenue the next year, according to projections. Another reduction would take effect in 2022. Business taxes are big moneymakers for New Hampshire, and this fiscal year they are expected to bring in $565 million, roughly one-quarter of state-raised dollars. The reductions would follow cuts made in the current budget.
The business profits tax, levied on organizations with more than $50,000 in gross receipts, currently stands at 8.2 percent. The business enterprise tax, assessed on wages, interest and dividends, is 0.72 percent. The budget would lower the rates to 7.5 and 0.5 percent, respectively, beginning in 2020. Republicans say the tax cuts will drive growth, while Democrats have argued the state should be focused on workforce development.
Mental Health and DCYF
The budget would spend $19.9 million on an expansion of mental health treatment beds and requires the DHHS commissioner to come up with a plan to move 24 children out of the state psychiatric hospital. The proposal comes as patients often are forced to wait days or weeks for a bed to open at New Hampshire Hospital in Concord. The budget lets the state contract with private hospitals and nonprofits to set up 68 new beds that will range in care from patients who are committed involuntarily in psychiatric crisis to patients who are transitioning back into the community. The budget also funds another mobile crisis team, meant to treat patients in their homes and keep them out of the hospital.