Week Eleven - March 21, 2008

The Advocate is a new electronic tool provided to our business members and regional state legislators.  This publication, sponsored by Devine Millimet & Branch and designed by ActiveEdge, is intended to keep you up to date with all the latest happenings in Concord concerning legislation impacting businesses.  We hope you enjoy this weekly electronic publication!

With the coming of Spring, the landscape of New Hampshire really changed this week. All bills must have a public hearing and be voted on by each legislative body - House and Senate in order to become law. This week all bills that will crossover to the other body had to be voted on. There are a number of bills that we may wish had not crossed over and some we are happy to have crossed the line.

RFID

How did this happen?! On the same day that marijuana was legalized, the House passed HB 686 with a minority committee amendment, strongly supported and lobbied by the The Free Staters and Libertarians, which severely regulates the use of RFID (radio frequency identification device) technology in New Hampshire. No other state has passed RFID regulation of this magnitude. New Hampshire is now dictating how the world’s manufacturers will label their products when shipped and sold in New Hampshire. This is such a complicated issue and technology. We have to believe a lot of legislators did not know the consequences of this vote. Hopefully, the Senate will understand the negative impacts of creating our own little island of commerce in New Hampshire.

New Tax

The Senate passed SB 412, which will place a new tax on landline telephones in order to create an office of technology development and telecommunication planning, and fund the position of the director. It is very interesting that the Senate is adding a new tax and creating a new state position when the Governor has said no new taxes, asked for a hiring freeze, and is cutting the budget. It will be interesting to see where the House comes down on this new tax. The bill passed on a strictly partisan vote.

Another Health Care Mandate

The Senate passed Senator Clegg’s bariatric surgery legislation, SB 312, which requires insurance coverage of obesity and morbid obesity by a 21-3 vote (bi-partisan). It will now be interesting to see how this fares in the House Commerce Committee, which had previously sent the bill to an interim study. Will our insurance premiums increase as we get skinnier? How does this work with the Governor’s Wellness Plan? We’ll see.

Governor’s Wellness Program

The Governor’s small business wellness program jogged through the Senate in record time to a 21-3 vote. There was debate about how a plan could be structured in order for the premium that is being promised to small businesses to actually be feasible. The House Commerce Committee will certainly give this legislation a harsh scrubbing. We predict it will move swimmingly through the House.

No Double Taxation by the State

The Chamber was key in drafting an amendment to Senator Foster’s bill, SB 308, which eliminates the ability of the state to tax both a subsidiary on its profits and then the parent when the subsidiary sends some of the profit to the parent as a dividend. The Department of Revenue Administration issued a technical bulletin on double taxation and brought in an amendment to the Senate Finance Committee. Senator Foster turned to the Chamber to have the DRA amendment analyzed. The amendment was better, but did not clearly address all the issues. We drafted a floor amendment that passed. The amended bill is good public policy and clear about not allowing double taxation. We will follow this closely in the House.

Part-Time Workers Can Collect Full Unemployment Benefits

SB 502, which allows part-time workers to be eligible for unemployment compensation if they are seeking full time or part-time work, has passed the Senate 16-8. Current law allows benefits if the person is willing to accept full time work only. If a part-time worker limits their search to only part-time work, then benefits will be based on wages of a part-time worker. This is an expansion of the current unemployment benefits law. The discount rate for employers has also been redefined. The Commissioner shall maintain the current discount rate for the preceding four quarters when the maintenance of the rate gives benefit to the New Hampshire business climate. The Commissioner must consult with the Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council, and receive approval by the Governor and Council. This amendment adds a Commissioner-override to the statutorily established discount rate. We will watch this very closely in the House as to how the new steps will impact the discount rate.

J. Christopher Williams
President & CEO
Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce
151 Main St.
Nashua, NH 03060
Phone: 603.881.8333
Fax: 603.881.7323