Getting the budget signed before October 1 when property tax rates are set was not easy. “How can we ever have a budget if the governor insists on making a third cut to business taxes, and a fourth is scheduled for the next biennium?” legislators wondered. Faced with a business slowdown and declining revenues this year, the demand seemed fiscally irresponsible. Leaders wrestled with options and finally came up with a compromise that will protect future revenues: there would be no more automatic tax cuts, and the third tax cut would end if revenues did not meet a trigger.
That compromise enabled us to pass a budget that provided the largest education funding increases in 20 years and to share revenues with towns for the first time in ten. Some of these are one-time increases, due to one-time revenues from the federal tax repatriation program. However, education stabilization funds are set to remain in place. In addition, for the first time in state history, kindergarteners will receive full funding for full-day kindergarten.
The budget agreement also tackles the mental health and substance use disorder epidemic. It begins construction of a new 25-bed Secure Psychiatric Unit, to end housing of people with mental health issues at the state prison. Our budget prioritizes child protection. It creates the first ever statewide children’s mobile crisis and intervention unit. It moves children currently housed in New Hampshire hospital to a safer, more appropriate setting where they will receive better care. Moreover, the budget fully funds child protection staff at DCYF, crucial to at-risk children’s well-being.
The budget increases access to healthcare. It ensures that the Medicaid expansion trust fund is solvent and keeps our promise to support behavioral health rates. It supports healthcare workforce and capacity by implementing increases to Medicaid provider rates by 3.1% each year, across the board, effective January 1; this will be their first increase in twenty years! The budget protects women’s healthcare services by fully funding family planning services, including birth control, STD testing, and cancer screenings.
To make our cities safer, the budget increases funding for regional drug task forces and for Granite Shield, to support our dedicated law enforcement officers. For public safety, we doubled funds for domestic violence crisis centers and allocated funds for an additional detective and staff attorney in the state’s cold case unit, with more than 120 unsolved murders.
This is not a perfect budget, but it is a good one. And all three parties, Senate, House and Executive team, came together to make it happen before October 1. This means that property tax rates will be lower, Medicaid expenditures will be reimbursed and our government will continue to function. Thank you to everyone who called the governor and asked him to agree to the compromise!
Jeanne Dietsch of Peterborough is the state representative for District 9, Vice Chair of the Senate Education & Workforce Committee and a member of the Senate Ways & Means Committee.