House Speaker Files for Fourth Term
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien today officially filed his candidacy for the New Hampshire House of Representatives in the newly redistricted Hillsborough District 5 towns of Mont Vernon and New Boston. O’Brien, in April, announced he would seek a second term as New Hampshire House Speaker naming former House Speaker Gene Chandler of Bartlett; Finance Vice Chairwoman Lynne Ober of Hudson, Ways and Means; Chairman Stephen Stepanek of Amherst; Salem Rep. Marilinda Garcia and Londonderry Rep. Dan Tamburello to his re-election campaign.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“I look forward to having a conversation with the citizens of New Boston and Mont Vernon about the extraordinary achievements of this legislature and the important issues facing New Hampshire. We received a mandate from the voters of to cut state spending; to reduce taxes and fees; to return fiscal sanity to the state; and to create an environment for job creation. The results are striking: the unemployment dropped dramatically since voters sent Republicans to Concord in 2010. That’s because employers knew it was the end of 25% increases in state spending, increased regulations on our small businesses, and over 100 tax and fee increases that they had seen from the prior two terms. We delivered a balanced budget, gotten the burden of regulation off the backs of our job creators and provided tax relief for our citizens and employers. Now, we need to continue to build on these gains to ensure that New Hampshire continues to have a state government that lives within its means, creates an even more job-friendly environment and delivers on the promise of accountability.”
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House Leaders Comment on Governor’s Veto of Partial Birth Abortion Ban Legislation
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today offered the following comments on Governor Lynch’s veto of House Bill 1679, legislation to ban partial birth abortions under state law. The procedure has been banned under a federal law passed in 2003, a law that was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007’s Gonzales v. Carhart decision.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“Partial birth, or late term, abortion is an assault on the respect for life that is critical for a functioning society. The actual details of this procedure are too grizzly to discuss in polite company and is an affront to our basic sensibilities about humanity. There is a good reason why former liberal U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, described the procedure as ‘infanticide,’ as the method repels most decent people. It is unfathomable that Governor Lynch would veto this responsible bill. Overriding this veto will be a priority, and I would hope that all the gubernatorial candidates of both parties will join in our efforts.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“Once again, the Governor has sided with liberal interest groups over the best interests of New Hampshire citizens. Partial-birth abortion is something that is so out of bounds that the U.S. Supreme Court vocally upheld the federal ban on this procedure. This veto shows that the Governor has lost touch with the people and he has picked the right time to move on. This issue should be something that Republicans and Democrats agree to work together to pass this law to protect the unborn babies of New Hampshire.”
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House Leaders Comment on May Unemployment Data
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today offered the following comments regarding the release of New Hampshire’s unemployment data from May. The seasonally adjusted rate remained at 5%, unchanged from April’s data.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“While New Hampshire has among the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, there is much more that we need to do to get our economy on the fast track. It is discouraging that our work force is now following the national trend and has decreased for the second month in a row, so we need to do more to give our employers confidence to hire new workers. That’s why we hope the governor will sign House Bill 1418, which includes tax relief for our employers, including an increase of 33% in the business enterprise tax exemption, which will mean that 1/3rd of our businesses – all of which are small businesses – will no longer have to pay that payroll tax. The bill also includes tax relief for businesses to depreciate capital purchases as well as an elimination of the Internet tax. These are common sense, pro-jobs items that will create a better environment for hiring new workers here.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“The fact that our unemployment figures are staying low while the national rate is increasing is a testament to the work done by this legislature, and we have passed a number of great bills this year that will continue our momentum. This includes 40 bills to reduce regulation this session, to go along with the 43 laws that this legislature passed last year to lift the burden from the backs of our employers. The House Republicans will continue our efforts to create a low tax, limited government environment that creates more new jobs for our citizens.”
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House Leaders Comment on Changes to Regional Green House Gas Initiative (RGGI)
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today commented on the passage of committee of conference report on House Bill 1490, which changes how New Hampshire participates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The House version of this bill originally called for outright repeal of New Hampshire’s involvement in the program and was amended by the Senate to change the repeal mechanism to be contingent on the withdrawal of two other New England states.
