Latest news with #JasonOsborne
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State cap on local school spending sparks heated debate
Osborne: School spending cap would arrest 'runaway' local tax hikes Jason Osborne By Kevin Landrigan House Majority Leader Jason Osborne said the New Hampshire Property Tax Relief Act — a state cap on local school spending increases tucked into the proposed House budget — would rescue homeowners 'held hostage by runaway' tax hikes. Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association of New Hampshire, said the cap 'ignores the will of the voters' since residents in 17 towns rejected per-pupil spending caps at town and school district meetings last month. The budget is up for a final vote today. (Thursday) While the issue has gotten much less attention in the budget than significant cuts to higher education, the arts, energy and human service programs, both sides agree the proposal, if adopted, could have the biggest impact on budgets at the local level. 'The Property Tax Protection Act is the heart of this budget,' House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, said in a recent statement that adjusted the bill's branding a bit. 'It will ensure municipalities stay fiscally responsible, curb runaway budgets, and protect Granite Staters from tax hikes — without cutting essential services.' If signed into law, the cap would limit school budget spending to the previous year, minus what's been spent on facility purchase and construction, times the five-year average of the U.S. Consumer Price Index. To go above that school spending cap would require a two-thirds vote of a city council or voters at town or school district meeting. Tuttle said all voters presented with this concept have rejected it. In March alone, school voters turned down such budget-cap warrant articles in Bedford, ConVal, Epping, Epsom, Greenland, Haverhill, Hollis, Salem, Thornton and Weare. 'As taxpayers, educators understand the frustration with the rise in property taxes — and we feel it, too,' Tuttle said. 'But putting arbitrary spending caps on our local school budgets is not the way to address a funding crisis created by the state's failure to fully fund an adequate education.' Critics point out the Legislature just last year adopted a bill allowing residents to propose caps on their school district budgets, which led to last month's votes. In January, Kearsarge Regional School District was one of the first to overwhelmingly reject a budget cap article and Osborne reacted to that news right away. 'Perhaps, if voters are unwilling to cap themselves, the state will step in and cap local taxes for them,' the Auburn Republican said on Jan. 5. The bill (HB 675) as introduced days later, deals with several property tax issues that got pared down to this school spending cap. 'For too long, New Hampshire homeowners have been held hostage by runaway property taxes driven by out-of-control local school and municipal budgets,' Osborne wrote in a recent Union Leader op-ed on the topic. 'Hardworking families who play by the rules, work hard, pay their taxes, and contribute to their communities should not be forced to bankroll unchecked spending by local officials.' Osborne said Democrats accuse Republicans of adopting policies that raise local property taxes, and this is a response. 'It pressures school budgets to stay within responsible limits, discouraging the never-ending tax hikes that make it harder for families to afford their homes. With the Property Tax Relief Act in place, local school budgets will be challenged to exercise fiscal discipline, ensuring that future generations don't have to bear the burden of today's overspending,' Osborne wrote. Backers note the cap can also be overridden in case of emergency by using an existing state law. Getting the proposal this far has been no easy task. Despite the House GOP majority, the bill faced a major scare last month when a Democrat's move to table it barely failed, 189-187. Then the bill narrowly won initial approval on a roll call vote, 190-185. Packard sent the bill to the House Finance Committee, which decided to retain the separate legislation until next year and instead tuck the proposal into the state budget's trailer bill (HB 2). Supporters believe having it in the trailer bill increases likelihood it could become part of a final budget compromise. Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she hadn't seen the details. 'I haven't studied the specifics of that. I certainly believe in local control, but I also think it is important that local officials protect taxpayers at the local level,' Ayotte said. Estimated cap: 4.1% The nonpartisan Reaching Higher NH is the only group to have done an analysis on its impact. It concludes the maximum budget increase for 2026, based on the five-year Consumer Price Index average increase, is 4.1%. According to this study, the relevant spending on schools minus facilities could go up by these amounts in some sample communities: • Manchester: $78.4 million this year to $81.6 million in 2026 and $84.9 million in 2027. • Nashua: $54.8 million to $57.1 million in 2026 and $59.4 million in 2027. • Bedford: $55.2 million to $57.5 million in 2026 and $59.9 million in 2027. • Londonderry: $62.8 million to $65.4 million in 2026 and $68 million in 2027. • Rochester: $35.4 million to $36.8 million in 2026 and $38.3 million in 2027. • Salem: $49.7 million to $51.8 million in 2026 and $53.9 million in 2027. But the Reaching Higher NH report warns of a bleaker picture. 