Week Thirteen - April 4, 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!

Texas Hold’em on Hold?

Your Chamber President, Chris Williams, was joined by a number of other Chambers, as he testified before the House Ways and Means Committee this past week in support of SB 493, which would once again allow Chambers to host Texas Hold’em Nights to raise revenue for Chamber projects. Prior to the oversight being transferred to the Pari-Mutuel Commission in 2006, Chambers were allowed to hold fundraisers that included these types of events and Monte Carlo nights. We are just asking the State to reinstate the Chambers ability to hold fundraisers again in order to execute our mission of promoting the economic viability of our region.

11th-Hour Obstacle to eliminating Double-Taxation

Yet again, the Department of Revenue Administration has come forward at the 11th hour with an alarmist fiscal note to a bill that it is seeking to kill. This time it was SB 308 - which would prohibit the practice of double taxation. The Senate wanted to be clear in the statute that the State cannot double-tax businesses. DRA said nothing about this change costing the state millions of dollars in lost revenue when the bill was in the Senate. But now that it’s in the House, the DRA is claiming that a mere clarification of the law that double taxation is not allowed, will cost the State $15M each fiscal year. This is most peculiar, and frustrating. The Chamber will continue to work with the Ways and Means Committee to try to get this legislation passed so businesses with parent companies out-of-state cannot be double-taxed.

Legislature Continues Review Of Energy Sustainability Legislation

Renewable energy and energy conservation remained high on the legislative agenda this week, as the Senate Energy Committee reviewed HB 1561, which would establish an energy conservation and efficiency board. This bill, which was unanimously approved by the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee, would create a board comprised of various state and private organizations and interests, to coordinate conservation and efficiency efforts in New Hampshire. In one of the earlier versions of this bill, utilities were required to get the approval of this board for their energy efficiency programs before going to the Public Utilities Commission to receive the PUC’s approval. Fortunately, the legislation as it now stands is intended to establish this board as an advisory committee, meaning that the utilities (and thus the ratepayers) will therefore not have to incur the expense associated with what would have been two separate proceedings to get approval of these types of programs. This current version of the bill had no opposition. The committee is expected to vote within the next couple of weeks.

Constitutional Amendment Debate Continues

The first of two work sessions was held by the House Finance Committee on CACR 34, which is the Governor’s and Senator Joe Foster’s proposed constitutional amendment. Representative Gary Richardson, a lawyer serving on the House Judiciary Committee, presented a new amendment that presents the following beliefs:

(1) funding distribution should remain subject to strict scrutiny standards;

(2) state money for education must be distributed fairly;

(3) the state has a responsibility for adequate education.

Under Representative Richardson’s amendment there is still targeting of some towns in the state that will not receive any State money.

The committee will continue sifting through the Senate version and the Richardson version.

Recycling Computers

HB 1584, which was amended in the House to be a study committee on recycling and disposal of electronic waste, was heard by the Senate Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee. The bill was quickly passed by the Senate Committee and will go to the full Senate for approval next week. We will have to pay close attention to this once it becomes law, since its duties include expanding electronic waste recycling; studying manufacturer incentives to produce less electronic waste, and studying the cost and effects of a ban on the disposal and incineration of these products. We will be at the table this summer with this study committee.

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