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Earlier this month, Democrat Steve Marchand announced he would run for governor in 2018. It’s only three months into Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s term, which is why Marchand’s announcement was surprising.

Marchand is a Manchester-native and is a first generation Granite Stater. His parents immigrated from Quebec. He was a small business owner, the former mayor of Portsmouth, and director of corporate relations for the University of New Hampshire. He came in second in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in September 2016.

Marchand has been laying the ground work for his gubernatorial campaign for the past few months, meeting with various Democratic groups and committees. He’s already being attacked by the Republican Governors Association for his position on taxes and single-payer healthcare.

NH Journal spoke with Marchand shortly after his announcement to discuss his campaign, what he learned from his previous run, and what voters can expect to see in the coming months. Some responses were lightly edited for length.

NH Journal: Tell me again why you decided to run, and why did you announce so early?

Steve Marchand: The reason I’m running really stems off of my experience last year. We live in a very challenging time in New Hampshire. I believe we need a mission statement that drives…our efforts and resources towards achieving a specific mission and that mission is to be the best state in America to start a family and to start a business. The reason I say that is because I think our two biggest challenges at stake if we are to thrive in the next [few] years is we need to get younger and we need to get more entrepreneurial and nimble as an economy. I don’t believe, with all due respect to our current governor, that there is a specific mission to what he’s trying to achieve, and I don’t believe the policies that he pursued up to this point would move us toward a more younger and entrepreneurial economy. I want to get us in the right direction. If you look at the lack of organization, the lack of focus, and the lack of success early on in 2017, it is a direct reflection of a lack of specific vision, purpose, and mission in Gov. Sununu.

NH Journal: But why did you announce so early? It’s only been three months into Gov. Sununu’s term.

Marchand: It is a little bit earlier than usual, but these are unusual times. A lot of that is driven at the national level with President [Donald] Trump who is already doing rallies for 2020. Gov. Sununu was doing fundraising in Washington for his 2018 campaign. Because we live in these unusual times…it means that if you want to move in the right direction, you don’t have the luxury of waiting while others move forward, no matter how early on the calendar it happens.

NH Journal: You came in second in the Democratic primary after jumping into the race late in the game. Besides announcing early, what is going to be different about this campaign?

Marchand: I got in awfully late last year. It was not a strategy. It was just the way life foregoes. A number of people approached me in March of last year suggesting I would make a very good candidate because they know my background. I had very little money, very little time. I spent about $100,000 total. I got outspent 18 to 1 by the person who beat me [former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Colin Van Ostern]. With very little time and no TV ads or direct mail, it really was the definition of a grassroots effort. So I believe that the message, which is a data-driven message, focused on the mission as I mentioned earlier, resonates not just with Democrats, but across the political spectrum. So starting early allows to me invest more time on the ground. It will make me a better governor. I will continue to learn from people as I campaign. It also means I start with a base of significant support and name identification that simply was not there a year ago when I started.

Photo Credit: Steve Marchand for New Hampshire Facebook page

NH Journal: You ran as a progressive, but fiscally responsible candidate last time. Is that still you? Are there any changes in your platform from before?

Marchand: My value set and my view of the priorities will look very familiar to people who followed my candidacy in 2016. There are some places where there has been a refinement or continued development of knowledge. I am a proud progressive and I’ve got a proud record of fiscal responsibility, and I’m always looking for ways to move ideas and turn them into law.

NH Journal: Gov. Sununu has made encouraging new businesses to come and stay in the state a priority. How would you plan on doing that?