'The mandated budget cap would actually reduce funding for most school districts, even before accounting for inflation, over the next five years,' it concluded. Critics warn school spending cap would lock in inequities David Luneau Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, the ranking Democrat on the House Education Funding Committee, said the proposal would perpetuate inequities between property-rich and property-poor towns. 'Great for Waterville Valley spending $36K per student; not so good for Manchester. It's bad for kids and locks in opportunity gaps,' Luneau said. Rep. Dan McGuire, R-Epsom, said while public school enrollment has dropped 11% in the past 30 years, the number of school staff has increased 55%. Spending per pupil in the last decade has gone up 58% over the past decade, topping the 35% inflation rate over the period, McGuire said. Rep. Hope Damon, D-Sunapee, said a spending cap would only be fair if the state wasn't near the bottom in state support for its public schools. 'There may be merit to a cap on school district budgets in the future — but certainly not before we have equitable funding from the state to municipalities so that a student's ZIP Code doesn't determine the adequacy of their education resources,' Damon added. Katherine Blume of Weare supported the idea in her written testimony. 'Everyone is concerned what will happen to their school district if it's the only one around with a budget cap. This bill levels the playing field,' Blume said. Christine Hodsdon of Exeter had the opposite view. 'This kind of extreme legislation is anti-democratic, anti-public education, anti-student and will hurt the nearly 90% of students in New Hampshire who attend their local public school,' Hodsdon added. klandrigan@
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Local school spending cap sparks heated debate
Osborne: School spending cap would arrest 'runaway' local tax hikes House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Salem, is a prominent supporter of the New Hampshire Property Tax Relief Act that if adopted would impose a cap on school spending at the local level. House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, said the New Hampshire Property Tax Relief Act — a cap on local school spending increases — tucked into the proposed House budget up for a final vote Thursday would rescue homeowners 'held hostage by runaway' hikes. Megan Tuttle, president of the National Education Association of New Hampshire, said the cap 'ignores the will of the voters' since residents in 17 towns have rejected per pupil spending caps at town and school district meetings last month. While the issue has gotten much less attention in the budget than significant cuts to higher education, the arts, energy and human service programs, both sides agree the proposal, if adopted, could have the most impact on budgets at the local level. 'The Property Tax Protection Act is the heart of this budget,' House Speaker Sherman Packard, R-Londonderry, said in a recent statement that adjusted the branding a bit. 'It will ensure municipalities stay fiscally responsible, curb runaway budgets, and protect Granite Staters from tax hikes — without cutting essential services.' If signed into law, the cap would limit school budget spending to the previous year, minus what's been spent on facility purchase and construction, times the previous, five-year average of the U.S. Consumer Price Index. To go above that school spending cap would require a two-thirds vote of a city council or voters at a town or school district meeting. Tuttle said all voters in communities given this concept have rejected it. In March alone, voters turned down these warrant articles in Bedford, ConVal, Epping, Epsom, Greenland, Haverhill, Hollis, Salem, Thornton and Weare. "As taxpayers, educators understand the frustration with the rise in property taxes — and we feel it, too," Tuttle said. "But putting arbitrary spending caps on our local school budgets is not the way to address a funding crisis created by the state's failure to fully fund an adequate education." Keeping idea alive hasn't been easy Critics of this new idea point out the Legislature just last year adopted a bill from Sen. Keith Murphy, R-Manchester, allowing citizens to seek a budget cap by school districts (SB 383) which led to these votes in opposition to the idea. Kearsarge Regional School District last January was one of the first to overwhelmingly reject an article and Osborne reacted to that news right away. 'Perhaps, if voters are unwilling to cap themselves, the state will step in and cap local taxes for them,' Osborne said on Jan. 5. The bill (HB 675) as introduced days later, deals with several property tax issues that got pared down to this school spending cap. 