NH State Representative Steven Smith

I never say “Happy 4th”, because I want people to remember what the day is about. Without the courage and sacrifice of our forefathers, we would not have an Independence Day to celebrate. When they declared independence, that had skin in the game. “Of the 56 men who signed the declaration, 12 fought in battles as members of state militias, five were captured and imprisoned during the Revolutionary War, 17 lost property as a result of British raids, and five lost their fortunes in helping fund the Continental Army and state militias battle the redcoats.” [https://nationalinterest.org/blog/declaration-independence-shocking-sacrifices-were-made-by-16838]

When those people signed the “Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America in General Congress assembled”, they meant it and took an oath to “mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.”.

Carl Asszony relates that “Some of the delegates had their homes destroyed, families were forced to separate and hide, and some were treated harshly, as was Richard Stockton of Princeton. He was captured by the British, taken to Perth Amboy to be jailed, then transferred to Provost Prison in New York, where he was intentionally starved and tortured and forced to recant his signing of the declaration. When he gained his freedom, he renewed his oath of loyalty to the struggle for independence.” [https://www.northjersey.com/story/opinion/2021/07/02/july-4-america-mustnt-forget-sacrifices-revolution/7826459002/].

As successive waves of people have given of themselves to preserve our way of life, let us take today to remember those brave souls who signed away their peace and fortunes to give us our country As John Quincy Adams said, “you will never know how much it has cost my generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”

~ Steve

Sen. Jeb Bradley & Rep. Sherman Packard: A budget that puts NH families first
June 11, 2023
THROUGHOUT this legislative session, our overriding priority has been to put New Hampshire families first. And we kept that goal in mind as we worked on the state’s two-year budget. We’re proud to have passed a budget that empowers families and meets our state’s needs.

Any responsible budget needs to control spending and keep taxes low in order to help our economy continue to grow. This budget preserves the New Hampshire Advantage, protecting the cuts to business and Rooms and Meals Taxes and accelerating repeal of the Interest and Dividends Tax on retirement income, which helps our seniors. Most importantly, we accomplished this without a sales tax, a capital gains tax, or any new taxes or tax increases.

We also want to help cities and towns lower the local property tax burden, so the budget sends a record $245 million in Rooms and Meals Revenue Sharing back to communities, providing $40 million for municipal clean water projects, and an additional $20 million for local highway and bridge construction.
This budget includes a student-centered education funding formula that focuses state aid more precisely on the towns, and students, with the greatest financial need. Towns with the highest percentage of low-income families will receive the largest increases. In total, the budget increases state education aid by $169 million over the next two years, which will provide additional property tax relief. In fact, state per-pupil education assistance will increase by 31% over the next decade.

We are increasing state aid to the University System of New Hampshire by 12% and to the Community College System of New Hampshire by 18% to help ensure a tuition freeze for New Hampshire students.
This budget promotes the health and well-being of our state, extending the successful Granite Advantage Health Care Program (Medicaid Expansion) for seven years. This program leverages federal Medicaid dollars to help working adults access affordable health insurance. By lowering emergency room visits and uncompensated care, we’re lowering costs across New Hampshire’s health care sector. We also increase Medicaid reimbursement rates by $134 million, which is matched by federal funds and will ensure access to quality health care services including community mental health centers, Choices for Independent Living, long-term care services, and nursing homes.
Our family-first budget tackles the state’s mental health and substance abuse crisis, dedicating $5 million for crisis stabilization services, $2 million for the Recovery Friendly Workplace initiative, and nearly $67 million to support family resource infrastructure. It also funds a new youth development center on the campus of Hampstead Hospital.

Focusing on families includes keeping them safe. We provide $800,000 for the New Hampshire Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and $3 million for Child Advocacy Centers.
Affordable housing remains a challenge for families and for our state’s economic prosperity. This budget includes an additional $25 million for the Affordable Housing Fund, $10 million for the Governor’s InvestNH program, and $5 million for a new Housing Champions program. We also send an additional $10 million back to communities for homelessness programs.

For the past decade, New Hampshire Republicans have prioritized making our economy more competitive by lowering tax rates and controlling spending. This has resulted in soaring business tax revenues. Our continued economic strength has given us the ability to fund our state’s most pressing needs without raising taxes.

Our state is not immune to the crushing inflation that has swept across the country in recent years. In order to help our state employees keep up with inflation, this budget includes a 12% pay raise over the next two years. We also provide a $500 stipend for retired public employees and a number of recruitment and retention incentives for state employees.

We must always protect the New Hampshire Advantage, with no income, sales or capital gains taxes, an improving business tax climate, and property tax relief. This approach has yielded one of the nation’s best economies, the third lowest unemployment rate, the lowest poverty rate, and the safest state in the union. With this budget, New Hampshire will continue to prosper because we are putting families first.
Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) is Senate president. Rep. Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) is speaker of the House.