Latest news with #Weyler
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
House-Senate conference committee on budget formed
Legislative leaders have named the eight budget writers they want to resolve the seismic split between competing versions of a two-year spending plan that cleared each house of the New Hampshire Legislature. Senate President Sharon Carson and House Speaker Sherman Packard, both R-Londonderry, acted quickly in a sign that it could take some time for the two sides to find common ground. 'There are differences between the House and Senate-approved versions of the state budget. We look forward to working through them over the next two weeks and remain committed to delivering a balanced budget that protects New Hampshire taxpayers while serving all Granite Staters,' Packard and Carson said in a joint statement. As the first-named House member, Rep. Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston, is likely to become chairman of the conference committee. Weyler chaired the House Finance Committee. The other four House members, who also serve on Weyler's committee, are Vice Chairman Dan McGuire, R-Kingston, House Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, Rep. Jose Cambrils, R-Loudon and Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, D-Concord and the ranking Democrat. Packard decided to name some alternates who had other experiences beyond writing the budget. The potential stand-ins are House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, House Executive Departments and Administration Committee Vice Chairman Erica Layon, R-Derry, House Ways and Means Chairman John Janigian, R-Salem, Rep. Keith Erf, R-Weare, and Rep. Jess Edwards, R-Auburn. Erf and Edwards each co-chair subcommittees on the House Finance Committee. Carson names herself to commitee Carson chose to name herself as the first senator on the panel along with Senate Finance Chairman James Gray, R-Rochester, and Senate Deputy Democratic Leader Cindy Rosenwald of Nashua, the ranking Democratic Senate budget writer. The only Senate alternate is Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead. Most House speakers don't get involved directly in state budget negotiations. It's not unusual for Senate presidents to get into the fray, however. Carson's predecessor, former Senate President Chuck Morse, took the gavel after serving as Senate finance chairman for many years. The House and Senate meet Thursday to complete the naming of all conference committees that will try and forge compromise on other bills. They have until June 19 to reach agreements and then the House and Senate have to vote on all of them by June 26. The $15.4 billion House-passed budget relied on conservative revenue estimates, which meant their budget writers had to make deep cuts in spending. The House plan would lay off 100 workers in the state prison system and do away with the Office of the Child Advocate, the state Division on the Arts, the Commission on Aging and the Housing Appeals Board. The Senate updated the predictions for revenue, which meant it could spend about $250 million more in state dollars than the House plan did. The Senate budget pared the layoffs down to about 25 in the Department of Corrections. It kept the child advocate office in the running while erasing four of nine jobs, revived support for the arts by proposing a new business tax credit for companies that donate to the program and restoring groups on aging and housing appeals, though with smaller budgets than the ones that Gov. Kelly Ayotte proposed last February. The Senate plan also increased by nearly $70 million the level of state aid to the University System of New Hampshire compared to the House budget. USNH would receive in the Senate proposal $85 million a year, about a 10% cut from its support in the current state budget that ends June 30. klandrigan@
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Critical comment sparks final EFA committee vote
The House budget chairman's claim that all New Hampshire school board members were 'corrupt' sparked the final committee vote Wednesday recommending legislation (SB 295) to remove income limits for families eligible to get Education Freedom Accounts (EFAs). The comment from Rep. Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, came as he lashed out over what he described as the failure of public schools to improve student test scores even as taxpayers pay more to support K-12 education. 'This educational system we have in our state is a failure; it just keeps going up in costs and no increase in testing results, no discipline at all because school boards are just corrupt,' Weyler said. He accused the public-school lobby of pulling out all the stops to try and stop expansion of the taxpayer subsidies for parents to send their children to private, religious, alternative public or home school programs. 'You have thousands of people working for this corrupt system and they are the ones making phone calls and I object to it,' Weyler said. In response, Rep. Rosemarie Rung, D-Merrimack, called on Weyler to apologize to all present and past school board members such as herself and other Republicans on the panel. 'Perhaps it is an exaggeration, but I don't see any improvement,' Weyler answered. 