The Senate also changed the name of the fund to the “energy efficiency” fund, and was more specific in the way fund money will be spent. All amounts in excess of $1 for auction allowances would be rebated to all default service electric ratepayers. All other auction proceeds would be added to fund existing energy efficiency programs administered by the electric distribution companies. The House agreed with these changes because they will save money for electric ratepayers. The Senate agreed to add two House provisions, forbidding the use of funds to hire outside consultants, and prohibiting the retirement of unsold allowances. These changes will benefit ratepayers and make sure that all funds spent on energy efficiency have maximum impact. HB 1490 passed the House 211 to 74.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has always been a backdoor tax increase on the citizens of New Hampshire. The program has been a colossal failure for reducing carbon emissions and has morphed from a program supposedly focused on the environment to a public-sector attempt at a stimulus program in which administrators pick winners and losers by directing ratepayer money to the winners. While we would have preferred a full repeal of RGGI, this was a way to reduce costs to rate payers and ensure money is given back to them.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“RGGI is about the money, not about the climate. This compromise changes the way the money is distributed and given back to New Hampshire electric ratepayers instead of spent on green pork.”
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House Leaders Comment on Blocking Restriction of Use of Gasoline and Heating Oil, Raise Fuel Prices
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) today commented on the passage of committee of conference report on House Bill 1487, which would prohibit New Hampshire from participating in any low carbon fuel standards program requiring quotas, caps, or mandates on fuels used for transportation, industrial purposes, or home heating without authorization from the legislature. The scheme to cap the amount of gasoline and other liquid fuels, such as home heating oil, would raise the price of these fuels. According to an analysis by the Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) of the economic impact of the regional low carbon fuel standards on Northeast states, nominal gasoline prices would at least double and diesel and jet fuel prices would increase by at least 18-23% under the program. HB 1487 passed on a voice vote.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“In 2009, Governor Lynch began the process of raising the price of gas and heating fuel by implementing this absurd scheme known as low carbon fuel standards. Now is certainly not the time to be raising the price at the gas pump. We should be looking for ways to increase production of gas and heating oil, not trying to find ways to restrict it.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“It’s time to stop adding to the burden on the backs of our working families and to start helping our citizens. The Governor and his Democratic colleagues continue forward on this reckless proposal to increase fuel costs on our citizens. The last thing we need is a ‘liquid RGGI’ for New Hampshire.”
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House Leaders Comment on Passage of Bill to Lower Tax on Employers, Eliminate Internet Tax
CONCORD – House Speaker William O’Brien (R-Mont Vernon) and House Majority Leader Pete Silva (R-Nashua) offered the following comments on passage of House Bill 1418, which increases the business enterprise tax (BET) exemption 33% from $150-200k and increases the enterprise value 33% from $75k-100k – both indexed to inflation. It also eliminates the internet service tax and puts $3 million toward funding the developmentally disabled wait list.
House Speaker William O’Brien
“When Republicans took office in 2010, New Hampshire ranked 50th – dead last – in the nation for our business tax rate, according to the non-partisan Tax Foundation. Through our efforts to reduce taxes last year, we were able to reduce that ranking to 46th. That’s progress, but 46th in the nation does not make our state the type of attractive state that can bring new employers and convince our current companies to grow here. In fact, it represents a New Hampshire Disadvantage. The BET is a payroll tax, so reducing it provides a strong incentive for employers to create good, new jobs here. This legislation will also reduce compliance costs for the many companies who will no longer need to file tax forms, and for the state, which will no longer need to process these forms. As a result of this bill, one-third of New Hampshire small businesses will not pay BET. Cutting the BET helps restore the New Hampshire Advantage by making us more competitive and will bring jobs to the Granite State. And eliminating the tax on the Internet will put money into the pockets of New Hampshire’s working families. The progress continues.”
House Majority Leader Pete Silva
“All around this is a pro-business, pro-jobs bill. This is one more example of Republicans keeping our commitment to deliver affordable government to the citizens of the state.”
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