Latest news with #DavidScanlan
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Business
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NH election law changes draw mixed reviews
NH Democracy Defense Project leaders exchange views with locals Former Ambassador Richard Swett, at right, speaks at a panel discussion with Secretary of State David Scanlan and former Sen. John Sununu at the New Hampshire State Archives in Concord on June 2, 2025. Local elected officials gave mixed reviews to state election law changes during a listening session that Secretary of State David Scanlan hosted Monday with the New Hampshire's heads of the Democracy Defense Project — former Republican U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Dick Swett. New Durham Moderator Linda Calloway is no fan of the 2024 law that requires all new voters to prove citizenship in order to register and eliminates affidavits that allowed people without proper paperwork to swear under penalty of perjury that they were eligible. 'What I am seeing more and more of is the government's lack of trust in the voter,' Calloway said at the 90-minute forum at the State Archives Building in Concord. 'The fact we got rid of affidavits completely shows we don't trust our voter at all. I think that is a bad thing — the trust is not a two-way street.' Stephen Ludwick, moderator in Concord's Ward 9, said his warf has had a large influx of non-English speaking potential voters. He praised the changes the GOP-led Legislature passed and former Gov. Chris Sununu signed into law. 'I think you are going in the right direction when it comes to being a little stricter about who can vote and who can't,' Ludwick said. Portsmouth Ward 3 Moderator Joan Hamblet, a former state representative, urged Scanlan to organize a significant media campaign to educate voters about the new voting requirements on citizenship. 'You need to explain to people even if they have moved to a different town, they are going to need to bring in their passport for (proof of) citizenship,' Hamblet said. Partisan problems? Scanlan said his office is working on that project. He lamented the reality that in the past decade or so, election laws have been adopted here and in most states along partisan lines. When Democrats are in charge they seek ways to make it easier to vote, while Republicans try harder to block access to voter fraud, he said. 'The political parties are headed in two different directions,' Scanlan said. 'When the parties aren't talking to each other you tend to get the extreme version that passes, that can tend to be a whipsaw for any political party. In my opinion, election legislation should not be passed on strictly partisan votes.' A leading election advocate criticized Scanlan, who said much of the voting public "is leery" about election devices. 'The Secretary of State's remarks feed into a false and harmful narrative that erodes public trust in our elections," said N.H. Voting Rights Director McKenzie Taylor. "Granite Staters support proven, secure upgrades like electronic poll books — a modernization his own bipartisan committee on voter confidence recommended. "What actually undermines confidence in our elections is the number of eligible voters who have already been turned away because of extreme registration laws adopted by New Hampshire.' Making it easier to vote Londonderry Town Moderator Jonathan Kipp asked if policymakers need to make it easier to vote, as he presides over one of the largest polling places in the country. 'I can go through the drive-thru and get a cup of coffee, why can't the act of voting be as simple as that?' Kipp said, asking about the prospect of legalizing mail-in voting. Swett answered, as Scanlan has in the past, that states with mail-in voting have lower voter turnout rates than New Hampshire does. Healthy turnout of elected officials at listening session Former Ambassador Richard Swett, from left, Secretary of State David Scanlan and former Sen. John Sununu talk about New Hampshire's election system at a panel discussion at the New Hampshire State Archives in Concord on June 2, 2025. Swett and Sununu were the first two co-chairs named in the eight battleground states that make up the Democracy Defense Project — Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada and New Hampshire. The nonpartisan group is not a lobbying organization, but a clearinghouse that promotes discussion about ways to boost voter confidence around the country. Sununu said the state's reliance on paper ballots and having a verifiable trail to back up all votes cast is New Hampshire's strongest asset. He recalled his work in the U.S. Senate two decades ago to beat back attempts to reject paper ballots in federal races. 'This is an incredibly important thing to me, and it still is today,' Sununu said. 'We have been proven right.' Swett said verifying voter eligibility is critical to restoring confidence in the election process. 'We want to make sure whoever is voting is in fact entitled to vote — that's a very simple premise but it needs to be ensured and assured,' Swett said. Sununu added that state and local election officials need to quickly take ownership when there are glitches at the polls. 'There are issues in elections but 99% of the time it's just human error, an honest mistake,' Sununu said. 'At the same time, it is incumbent on all of us to understand what has happened, be honest about what has happened.' klandrigan@
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Scanlan opposes risk pool bill rewrite
