Latest news with #SB383
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@
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Governor signs bills providing funding for flood recovery, emergency medical services
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Friday signed into law Senate Bills 383 and 197, which will provide local governments with funding to recover from flooding and improve emergency medical services. "These bills provide critical tools for our municipalities to recover from devastating floods and strengthen our emergency medical services across the state," Lujan Grisham said in a statement Monday. SB 197 would allow for money from the state's Emergency Medical Services Fund to be loaned out to local governments for the purchase of EMS improvement projects. The proposal secured unanimous approval from the House and Senate. SB 383, meanwhile, allows cities to issue flood recovery bonds for rebuilding, repairing, replacing and toughening municipal property after flood damage. The bill, which went into effect immediately upon being signed into law, also passed with unanimous support in both chambers. The proposals come from a bipartisan group of lawmakers whose districts have been hit hard by natural disasters in recent years. SB 197 was sponsored by Sen. Pete Campos, D-Las Vegas, and Rep. Harlan Vincent, R-Glencoe, while Sen. Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Roswell, put forward SB 383. The bills are among the first signed by Lujan Grisham following the conclusion of this year's legislative session, which ended March 22 on a mostly sour note. Lujan Grisham had already signed a couple of dozen bills from the session into law, notably including big bills related to crime and public safety, legislation to increase oversight of the Children, Youth and Families Department, and reforms to the State Game Commission. She'll have until April 11 to sign the more than 200 other bills that passed both chambers this session. Otherwise, they'll be pocket-vetoed, or subject to a de facto veto that happens when the governor doesn't act on a bill.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs New Mexico flood recovery, ambulance purchasing bills into law
A truck carried away in the aftermath of historic flooding in Roswell New Mexico. More than 300 people required rescues in the deadly October flooding. (Courtesy of Zachary Lujan) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has signed two bills into law that will give local governments more ways to access money to aid in disaster recovery and emergency response. One will allow the use of property tax bonds to fix infrastructure damaged by floodwaters, and the other will change a funding mechanism to help cities and towns purchase ambulances. Lujan Grisham signed them both Friday. 'These bills provide critical tools for our municipalities to recover from devastating floods and strengthen our emergency medical services across the state,' the Democratic governor Lujan Grisham said in a written statement Monday. The first law, Senate Bill 383, expands the use of revenue bonds to include 'rebuilding, repairing, replacing, and hardening of municipal property damaged by a flood,' and allows local governments including cities and counties to implement a 0.327% gross tax to help pay for the bonds. Previously, the law only allowed municipalities to enact the tax on property sales or services bought within the area. Sen. Candy Spence Ezzell (R-Roswell) the sponsor of SB 383, said she was 'beyond thrilled,' about the signing when reached by phone on Monday. The new law will allow Roswell to raise funds to apply for federal dollars after devastating floods ripped through the community in October, killing two people. 'It will help Roswell get matching funds where they can apply for the FEMA money to help with getting everything back,' Ezzell said. 'The bill also gives other towns and counties the opportunity to do the same thing in case they are faced with some other natural disaster as well.' In order to enact the tax, local governments will have to adopt bonds and send them to the voters for approval. SB383 contains an emergency clause, which enacts the bill into law immediately. Senate Bill 197 allows municipalities to purchase ambulances using bonds and allows the state to move money from the Emergency Medical Services Fund to the Department of Finance and Administration to pledge in repaying the loans, similar to the process to buy fire trucks. Ambulances are often too expensive for small local governments to purchase outright, said New Mexico Municipal League, which lobbies on behalf of cities, in an analysis of the bill. A single ambulance often costs over $200,000. SB197 goes into effect July 1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