'Maybe it's an exaggeration but it is a failure.' The House Finance Committee approved a rewrite of Sen. Victoria Sullivan's EFA bill on a party-line vote, 14-11, with all Democrats in opposition. Leading Democrats said the bill violated House budget procedure because it would spend $17 million more next year than what was contained in the $15 billion state budget that the House approved last month. The House budget's EFA program (HB 115) would raise the income limit next year from 350-to-400% of the federal poverty level. For families of four, that would raise the family income threshold from $112,525 to $128,600 annually. Ayotte proposed more modest EFA expansion But Sullivan's bill that cleared the House panel Wednesday would eliminate any income eligibility restriction right away though it would set an enrollment cap of 10,000. Currently, about 5,300 students receive EFAs that cost the state budget $30 million annually. The proposal goes well beyond what Gov. Kelly Ayotte had proposed for an expansion of EFAs. In her budget address in February, Ayotte endorsed eliminating EFA income limits, but only for parents whose children are enrolled in public schools. Studies have shown that as many as 80% of parents who received EFAs already had their children enrolled in non-public schools. Rep. Kate Murray, D-New Castle, charged the cap was illusory since the bill states there would be no enrollment limit if it doesn't reach 10,000 students for two straight years. 'This cap is more of a diversion than anything else,' Murray said. 'There is no cap on this; it seems to me this is somewhat an attempt of diverting the attention away from the facts that our constituents do not support expanding this program.' Rep. Daniel Popovici-Muller, R-Windham, said Sullivan and other EFA supporters proposed the cap to counter what he called baseless claims from Democratic critics that this expansion could bankrupt the state. 'This will regulate the growth of the program to ensure that these doomsday scenarios do not come about,' Popovici-Muller said. Rep. Keith Erf, R-Weare, amended the bill to ensure that those already enrolled, their siblings, any students with disabilities and those from families making less than 350% of FPL would always be enrolled regardless of the cap. Under the amendment, if the enrollment in any one year approaches 90% of the cap then it would be increased 25% which would raise it to 12,500. Rep. Laura Telerski, D-Nashua, said it's fiscally irresponsible to increase spending on the program for wealthier parents while the state budget cut spending and would force moderate-income families to pay a 5% premium for their Medicaid-provided health care. 'Of all years, this is not the year we need to spend like this,' Telerski said. 'We need to tighten our belts like we are telling every department that they have to do.' +++ What's Next: The full House is expected to approve the amended bill next week. Prospects: Ayotte has not said she would reject the EFA expansion that's more generous than what she wanted. This bill could mean EFA supporters don't have to wait for a final state budget compromise to get the expansion they want. klandrigan@
New York Times
03-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
The Americans Who Left
The presidential pardon signed by Jimmy Carter in 1977 was a sweeping invitation to thousands of Americans to come home and help heal a nation torn apart by the Vietnam War. Those who had left for Canada to avoid the draft had wanted no part of the conflict, which killed about 60,000 Americans. Canada had offered a refuge. It did not support the war and was willing to welcome, with few questions asked, those crossing the border. Many war resisters, or draft dodgers as they were often called by others, were not interested in returning when Mr. Carter made his amnesty offer. Their decisions had come with high costs: ruptured family ties, broken friendships and, often, shame. While some hailed those who went to Canada as principled, others considered them cowardly. Now, the 50th anniversary of the war's end arrives at another turbulent moment. For Americans living in Canada, President Trump's economic attacks and threats to Canada's sovereignty have again stirred uneasy feelings about the United States. I traveled across Canada and spoke to roughly a dozen people who had left America, most now in their 70s or 80s, who reflected on their decisions to leave and their feelings about both countries. Here's what they had to say. The Optimist Richard Lemm saw Canada as a mythical land of beautiful vistas and a peaceful government. He applied for conscientious objector status in the United States, which was meant for people who refused military service because it was incompatible with their religious or moral beliefs, among other reasons. He was denied, and fled north in 1968. 'The principal motivation for leaving was political and moral,' said Mr. Lemm, a professor, writer and poet in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. As for today, when he looks at the United States, he sees a deeply polarized society. 'People are not listening to each other enough and really, really need to,' he said. The Activist Peace activism in the 1960s held a lot of promise for Rex Weyler, a writer and ecologist who was born in Colorado. But things changed when the F.B.I. came knocking after he ignored multiple draft notices. Mr. Weyler fled to Canada in 1972 and now lives on Cortes Island in British Columbia. He went on to become a founder of Greenpeace, the environmental group. In the past several months, he said, several people in the United States have asked his thoughts about coming to Canada. In this case, he said, he doesn't believe that leaving is the right answer. 'You can't really run away from political opinions that you don't like,' Mr. Weyler said. The Family Don Gayton spent two years serving in the Peace Corps among poor farmers in Colombia. When he returned to the United States in 1968, a draft notice awaited him. 'My country had sent me to help peasant farmers in Colombia,' Mr. Gayton said. 'And now they want me to kill them in Vietnam.' Mr. Gayton and his wife, Judy Harris, packed their belongings and two children and went to British Columbia in 1974. The couple's departure led to a decade-long rift with Mr. Gayton's father, who was furious that his son had turned his back on his military duty. 'We were proud of it, that we stood our ground,' Mr. Gayton said. 