'For too long, New Hampshire homeowners have been held hostage by runaway property taxes driven by out-of-control local school and municipal budgets,' Osborne wrote in a recent Union Leader op-ed on the topic. 'Hardworking families who play by the rules, work hard, pay their taxes, and contribute to their communities should not be forced to bankroll unchecked spending by local officials.' Osborne said Democrats charge Republicans with adopting policies that raise local property taxes and this is the response. 'It pressures school budgets to stay within responsible limits, discouraging the never-ending tax hikes that make it harder for families to afford their homes. With the Property Tax Relief Act in place, local school budgets will be challenged to exercise fiscal discipline, ensuring that future generations don't have to bear the burden of today's overspending,' Osborne said. Backers note the cap can also be overridden in case of emergency by using an existing state law for this unforeseen purpose. Getting the concept this far has been no easy matter. Despite the House GOP majority, the bill faced a bigtime scare last month when a Democrat's move to table it barely failed, 189-187. Then a rollcall vote to initially approve it squeaked through, 190-185. Packard sent the bill to the House Finance Committee that decided to retain the separate legislation until next year and instead tuck it into the trailer bill to the state budget (HB 2). Supporters believe this increases likelihood it could become part of a final budget compromise. Gov. Kelly Ayotte said she hadn't seen the details. 'I haven't studied the specifics of that. I certainly believe in local control, but I also think it is important that local officials protect taxpayers at the local level,' Ayotte said. The non-partisan, Reaching Higher N.H. is the only group to have done an analysis on its impact. It concludes the CPI average for 2026 regarding school spending could increase by 4.1% Cap supporters: School enrollment down, spending way up According to this group, the relevant spending on schools minus facilities could go up by these amounts in some sample communities: • Manchester: $78.4 million this year to $81.6 million in 2026 and $84.9 million in 2027. • Nashua: $54.8 million to $57.1 million in 2026 and $59.4 million in 2027. • Bedford: $55.2 million to $57.5 million in 2026 and $59.9 million in 2027. • Londonderry: $62.8 million to $65.4 million in 2026 and $68 million in 2027. • Rochester: $35.4 million to $36.8 million in 2026 and $38.3 million in 2027. • Salem: $49.7 million to $51.8 million in 2026 and $53.9 million in 2027. But its own report warns of a bleaker picture. 'The mandated budget cap would actually reduce funding for most school districts, even before accounting for inflation, over the next five years,' Reaching Higher N.H. concluded. Critics warn school spending cap would lock in inequities State Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton, said if adopted a school spending cap would be cement the wide disparity between the ability to support public education in property poor and rich towns. Rep. David Luneau, D-Hopkinton and the ranking Democrat on the House Education Funding Committee, said the proposal would cement the inequities between the property-rich and property-poor towns. 'Great for Waterville Valley spending $36K per student; not so good for Manchester. It's bad for kids and locks in opportunity gaps,' Luneau said. Rep. Dan McGuire, R-Epsom, said while public school enrollment has dropped 11% in the past 30 years, the number of school staff has increased 55%. Spending per pupil in the last decade has gone up 58% over the past decade, topping the 35% inflation rate over the period, McGuire said. Rep. Hope Damon, D-Sunapee, said a spending cap would only be fair if the state wasn't near the bottom in state support for its public schools. 'There may be merit to a cap on school district budgets in the future – but certainly not before we have equitable funding from the state to municipalities so that a student's zip code doesn't determine the adequacy of their education resources,' Damon added. Katherine Blume of Weare supported the idea in her written testimony. 'Everyone is concerned what will happen to their school district if it's the only one around with a budget cap. This bill levels the playing field,' Blume said. Christine Hodsdon of Exeter had the opposite view. 'This kind of extreme legislation is anti-democratic, anti-public education, anti-student and will hurt the nearly 90% of students in New Hampshire who attend their local public school,' Hodsdon added. klandrigan@
Boston Globe
24-03-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
N.H. House panel moves to defund arts division, and plans vote to eliminate the state library
