Calling the final budget negotiations an “11th-hour backroom deal” that “fails to deliver on the promise to our first responders,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte (R) vowed to veto the budget negotiated by the Committee of Conference Thursday.
For weeks, State House insiders have been asking how the budget would reconcile Ayotte’s ambitious demands for more spending — in particular, millions for Group II retirees — with the sagging revenue projections facing budget writers. “They are done,” one source close to the budget negotiations told NHJournal Wednesday night. “I don’t see how they get this through the House, so we’re off to the next stage.”
However, news emerged Thursday morning that House and Senate negotiators had reached a deal, one that included some of the House’s top priorities. In particular, it ended the annual inspection mandate for all passenger vehicles in the state, not just new cars.
“We got a budget!” one Senate source crowed.
Included in the compromise:
- Funds for Developmental Disability Services at $31.3 million, ensuring no waitlist;
- Maintains 30 percent revenue sharing for cities and towns via the Rooms and Meals Tax;
- An additional $120 million for Group II Tier B retirees.
- The so-called “MOMnibus 2.0” maternal healthcare package directs Medicaid to pay for maternal postpartum depression screenings and other measures.
The committee’s final product also includes one of Ayotte’s priorities, a “bell-to-bell” ban on cellphones in New Hampshire classrooms.
Not good enough, Ayotte told WMUR after the final deal was announced.
“If this budget were to come to me now, I couldn’t support it and would have to veto it.”
But will she? Will a first-term Republican really veto a budget passed by a GOP majority because she wants more spending? Some political professionals expressed skepticism.
“Saying you’re opposing a budget so that police and fire can retire with six-figure pensions after 20 years is going to be an interesting lift politically,” said Greg Moore, director of Americans for Prosperity New Hampshire.
But that is exactly what Ayotte says she plans to do.
“New Hampshire deserves a budget that recalibrates from the higher spending of the past few years while keeping the promises we have made to our most vulnerable, our kids, and those that keep our communities safe. We must do better,” Ayotte said.
Asked by NHJournal if Ayotte is a “100 percent lock” to veto the budget that came out of committee Thursday, a source close to the governor said yes.
While there are several issues that put Ayotte at odds with the budget writers, the biggest by far is her call to spend about $330 million over the next 10 years to boost retirement benefits for the 1,550 first responders in the Group II retirement category.
Ayotte called out the legislators for conducting their negotiations on Group II in secret. The final plan raises the pension cap from $125,000 to $150,000 and shifts from 23 to 22 years of service.
Senate President Sharon Carson responded by distributing a document outlining how the final proposal restores a $120 million pension package without the potential for increased property taxes for residents.
“This budget compromise balances the needs of New Hampshire’s 1.4 million residents, protects taxpayers and the New Hampshire Advantage, and delivers real reform across state government,” Carson said. “I look forward to passing this budget through the House and Senate next week.”
Maybe not. Legislators who spoke to NHJournal on background say they don’t expect the budget to make it out of the House. Some even speculate it won’t be able to pass the Senate, which takes it up first.
“The governor and the Senate are at war, and the House is caught in the middle,” one GOP legislator told NHJournal. Asked if a deal could be reached that the Senate would accept and Ayotte would sign, the veteran legislator was dubious.
“The Senate has moved about 10 percent toward the governor, and the governor’s moved about 10 percent toward them. That leaves a lot of distance between the two.”
Rep. Joe Sweeney (R-Salem), on the other hand, is hopeful.
“I think this comes to an agreement that we can get 201 votes in the House and 13 votes in the Senate,” Sweeney added.
Rep. Jose Cambrils (R-Loudon) acknowledged it “was a hard-fought budget” but added that “at the end of the day, I think a lot of people will be satisfied.”
“I’d like to shout-out to my Freedom Caucus friends that everything they were requesting was achieved, so I hope they will join us in passing this very good budget,” Cambrils said.
Rep. Dan McGuire (R-Epsom) said the process may have been ugly, but the result “is a reasonable compromise for the citizens of this state, for the legislature, and hopefully for the governor.”
“I think about the quote from (Otto von) Bismarck, ‘laws are like sausages, it’s better not to see them made,” McGuire quipped. “This is very tough, and I certainly did not get everything I wanted in the budget, but nobody did.”
As expected, Democrats denounced the budget deal.
“The budget agreement contains many policies that I cannot support. For instance, charging premiums and copays for our poorer citizens for healthcare while expanding the Education Freedom Accounts to high-income families,” said Rep. Mary Jane Wallner (D-Concord).
“It’s a disappointing deal for our Group 2 employees,” Wallner added.
Senate Minority Leader Rebecca Perkins Kwoka called out the dissent in Republican ranks.
“They control the House, the Senate, and the Governor’s Office — and they used that power to shut out Democrats, ignore public input, and jam through a budget that fails working families, first responders, and seniors,” she added. “Now it seems that they can’t even agree amongst themselves.
“They had every lever of power and still managed to produce chaos and a budget that no one can stand behind.”