'The shocking part is that people will go to their grave never forgiving the war resisters.' Seeking an Authentic Life Born in Los Angeles to a family of hunters, Susan Mulkey was a vegetarian. At 20, she took a bus to British Columbia because she opposed the war and wanted to pursue a more environmentally oriented lifestyle. She now lives and works in community forestry in Kaslo, British Columbia, but has dabbled in American political activism, helping expatriates vote in U.S. elections. 'Canada facilitates my capacity to live an authentic life,' she said. The Environmentalist In 1969, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada's prime minister, declared that the draft status of young Americans moving to Canada was not relevant to their being allowed to legally enter the country. That was one reason John Bergenske moved to British Columbia in 1970 after the United States granted him conscientious objector status. 'I left because I fell in love with this landscape,' Mr. Bergenske said. 'The politics were secondary.' He focused on environmental work and was the longtime executive director of Wildsight, a nonprofit conservation organization. 'If you're going to leave your home country, you should be sure that where you're going to is a place that you really love,' Mr. Bergenske said. The Integrationist Three generations of Ed Washington's family served in the U.S. military. They were Black and considered the military more hospitable than the civilian world. 'My grandfather felt it was the least racist place for him to be,' said Mr. Washington, a legal aid lawyer in Calgary, Alberta. His mother, a Quaker, sent Mr. Washington to a Quaker boarding school in British Columbia. When he returned to the United States to attend college, he applied for conscientious objector status because of his pacifist beliefs and taught at a Quaker school in California where he met Jerry Garcia and became immersed in rock 'n' roll subculture. But Mr. Washington said he soured on the drug use in his circles and moved back to British Columbia in 1974. He hasn't spent a lot of time dwelling on the past. 'I just thought it would interfere with me living my life today,' he said. The Pragmatist As a university student in Washington state, the draft policy allowed Brian Conrad to defer his military service as long as he was enrolled in school. After completing his studies, he hitchhiked through Latin America in 1972, eventually marrying and using his Canadian dual citizenship to move to British Columbia, where he spent 30 years as a high school teacher and an environmental activist. Mr. Conrad has considered returning to the United States, but two things keep him away: Canada's tight control of firearms and its public health care system. Still, he said, 'I don't want to paint one with roses and the other with thorns. We have our challenges and problems.' The Pacifist Ellen Burt grew up in a Quaker family in Eugene, Ore., shaped by a culture that opposed many U.S. policies, even before the Vietnam War. At 19, Ms. Burt decided she wanted to live in the wilderness. She traveled to British Columbia, where she had connections to Quakers living there. She started her family while farming and caregiving and holding seasonal jobs. She never considered going back to the United States because her relatives there were so supportive of her move. Today, however, she said she feels Canada does not have quite the same reputation for being a haven. 'This right-wing takeover of governments is happening all over the world,' she said. The Mountains Were Calling Canada felt more like a giant backyard than a separate country to Brian Patton. The border was just a short drive from his job in Montana as a park ranger. After taking an injured woman across the border to a hospital in Alberta one night in 1967, he decided he wanted to live in the Canadian Rockies. He ignored a draft notice in the mail, went on to become a Canadian citizen and wrote a hiking manual called, 'The Canadian Rockies Trail Guide.' The mountains were Mr. Patton's sanctuary, he said: 'Sanity was just a step across the border.' The Politician When his draft notice arrived, Corky Evans stuck by the rules and took an Army physical exam. He passed. Mr. Evans tried to obtain conscientious objector status, but his Christian minister refused to write a letter of support. He married a woman with children from a previous marriage and they moved to Canada. He became a child-care worker on Vancouver Island and toiled at odd jobs before running for a provincial office, which led to a long career in British Columbian politics. 'Canada let me build a life here,' Mr. Evans said. The Father Bob Hogue was serving in the army and stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco, at the time an army base, where he unloaded the body bags of American soldiers who had died in Vietnam. He dreaded the moment when he would be called to the front line. When the day came, he decided to go AWOL. He said he couldn't bear the possibility that his 1-year-old son might grow up without a father. In 1969, he crossed the Canadian border with his wife and son. 'Not once did I ever feel guilty about it or that I was betraying my country,' said Mr. Hogue, who lives in northern British Columbia. He took on various jobs, including firefighting and carpentry, before eventually owning a small logging company. Still, Mr. Hogue never gave up his American citizenship and feels an affinity for the country he left behind. 'I'm worried for the state of our world,' he said.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
House budget writers wrap up work