Secretary of State David Scanlan has come out against legislation that would permit the state's four risk management pools, which provide health, property or casualty insurance for governmental units, to choose their regulator. Scanlan opposes latest rewrite of risk pool bill Secretary of State David Scanlan said he opposed a rewrite of legislation he had sought to give his office more sweeping powers over regulating risk pools that provide insurance coverages for governmental units. The House Commerce Committee earlier this week unanimously approved a rewrite of a Senate-approved bill (SB 297) Scanlan had requested to give his office more sweeping powers to regulate these entities. Scanlan had sought the change after he charged that two of the companies were on the brink of financial insolvency because their executives ignored the advice of actuaries and kept their rates too low to hold onto market share. One of those two risk pools, the New Hampshire Interlocal Trust, has declared bankruptcy, and Scanlan convinced a Superior Court judge to name a receiver to take over its finances. The other risk pool that drew Scanlan's criticism is HealthTrust, the largest in the state, which supports 191 of the state's 234 cities and towns, six of 10 counties, 85 school groups and 74 other units like water, library and fire districts. HealthTrust has denied Scanlan's claims and threatened to pull out of the market if Scanlan's proposal was signed into law. The House committee's proposal would instead give these risk entities the option of coming under the supervision of Scanlan's office or before the Department of Insurance. Chairman and Rep. John Hunt, R-Rindge, came up with the idea and said there is a precedent for this since banks get to choose whether to come under state or federal regulation. 'This was written to also protect their tax-exempt status,' Hunt said. Rep. Julie Miles, R-Merrimack, explained that the risk pools would remain under Scanlan if they were member owned, responsible for their own deficits and had to return all surpluses to governmental unit members. If those conditions did not apply to the risk pool, then they could be regulated by the Insurance Department. 'This bill strengthens the structural boundaries and provides clarity, accountability and long-term stability to these risk pools,' Miles said. Scanlan said the bill has lost its original intent. 'The bill does not address the underlying concerns we have expressed specifically related to HealthTrust and the potential impact their fiscal management practices may have on the taxpayers and public sector employees in this state,' Scanlan said. 'The amendment should be rejected. SB 297 has changed from a bill requiring transparency and accountability with financial guardrails and triggers to a bill that changes who can regulate a pooled risk organization.' Opponents line up against Scanlan's bill Lisa Duquette, executive director of SchoolCare, one of the risk pools that represents 100 school districts, said her group opposes the House change because it could require them to seek the approval of rates by the Insurance Department. "This would be a loss of local control," she said. HealthTrust officials are pleased with the rewrite and if it became law the group would come under insurance regulation. 'HealthTrust's model is non-assessable (meaning we have committed to not sending member groups an assessment for additional revenue mid-year), which was no longer permitted under the original SB 297,' HealthTrust said in a statement. 'In a non-assessable plan, member groups are only responsible for their monthly contribution costs and do not bear the risk of mid-year assessments due to adverse claims experience, which allows for the predictability that is critical for public sector budgets.' Roughly 100 municipal officials who were members of HealthTrust signed up online in opposition to Scanlan's bill and many cited the provision that could require them to raise their rates in the middle of the year. HealthTrust officials had also maintained Scanlan's bill set too low an acceptable standard for minimum reserves that these risk pools should have to cover their losses. 'While the amendment contains more rigorous oversight requirements, HealthTrust welcomes effective regulation, particularly with recent volatility in the market,' HealthTrust said. 'Risk pools fulfill an essential function for New Hampshire's public sector and member groups, covered individuals, and taxpayers deserve financially sound systems.' What's Next: The full House will vote on this proposal when it next meets on June 5. Prospects: This issue appears likely headed to a conference committee to try and work out differences between House and Senate plans. Senate President Sharon Carson, R-Londonderry, authored Scanlan's original proposal and is likely to take Scanlan's side about it. klandrigan@
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
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Scanlan vows 'unprecedented transparency' with pooled risk receiver
Secretary of State David Scanlan pledged his office would provide 'unprecedented transparency' after a court-named receiver took over one of the state's four pooled risk programs that managed insurance benefit programs for member city, town, school and county governmental units. At Scanlan's urging, Merrimack County Superior Court Judge Martin Honigberg last month named Lance Turgeon, a financial executive with Wipfli LLP, as receiver, to make all decisions regarding New Hampshire Interlocal Trust (NHIT) finances. 'It's a borderline situation right now,' Turgeon told reporters at a news conference Scanlan called in his office Tuesday. 'Look at the cash position of the trust, it's a negative number and the known claims, that is a negative number too.' Christina Ferrari, a Manchester lawyer representing the state, said Scanlan went into court seeking the protection upon learning NHIT trustees adopted a resolution on April 11 to dissolve the trust. 'We are unpacking all the issues as this has come together so quickly in the last 30 days,' Ferrari said. NHIT is the smallest of four firms that manage health insurance and/or property and casualty insurance coverage for government entities. Affected communities include the cities of Berlin, Laconia and Franklin, along with the towns of Amherst, Milford, Wilton and many communities in the Great North Woods region. The state's risk management law exempts these firms from having to file any reports with the Internal Revenue Service or to be subject to regulation of the Department of Insurance. Scanlan's bureau was the only government entity charged with ensuring that the pooled risk management companies are financially solvent. Probe of NHIT goes back 4 years The state Bureau of Securities Regulation going back to 2021 opened a financial probe into NHIT operations. The bureau claimed NHIT and two affiliate groups, Albert C. Jones Employee Benefits Inc. and Albert C. Jones2, violated state laws through misuse of public funds and the diversion of surplus owed to the government members of the trust. Lawyers for NHIT have denied the charges. An administrative proceeding against NHIT is pending with a hearing on the merits set for December. Two months ago, Scanlan asked the Legislature to pass legislation (SB 297) to adopt more restrictive 'guardrails' for all pooled risk management programs to ensure they are financially sound. At that time, Scanlan warned both New Hampshire Interlocal Trust and HealthTrust, the largest pooled risk management program, were in danger of becoming financially insolvent. 