The 'This is a budget in which we really need to identify what we need to fund as a state and to make reductions in what I would call the optional or the wants of the state,' said Sweeney, noting that he had identified the arts and the library as two such cases. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up There are many more steps in the budget process before any cuts could be finalized. The proposal would still have to go before the full House and be heard by a Senate committee. The proposal would also need to have vote before the full Senate. The House and the Senate also have an opportunity to reconcile any differences in their budget proposals before they go to the governor's desk. Advertisement 'When it comes to the arts, the state does not have a constitutional need to fund the arts,' Sweeney said. 'There's no constitutional need to fund the state library.' The State Council on the Arts was Sweeney's proposal would retain state ownership of the state library building, which he proposed using for the executive branch or as office space for the legislative branch. Last week, Sweeney posted a photo of himself with the New Hampshire State Library in the background. 'Another great and productive day in Concord doing the people's work!' he said. Advertisement 'Lovely building,' House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, Another great and productive day in Concord doing the people's work! — Joe Sweeney (@JoeSweeneyNH) Under state law, the State Council on the Arts is responsible for encouraging public participation in the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts. It Eliminating it would save the state about $1.7 million in fiscal year 2026 and 2027, according to the proposal. Republicans on the panel agreed to defund the arts division in a 5-4 vote, but at least one Republican balked at the idea of cutting the state library and asked for more time to consider it. 'I know we're in a crisis. I don't have a problem with doing away with the arts for a while, postponing it for a couple of years, we can pick it up easily again,' said Representative Gerald Griffin, a Mount Vernon Republican. But, he said, eliminating the state library gave him pause. It's the 'It's part of our history, and I think at least the building itself and the function that is served have to be preserved,' he said, asking for the vote to be delayed. Advertisement Eliminating the state library would save the state about $4.5 million between 2026 and 2027. The state library also receives federal funding, although the status of that funding is in question. Earlier in March, President Trump issued an executive order Sweeney said given those cuts, the state library would lose the $1.5 million per year it has used to fund an interlibrary loan service — money, he said, the state would not be able to make up in its budget. 'With losing revenue that goes towards the state library, to me, it's one of those cuts that we just sort of have to make as a state in order to help balance our books,' he said. The state is facing a difficult budget year, as But leadership at the New Hampshire Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said in a statement Monday that they still have no additional details about how federal funding will affect the state. 'We have no clarity on if or how much any funding will be cut,' the statement said. 'All we know is what is in the President's Executive Order and what the interim head of IMLS has said. We are awaiting more clarity on funding.' A spokesperson did not respond to a question about the department's position on the proposal to defund the arts division or state library. Democrats on the House committee spoke against both proposals. Advertisement 'I think it's absolutely abhorrent that we're discussing zeroing out, firing people at the state level in these departments that are focused on the state library and arts,' said Representative Rosemarie Rung, a Merrimack Democrat. 'I think it's going to be a wake-up call to Granite Staters when they realize they're living in a state where their representatives aren't even supporting these types of programs,' she said. There are Amanda Gokee can be reached at
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House Democrats join Republicans in passing anti-sanctuary city bill, pointing to compromise
The New Hampshire State House, Feb. 6, 2025 (Photo by Ethan DeWitt/New Hampshire Bulletin) The House nearly unanimously passed a bill to ban 'sanctuary city' policies in the state Thursday, after Democrats sided with Republicans to advance a version they argue is less drastic. House Bill 511 passed, 351-6, without discussion from either side. Six Democrats voted no. Republicans were elated. 'Today House Republicans resoundingly and unanimously voted to ban dangerous and lawless sanctuary city policies and to keep our schools from being used as housing for illegal aliens,' said Majority Leader Jason Osborne, in a statement released after the vote. 