Budget writers put the finishing touches on the House of Representatives' two-year spending plan that makes significant cuts to Gov. Kelly Ayotte's proposals for higher education, human services and corrections. The House Finance Committee voted along party lines with all 14 Republicans for and all 11 Democrats against the budget (HB 1) and the trailer bill (HB 2) that makes all necessary changes in state law to carry it out. 'This was a very difficult budget. The economy that has happened in the last few years has been terrible,' said Chairman Kenneth Weyler, R-Kingston. Many of the cuts were for efficiency, Weyler said, such as replacing the state Board of Land and Tax Appeals, which hears property value disputes, with a Superior Court judge who will consider these matters. 'This is a system where the applicant pays $40, and then it costs the taxpayer thousands of dollars to carry it out,' Weyler said. 'A lot of the things we put for convenience to the public we can no longer afford.' Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, D-Concord, said the nearly $70 million in cuts to services for the developmentally disabled and those suffering from mental illness will undo the progress the state has made on both fronts in recent years. 'This budget will have devastating and long-lasting effects on the neediest people in our state,' Wallner said. The full House votes on the proposals next Thursday. The committee holds a briefing on the details for members next Tuesday. Legislative Budget Assistant Michael Kane reported in the surplus statement that the House plan will spend a net $3.74 billion from state taxes and fees. That's $187 million less than what Ayotte proposed in February. Compared to the current state budget year, the House plan would cut spending by 8% in 2026 and 9% in 2027. By contrast, Ayotte's budget from state taxes and fees called for a cut of 6% in 2026 and only 2% less in 2027. Ayotte's budget anticipated the state will finish the current year on June 30 with an $81 million deficit. House budget writers relied on much less optimistic revenue forecasts than Ayotte, anticipating a $149 million deficit by June 30. The trailer bill contains a provision to use the state's Rainy Day Fund to erase the red ink. The budget needs that change in law because under current statute the Rainy Day Fund, could not be used to erase the deficit because state revenues over the past two years did not come under forecast, Kane said. Wallner especially objected Thursday to a little-noticed section that for the next two years would impose a spending cap on local school budgets across the state. 'This budget completely eliminates local control,' Wallner declared. Weyler said taxpayers are asking for the state's help to curb property tax hikes. 'We had a lot of complaints about taxes. People vote for school budgets that raise their taxes, then they come crying to us,' Weyler said. 'We did put in a bill to limit the increased rate for school budgets. That should be a big help on property tax increases.' 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. For the 12 months ending last February, the CPI went up 2.8% Over the last five years, the U.S. inflation rate has gone up 4%. Weyler minimized the impact of the cut to the University System of New Hampshire — $67 million less than the present budget, and $17 million deeper than Ayotte had proposed. 'With a $1.2 billion (USNH) budget, that's not a huge hit,' Weyler added. klandrigan@
Boston Globe
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
N.H. state lawmaker apologizes for ‘insensitive' comments about abuse victims
But even in that interview, Weyler continued to suggest that minors who were abused by state employees may have done something wrong to bring the abuse upon themselves. 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 In his apology statement, Weyler said his remarks were 'insensitive' and harmful. Advertisement 'Victim-blaming has no place in any conversation, especially when it comes to those who have endured such trauma,' he said in the statement. 'It is vital to recognize the deep harm these individuals have faced and to approach the matter with empathy and support.' Weyler's statement went on to explain that his role on the committee involves considering the financial implications of litigation and settlements stemming from decades of abuse and alleged abuse of those in state custody. 'That being said, we recognize the breach of trust that resulted in these crimes, and it is crucial that we work together to ensure accountability and healing while also being mindful of the broader financial implications,' he added. 'I remain committed to addressing these issues with the respect, understanding, and care they deserve.' Democrats and Republicans alike have called on House Speaker Sherman A. Packard, a Republican, to remove Weyler from the committee. Packard has not responded to requests for comment. Some lawmakers, including Democratic Representative Matthew B. Wilhelm, said Weyler needs to do more than release a pre-written statement via the House communications office. 'Say it from the well, Ken,' Wilhelm wrote Advertisement Weyler participated again Wednesday afternoon in discussions about the allegations of abuse that more than 1,400 former youth detention center detainees have brought against the state. He and fellow committee members posed questions to Attorney General John M. Formella concerning the budget impacts of abuse-related criminal prosecutions, civil litigation, and the state's Weyler said the flood of litigation has been 'a real budget buster.' The state should consider lowering the maximum percentage that can be awarded to attorneys when their clients accept a settlement, and the state ought to mandate counseling as a condition for victims to receive settlement funds, he said. 'If you refuse to take the counseling, you don't get the money,' he added. 'We're trying to help you. If the whole purpose of this is to help the people that have been wronged, then a big part of it would be psychiatric counseling.' Formella said it's important to remember that the list of people who have come forward with abuse allegations aren't a monolith. 'Every claim is different,' he said. 'All these claims are individual claims.' Steven Porter can be reached at