'If that bill was in place, NHIT would not be insolvent,' Scanlan said. The Senate passed it without debate on a voice vote. The House Commerce and Small Business Committee held a public hearing last month and has scheduled a work session on the issue next week. HealthTrust represents 191 of the state's 234 cities and towns, six of 10 counties, 85 school groups and 74 other units like water, library and fire districts. HealthTrust officials said Scanlan's actuary drew false conclusions about the program's finances and maintained that it had more than enough assets to be viable. They maintain Scanlan's bill sets asset levels that are too low to create a healthy climate for the risk pools. Scanlan released an April 11 statement that alleged HealthTrust on numerous occasions ignored the advice of their own actuaries to raise rates from 2020-23. Last month, HealthTrust executives announced that they would exit the market should the Senate-passed bill be signed into law. klandrigan@
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
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State's largest risk pool threatens to end coverage if Scanlan's reform becomes law
Mar. 24—The largest risk pool that provides insurance coverage to local and county governments in New Hampshire threatens that it will exit the market entirely should a bill tightening regulations on them becomes law. Executives with HealthTrust were clearly upset at learning the state Senate had approved an amended version of the reform Secretary of State David Scanlan sought last Thursday on the consent calendar without debate. A spokesman for HealthTrust said it had received assurances the Senate would publicly debate the matter (SB 297). The HealthTrust board and officers released a scathing news release late Friday afternoon. It revealed that a day earlier, its board had voted that if Gov. Kelly Ayotte signed the bill as written, HealthTrust would end all coverages and services Dec. 31 for January groups and June 30, 2026, for groups that have a starting point of July 1, 2026. "HealthTrust will fulfill all obligations through those dates, in addition to full administration of run-out services. After the full run-out occurs, HealthTrust will distribute remaining surplus funds back to the member groups that we have proudly served," HealthTrust said in its statement. Scanlan defended the bill and said HealthTrust's statement makes no sense. "The statement from HealthTrust is irrational. They fail to explain how SB 297 harms their operations on behalf of the political subdivisions in any way. SB 297 adds a measure of accountability in the interest of cities and towns that does not currently exist and will help the financial stability of these organizations," Scanlan said in a statement. Last month, Scanlan asked that his office be given sweeping new powers to regulate the finances of risk pools after concluding two of the providers were "in danger of insolvency." Executives with those two risk pools, HealthTrust and the New Hampshire Interlocal Trust (NHIT), said Scanlan's solution would set a minimum floor and maximum cap for how much these firms can hold in reserves that were too low and would be financially irresponsible. Scanlan: 'They were not following actuarial advice' In 2010, the Legislature gave Scanlan's office authority to regulate the companies that give local governments a lower-cost option to manage and pay out insurance claims for them rather than a small town or city having to self-fund its own coverage. "Too often we see government failure when some event occurs that is pretty tragic and people are pointing fingers on who is responsible and how," Scanlan testified. "Unfortunately, the reason for this bill is two of the risk pools are in danger of insolvency. It's that simple. They were not following actuarial advice." HealthTrust represents 191 of the state's 234 cities and towns, six of 10 counties, 85 school groups and 74 other units like water, library and fire districts. HealthTrust insisted its contingency reserve of $35.7 million was more than the thresholds contained in the Senate bill. It also rebutted the claim from Scanlan's hired actuary that HealthTrust was projected to lose $2.5 million per month. "This is false. It was then incorrectly stated that HealthTrust was projected to lose $12.5 (million) this fiscal year. This is also false. Our external actuarial projection shows a gain for (Fiscal Year) 2025," HealthTrust said. In the Senate's only public statement, Senate Finance Committee James Gray, R-Rochester, said his panel unanimously agreed with Scanlan's approach. "Recent circumstances have caused the secretary of state to be concerned that some risk pools may be in danger of insolvency without the changes identified in this bill, including mandatory minimums and maximums for retention of assets due to unforeseen circumstances," Gray wrote. HealthTrust also insisted the decision was about the pending bill and not HealthTrust's financial well-being. "To be clear and to be ahead of mischaracterizations, this decision has nothing to do with HealthTrust's finances. We are viable and would otherwise continue to be. This has everything to do with the extraordinarily flawed SB 297 that has been rushed through the legislative process without reasonable and objective scrutiny," HealthTrust said. If cities, towns, counties and school districts have to go to the commercial insurance market to provide health care or property coverage, HealthTrust officials insist, their costs would be higher and could lead to local property tax increases. klandrigan@