Marchand: I’ve known Gov. Sununu for a long time and he’s a good guy, so it’s obviously nothing personal. However,…the policies he has pursued to grow the economy, largely run 180 degrees from what the data tell us we should be doing if we actually want to create jobs and see economic growth. For example, Chris and the Republican legislature want to cut the Business Profits Tax. Anybody who has spent anytime with entrepreneurs or being an entrepreneur will tell you that most new businesses don’t make a profit in the first five years. They lose money at the beginning. It’s really hard to start a business and see it to the point where it becomes a profitable entity. When we cut the Business Profits Tax, we accelerate what has been going on in the state for 50 years under both Democratic and Republican administrations and that is the downshifting of responsibilities and cost from the state level to the town and local level. If you focus on local property taxes and cutting the Business Enterprise Tax, you will be directly and positively impacting the segment of economy where 80 percent of net new job growth comes to fruition. I think that Chris is focused on talking points when he focuses on the Business Profits Tax, but we need to focus on the data. And the data tells me that focusing on the Business Enterprise Tax and on reducing local property taxes is the winning formula for tax reform that will lead to job creation and economic growth.

NH Journal: You say that it’s crucial to have young people in New Hampshire to become the best state in America. How do you plan to encourage them to stay in the state?

Marchand: I think of dealing with the younger population as a two-part challenge. I don’t think the current governor thinks of it this way. I don’t think our legislature thinks of it this way. I call them [young people] the numerator and denominator problem. The denominator problem is how can we attract young people to come work and live in the state. The problem with that is when you have an ever shrinking number of young kids in the state, you can’t keep 100 percent of them, even if you made college free for everyone. We have to be the most inclusive state that we can be as it relates to immigration. The states that are getting the youngest are seeing the largest influx of immigrants. Some of the rhetoric that has come from President Trump, Gov. Sununu, and members from the Republican legislature make it more difficult for immigrants to see New Hampshire as a great place to come. That’s a shame. If we’re going to get younger and more entrepreneurial, aggressively pursuing pro-immigration policies is going to be an important part of solving our denominator problem because the numerator problem is how can we keep more kids that are already here in the state. The pilot program between higher education and New Hampshire businesses I would pursue that would cost approximately $5 million a year in three programs: computer science, nursing, and education because those are three places where we don’t have enough talent to match the demands. It would create a debt-free college experience for students that enter the program…to work with New Hampshire-based companies or entities. And if they did that, kept their nose clean, kept their grades up, and then worked for one of those New Hampshire-based employers for a period of years after graduation, they would have no debt. It would be half-paid by the private sector participants and half-paid by the targeted state grant for these programs.

NH Journal: You have previously discussed legalizing and taxing marijuana, and increasing the gas tax as ways to increase revenue for the state. Are those positions you still support?

Marchand: Those are areas I continue to discuss. I do favor the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana. I do feel it would have a net positive impact in terms of lowering costs for law enforcement and judicial [entities]. I also think that it will improve health outcomes and reduce addiction rates, and it will generate revenue. The gas tax is…not desirable. That’s definitely a flaw, but I believe when you can attach the revenue stream to the use of the revenue stream, that’s a more transparent system and because infrastructure is a priority. The business leaders I’ve talked to over the years also identified it as a priority. For now, the gas tax is one of the most direct tools in the toolbox. It is something I still have on the table because I think [infrastructure] is one of the biggest barriers we face to economic growth if we do not address and updated electric grid, ensured drinking water, improved Internet access particularly in rural areas, and improving our roads and bridges. Conservative business people tell me ‘why would I invest in New Hampshire, if New Hampshire doesn’t invest in New Hampshire,’ and they meant these infrastructure issues.

NH Journal: What about sales tax and income tax? You were against those previously. Are you still against them?

Marchand: That is correct.

Photo Credit: Steve Marchand For New Hampshire Facebook page

NH Journal: One of the most important issues still facing the state today is the opioid crisis. What do you think still needs to be done to tackle this problem?

