Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s budget plan for the next biennium echoes the themes of last year’s campaign: No tax increases, a focus on housing and a pledge to send more money to local schools and communities.
In her state house address Thursday morning, Ayotte is going to lay out a budget that includes “spending more on education than ever before and putting our students and teachers first.”
That’s based on excerpts of her prepared remarks obtained by NHJournal and published below.
“This budget continues the increases from the last biennium and ensures that our education system has the resources it needs,” Ayotte is scheduled to say. “We are making a $98.8 million dollar investment in special education, nearly 50 percent higher than the previous biennium.”
Ayotte is also going to repeat her request that the legislature fix the failed bail reform passed during the Sununu administration and send her a tougher bail law to sign.
“To fix this disastrous bail law that is putting our police unnecessarily in harm’s way and is a danger to the public at large. What happened in Manchester last Friday night is completely unbelievable when an individual accused of repeatedly stabbing a complete stranger, and who has a prior conviction for domestic violence, is allowed to walk free by a magistrate. I cannot emphasize this enough. Send me legislation to fix this once and for all.”
More excerpts of Ayotte’s prepared speech are below:
• “…Our New Hampshire Advantage is on display for all to see. Our prudent, financially responsible approach to taxes and regulations, and our commitment to protecting our unique quality of life, has made us a prime destination in the region in the competition for talent. As individuals assess their opportunities and families look at their costs & quality of life, New Hampshire is seen as a destination where they can each realize their full potential. What we’ve created over these last number of years is special and all of New Hampshire is benefitting from it. This success does not come without new challenges, like increasing our housing supply or keeping our best-in-class education system, or keeping up with demand for our services, but I believe that together we can meet these challenges head on…”
• “…When I stood here one month ago, I shared with you the necessity for us to recalibrate. I told all of you that we must operate within our means and meet our commitments to those that are depending on us. For the past number of years, our budgets have been bolstered by billions of dollars from the federal government because of the COVID pandemic. We have also seen high revenues that made it easy to engage in surplus spending in new areas…”
• “…With federal transfers dropping and revenues lower overall, a recalibration of our approach is in order – both for the total amount of spending, and also the way in which we steward every single taxpayer dollar. But let’s be clear about something…something that our friends across the aisle don’t seem to understand…The State of New Hampshire is strongest when individuals, families, and small businesses have more money in their pockets to make critical decisions. That’s where the strength of our state lies – in the individual – in those that create jobs and opportunities for others. That isn’t the role of government. Furthermore, the answer to our challenges is not to take more from our citizens in the form of taxes, but rather it is to look carefully and thoughtfully at what we are doing as a State, asking if we need to be doing it, and asking if we can afford to be doing it. Much of what we accomplish best in our state is done at the local level, and that’s why we are pushing funds to the local level more than ever before in our history…”
• “…One of my critical responsibilities as Governor is to provide for those who depend on the State of New Hampshire for their daily needs. Our first step in shaping this budget was to protect the programs that those who are most in need depend on. Which is why we secured over $1 billion for the biennium to fund services for citizens with developmental disabilities…”