'Our position is clear: We will not allow our communities to be overrun by an invasion of illegal aliens.' Democrats, who broadly oppose anti-sanctuary city bills, did not release a statement. Many Democratic representatives declined to answer questions about the vote. But some said they had voted for HB 511 because the latest amended version lessened its impact and was preferable to a stricter alternative. The bill states that 'no state government entity, local government entity, or law enforcement entity shall knowingly enact, issue, adopt, promulgate, enforce, permit, maintain, or have in effect any sanctuary policy.' Sanctuary policies are defined as laws or policies that prohibit or impede law enforcement agencies from cooperating or communicating with a federal immigration agency – and that hamper police officers' compliance with federal immigration laws. The bill allows the state attorney general to file a lawsuit against any locality that carries out those policies. It is not clear how many cities and towns have such policies; two examples are Lebanon and Hanover, which both passed 'welcoming ordinances.' Republicans have argued the policies encourage undocumented people to move to those cities, knowing it is less likely they will be turned over to federal authorities like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). House Democrats say they are opposed to the laws in general. But they have supported an amendment to this bill added by the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee. That amendment states that unless otherwise authorized by law, New Hampshire law enforcement are barred from investigating or taking part in investigations into the citizenship of someone they arrest. Those investigations may only be carried out by ICE or other federal agencies, the amendment states. 'The vote on HB 511 was a harm-reduction measure,' wrote Rep. David Meuse, a Portsmouth Democrat, in a Jan. 26 Facebook post. 'As amended, the bill has the support of the Immigrant Rights Network here in New Hampshire. Since Republicans may have had the votes to pass this legislation unamended, Democrats on the committee worked hard and worked together to try to mitigate and minimize its potential harm.' Rep. Alissandra Murray, a Manchester Democrat, agreed that Democrats' participation was intended to pare back the legislation. She said the amendment had come out of bipartisan negotiations with Rep. Terry Roy, the chairman of the House Criminal Justice Committee. 'We absolutely agree that people who are committing crimes in our communities should not be continually just let out and not face the consequences of their actions,' she said in an interview. 'But we also think that it's important for law enforcement to maintain the trust they have with immigrant communities, which requires them to not have to be forced to detain every single person that they come across who may have an ICE detainer.' By adding guardrails that restrict police from proactively taking action by reporting people to ICE, Murray argued the bill would prevent law enforcement from being deputized against law-abiding people. Instead, police departments would be required to contact ICE only in cases when they arrested a person and noticed that ICE had flagged the person with a detainer request. The bipartisan negotiation over the bill echoes previous instances where Murray and Roy have worked together on the Criminal Justice Committee on behalf of their parties. In 2024, the two helped steer a compromise bail reform bill through the Criminal Justice Committee and ultimately to Gov. Chris Sununu's desk, who signed it in August. Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte, who opposes the 2018 legislation that sought to lessen bail conditions, has been critical of the 2024 compromise bill and is pushing for further legislation to restrict bail this year. 'In the Criminal Justice Public Safety Committee, we have a track record of doing strong bipartisan work together,' Murray said Thursday. 'That's really our priority as a committee: passing legislation that can stand the test of time and meet the needs of our constituents without falling prey to national talking points.' But HB 511 may not be the final word on anti-sanctuary city legislation this year. The Senate passed its own bill, Senate Bill 71, which bans sanctuary city policies but does not include guardrails that restrict law enforcement from working with ICE. That bill will be taken up by the House in the coming months. Meanwhile, HB 511 itself has not yet left the House; it goes next to the House Finance Committee and will need to pass one more vote on the House floor before it can head over to the Senate. That leaves more opportunities for the bill to be amended again. Ayotte ran in part on tightening New Hampshire's immigration laws and repeatedly touted her support for banning sanctuary cities during her 2024 campaign. With Republican majorities in the House and Senate, legislation is likely to pass both legislative chambers. But it is less obvious what form that final bill might take. In contrast to House Democrats, Senate Democrats have been unequivocally opposed. At a press conference, Sen. Suzanne Prentiss, a Lebanon Democrat, praised her city's ordinance that bars law enforcement from acting on ICE detainers unless the person has been charged with a crime. And she spoke against the Senate version of the bill. 'I won't be supporting it,' she said. 'I think that we're conflating civil and criminal.' '… If you're arrested, and you are, you have a criminal offense, then that's one thing,' she said. 'But if you are in our community working on becoming a citizen, we are not going to target you and do the job of ICE.'