Marchand: This is one area in New Hampshire where we have seen bipartisan efforts. I applaud people on both sides of the aisle. Over the last few years, I think they have taken this issue with the level of gravity that is required and I believe there are many more opportunities in the next several years to continue that bipartisan spirit. It doesn’t mean we’re anywhere near where we need to end up, but we have everyone rowing in the same direction about the situation. We need to continue to provide the resources that continue to give a suite of services to those in the midst of recovery, beyond simply detoxification of the addictive substance. Until recently, I think a lot of people in the world of politics saw recovery as largely detoxification. The reality is that if we simply just detoxify people and then we put folks back in a situation where addiction became the norm, the likelihood of relapsing is really high. We need to work together and it requires a level of collaboration that is not inexpensive. But it’s a hell of a lot less expensive than not doing it. That needs to be our attitude. I priced it out last year in that it would be an additional $8 to 10 million a year of resources that would provide a level of stability for local and regional recovery centers to focus less on having to worry about where the next grant will come from in order to stay open. It would allow these people who are doing amazing work in the field of recovery to be able to focus on their gifts and skills to help people. I think it’s a relatively low amount of money…that would improve lives, reduce costs, and directly address what New Hampshireites say is the most important issue facing us.

NH Journal: What do you think needs to happen next year in order for the Democratic Party to gain seats back in the Legislature?

Marchand: Once every four years, the country reorganizes what it means to be a Republican and Democrat. We are in the midst of the next resorting of how people look at what it means to be a Democrat and a Republican. We are not close to the end of that process. We are right in the middle of it. Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders understood better than most the level of economic anxiety that millions of Americans across party lines are feeling. There are a lot of people who are really angry and I get it. I believe that in 2018 and beyond, and it’s part of why I am passionate about this marathon that I’ve begun as a candidate, is to rebuild the future coalition that I believe can be a Democratic majority is one that is passionate about civil liberties, that is passionate about entrepreneurship as the centerpiece to economic growth, that understands that if you think about the economy right way, you can lower income inequality, which right now is splitting our country up in highly destructive ways. We need people that have spent time professionally, politically, and in their personal lives understanding these aspects of it and are unafraid and confident to use that data, experience, and information to lead that way forward. That’s part of what excites me about this marathon that I’ve begun is I feel I have a good idea about where we need to go as a state and want to help us get there.

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If Gov. Chris Sununu can cross anything off from his campaign promises list, he can at least say that he spoke to 100 businesses in his first 100 days in office. What comes next? Well, it’s still too early to know how many of those businesses will actually relocate to New Hampshire.

The first-term Republican’s “100 Businesses in 100 Days Initiative” was a pledge he made to supporters during his 2016 gubernatorial bid to meet with at least 100 businesses in his first few months in office as a way to boost New Hampshire’s economy and recruit new companies and workers to set up shop in the state.

“I think it would be very premature to say how many are actually going to move here,” Sununu told reporters Thursday at the State House. “I have no doubt some of them will. I have no doubt that we made some clear successes and inroads that otherwise would not if we didn’t make this charge, make this effort.”

He said he met with 127 businesses from 23 states and seven countries. A majority came from the northeast United States and Canada. The top five states and provinces where the governor focused his outreach are Quebec, Massachusetts, California, Vermont, and Texas.

Image Credit: 100 Businesses in 100 Days: New Hampshire is Open for Business for Gov. Chris Sununu’s office.

The bulk of the companies represented employee-based businesses whose costs are driven mostly by payroll and customers, including law firms, call centers, retail stores, and financial services firms.

The aerospace, high-tech, and manufacturing sectors were also a significant number of the businesses Sununu had spoken to in person or via phone.

Companies related to real estate, environment, development, energy, telecom, infrastructure, healthcare, education, and social services were also in the mix, ranging in size from five to more than 1,000 employees, according to the business report released from Sununu’s office.

The names of those companies aren’t being released yet due to confidentiality agreements he made with the companies.

“We promised these companies we wouldn’t do it. It’s what they asked us to do. They asked us not to release their names,” Sununu said. “This a request of those businesses. This isn’t our stipulation. This is a request of businesses that we keep things confidential until such time they are ready to talk and promote it. If you’re a manufacturer in Pennsylvania or wherever, and you’re looking to pick up and move 100 employees, that is not something that you necessarily want to publicize.”

Democrats criticized the governor for not being more transparent with his business meetings and what companies he was meeting with.

