In any compromise, no one gets everything they want. That’s certainly true for the compromise budget recently signed into law. However, House and Senate Democrats worked hard to preserve many of our priorities, including increased funding for public education, municipal aid, and child protection.
With a deadline looming, and after months with no state budget due to Governor Sununu’s budget veto, we not only avoided the impending Sununu shutdown, we passed largely the same budget that was vetoed. Below is a summary of the progress the Legislature made in the state budget, none of which Governor Sununu proposed:
· Unlike Governor Sununu’s original budget proposal, the Legislature’s budget treats kindergartners the same as other grades for the first time in New Hampshire history.
■The Legislature provided the greatest increase – $138 million statewide – in public education funding in two decades and stopped cuts to stabilization grants.
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■The Legislature increased higher education funding in order to freeze tuition for in-state students at community colleges and the university system.
■Legislature fully backfilled Title X funding jeopardized because of the Trump administration’s so-called “gag rule” to ensure continued delivery of critical family planning care, including birth control, cancer screenings, and STI testing and treatment.
■The House and Senate funded increases in key programs to combat homelessness and established a consistent, ongoing affordable housing fund.
■The Legislature funded key positions necessary to combat childhood lead poisoning that Governor Sununu did not propose funding.
■ The Legislature funded the children’s system of care, including a first-ever statewide mobile crisis team for children, which is a key 10-year mental health plan recommendation and a key child protection recommendation.
■House and Senate Democrats fully funded child protection caseworkers and supervisors to bring caseloads in-line with national standards and fulfill the recommendation of the December 2016 DCYF audit. It was only partially funded in Governor Sununu’s budget proposal.
■The Legislature funded key elements of the 10-year mental health plan to eliminate the emergency room boarding crisis.
■The House and Senate funded a reasonably crafted, new Secure Psychiatric Unit; however, construction is delayed due to Governor Sununu’s budget veto.
■The Legislature funded the municipal water grants and funded the ongoing litigation costs against big corporations responsible for polluting our water. Governor Sununu did not fund either.
■Although delayed, the Legislature provided a 3.1% across the board Medicaid provider rate increase, a major healthcare workforce and capacity recommendation. Governor Sununu had not proposed provider rate increases in his budget.
■Senate Bill 5, which was vetoed by Governor Sununu, was included by the Legislature in the state budget. This provision fulfills the bipartisan Medicaid expansion deal by providing emergency support for mental health and substance use disorder treatment providers.
■Senate Bill 2, the Granite State Jobs Act, was also vetoed by the governor but included in the state budget compromise. This provision will enhance job training and apprenticeship opportunities as well as attracting, skilling up, and placing workers in open job positions.
■The Legislature increased funding for the Small Business Development Center and incubators programs. Governor Sununu had not proposed increasing either.
■The Legislature increased funding for domestic violence crisis centers above what Governor Sununu proposed.
■The Legislature allocated funds for the state employee contract and also funded efforts to attract and retain state troopers. Governor Sununu had not proposed funding either.
■The Legislature provided more funding to the regional drug task forces and also additional funding for both the cold case unit and the homicide unit of the Attorney General’s office, as 2019 is on pace to having record number of homicides in New Hampshire.
■The Legislature funded grants for the successful Safe Station program. Governor Sununu did not.
In the end, while we thank Governor Sununu for finally accepting basically all of the Legislature’s budget, only two conclusions can be drawn.
First, the significant delay in budget resources had harmful effects, including the curtailing of substance use disorder treatment services, compromising services for people with disabilities, and sending municipal and school board budgets into disarray.
Second, advocates and activists, the people who stood up and spoke out, forced Governor Sununu to largely accept the Legislature’s budget.
The last conclusion is by far the most important: never underestimate the power of your voice to make difference in your government. And it reinforces the truth of the words of Justice Brandeis, that: “The most important political office is that of the private citizen.” Thank you to everyone who participated in this process. Now, let’s work to ensure that the provisions of the compromise budget are actually implemented and that they best serve all of the people.
(Representative Doug Ley from Jaffrey is the House Majority Leader. Senator Dan Feltes from Concord is the Senate Majority Leader.)