Week Seventeen - May 9, 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!

The Chamber of Commerce apologizes for the fact that you are just now receiving this issue of The Advocate. We normally send this publication to you on Friday afternoon; last week’s issue was delayed due to production issues within the Chamber office. We intend to be back on schedule this coming Friday!

House Finance Committee Rejects Governor’s Budget Proposal

Yesterday, the House Finance Committee unanimously approved an amended version of SB 321, the bill which the Governor tried to amend with his budget cuts and revenue increases. The amended version includes some, but not all, of the budget measures which the Governor presented to the Committee last week. The plan approved by the Committee includes the Governor’s proposed 25¢ increase in the tobacco tax, but made the increase contingent upon New Hampshire obtaining $50 million in cigarette sales between July 1 and October 1 (this is to determine the effect of a $1.00 cigarette tax increase in Massachusetts, which their legislature is currently considering).

The amended bill also does not include the proposal made by the Governor that the State bond the costs of school building aid to local communities. The bonding provision was a deal-breaker for many on the Committee, and the entire bill likely would have failed had the bonding section stayed in.

The Committee kept the Governor’s proposed cut in discounts to wine retailers, but it exempted “mom & pop” retailers who have sales of less than $350,000 each year. The Committee also rejected the Governor’s proposal to effectively repeal a law that was passed last year requiring the Executive Branch to pay up on Medicaid reimbursements to nursing homes which were withheld without the necessary legislative authorization during the 2005-2007 biennium.

If the House passes the amended version of SB 321 next week, the bill will go back to the Senate for a review of the amendment. Although the Senate can simply concur with the changes that the House made, the more likely scenario is that the Senate will ask for a committee of conference and hash out the details with the House. In short, look for the issue of the State’s revenue shortfall and SB 321 to go right down to the wire in late May and early June.

Morbid Obesity Coverage

Last week, we provided an update on one of the more significant health insurance mandates in the 2007 session: SB 312, relative to health insurance coverage for obesity and morbid obesity. The bill had come out of the House Commerce Committee with a recommendation to send it to Interim Study; however, a substitute motion on the House floor resulted in the measure’s adoption by a margin of approximately 50 votes. Interestingly, in recommending that the bill got to study, a majority of Commerce Committee members had also contemplated that the issue be sent for mandate review under auspices of the New Hampshire Insurance Department. Absent a gubernatorial veto in deference to the comprehensive analysis that a mandate review would have provided, the legislation will go into effect creating patient access to bariatric surgery coverage when a physician determines it to be “medically necessary”. Totally eliminated from the bill are any references to “adherence to clinical guidelines;” pursuit of alternative courses of treatment prior to consideration of surgery; or, any reference to a requirement that the surgery be performed at a “center of excellence”. We expect to hear more about this and will keep you advised.

Senate Transportation Committee Approves Rail Liability Measure

By a 2-1 vote, the Senate Transportation Committee approved HB 1404 with an amendment limiting liability for passenger rail service. The amendment was proposed by Senator Burling, and was a result of his discussions with the MBTA. Under the amended language, neither the passenger rail authority nor a railroad would be liable to pay damages in excess of the coverage limits of a required insurance policy. The policy limits set in the law are not less than $75 million per occurrence and $75 million in the aggregate. The Chamber was an active supporter of HB 1404, because we see this as an important step towards the establishment of rail service from the City of Nashua. This will be on the Senate floor for a vote next week.

Wellness Plan on Way to Governor

Not only did the House pass the Governor’s small business wellness plan, SB 540, by 259-93 vote, but the Senate quickly concurred with the House amendment. The bill is now on its way to the Governor for signature. It will easily be law by June 1st. The new law, dubbed “ New Hampshire HealthFirst,” is a health insurance wellness-based plan to be designed by a small business advisory board in conjunction with insurance carriers and an actuary. The premium for this plan will be targeted at 10% of the median income for New Hampshire for the prior year. Small business interests believe there is a need to stabilize rates in order to continue offering insurance at an affordable rate. New Hampshire HealthFirst recognizes prevention, wellness and care management in a medical home and focuses on a predictable premium to reverse the trend of declining benefits and loss of coverage in the small group market.

Big Vote on Constitutional Amendment on Education Funding Coming Up

The Chamber is publicly supporting passage of a constitutional amendment designed to change the way education funding is distributed within our state.  We have joined a number of other business associations in this endeavor, including the Business & Industry Association, the Retail Merchants Association, the Lodging & Restaurant Association, and the Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

We are happy to say that a compromise version of this amendment is gaining support within the House of Representatives, through an amended version of CACR 34.  The House committee responsible for reviewing this amendment passed it out of committee with bipartisan support.

This bill will go to the full House for a vote this Wednesday or Thursday. 

All of the aforementioned business associations are attempting to put together a group of volunteers to conduct a phone bank this coming Tuesday evening, May 13th.  The purpose of the phone bank is to call all of the state legislators in the House and stress our support for this amendment, asking them to vote in favor of the bill. 

We believe this type of concerted effort will go a long way toward ensuring the amendment’s success, which would be a monumental achievement. 

We are looking for volunteers who would be willing to travel with me to Manchester this Tuesday afternoon, and help with the phone bank from 5-7 pm.  Specific talking points would be provided, and colleagues with expert knowledge of the amendment would be on hand to help any volunteers who experience tough questions from legislators on these phone calls. 

If you would be willing to join us in this effort, please email or call the Chamber with a confirmation of your participation.   We look forward to your replies.

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