Sununu's unwillingness to name any businesses begs question as to whether he met w/ as many as he says #nhpolitics

— NH Democratic Party (@NHDems) April 20, 2017

“Like President Trump, Governor Sununu believes that you don’t need any actual details or evidence to back up your claims,” said Zandra Rice Hawkins, executive director of Granite State Progress. “Governor Sununu wants people to take him at his word without offering any evidence or credible sources to verify his big claims. Sununu’s press conference should be called out for what it is, a dog and pony show with no real legs to stand on.”

His office said he has some “extremely firm commitments,” although no specific timetable on when companies would start moving into the state.

Jeff Rose, the commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development, said the process of moving a company takes time.

“The acceleration of the process has been tangible and I think the results will be validated,” said Jeff Rose, commissioner of the Department of Resources and Economic Development.

Besides the politics of the report, it did reveal what issues businesses are prioritizing if they move to New Hampshire. It also shows little departure from campaign talking points Sununu made last year.

The report discusses how New Hampshire businesses are overburdened with regulations, something Sununu promised to look at when he was on the stump. After his inauguration, Sununu called a 90-day moratorium on new rules and regulations from state agencies to cut back on unnecessary burdens. He said most agencies have turned in reports detailing existing regulations and his office will review them in the coming weeks.

Education was another policy issues that came up in discussions with businesses.

“We heard from businesses who stressed how important issues like full-day kindergarten and school choice are to the parents that they employ,” the report states.

Even though it failed during the legislative session, Sununu remains committed to making New Hampshire a right-to-work state .

“Many large employers refuse to even consider moving to a non-right-to-work state like New Hampshire,” the report states. “These are companies with hundreds and thousands of employees that could single-handedly turn around a town’s economic situation. They recognize many of the benefits that New Hampshire would provide, but they simply will not move until the state opens up freedom for workers.”

The report also looks at how the opioid crisis is still the state’s top priority, business taxes could be cut further, infrastructure needs improvements, young people need to be encouraged to stay in the state, and energy rates should be lowered.

Does this all sound familiar? These are all issues Sununu has spoken about before, and the report reads like his economic proposal from his campaign (but seriously, they’re very similar).

These are the same ideas Sununu pushed on the trail, in his inauguration speech, and in his budget proposal. He could essentially repackage the report and present it as his economic plan for his 2018 re-election campaign.

Democrats want names of companies planning on moving to the state, but Sununu did fulfill his campaign promise of meeting (or talking) with more than 100 businesses in 100 days. That could be enough to keep his supporters happy when it comes time to vote next year.

With two-year terms, it can be hard for governors to see immediate success with their policy proposals. As soon as they’re elected, it’s time to start fundraising again. There was a fundraiser in Sununu’s honor when he was in Washington D.C. in February.

Democrats will make it a big campaign point if Sununu failed to bring any new businesses into the state, but it does take a while for new businesses to fully set up shop in a new place.

For example, General Electric is still in the process of moving its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston (a move that New Hampshire wanted in on, but failed to make a compelling case). They announced the move in January 2016. By August 2016, they set up a temporary location in Boston for more than 100 employees with construction on their new headquarters expected to begin in 2017. GE would officially move in to their new space in 2018-2019.

Even though his first 100 days are over, Sununu said he’s not stopping his efforts to recruit new businesses to New Hampshire.

“We still have a backlog (of companies to visit) that we have to get to frankly,” he said. “This is the beginning of an on-going effort.”

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Gov. Chris Sununu signed his second bill since becoming governor on Monday. House Bill 103 requires school districts to provide at least two weeks notice to parents and guardians of course material involving discussion of human sexuality or sex education, and to make course curriculum materials available to parents on request.

“This bipartisan legislation is consistent with my longtime support for measures that further empower parents’ involvement in their child’s education,” Sununu said in a statement. “It is important to let parents know what students are learning and this bill encourages clear and open lines of communication regarding curriculum content in this important area.”

Third time’s a charm for Rep. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, who put forward the same legislation for the past three years. Former Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan previously vetoed it.

Sullivan put the bill forward due to a personal experience she had with her 8-year-old son who was shown what she thought was an inappropriate video in class. She wasn’t notified before that the video would be displayed for her child.

“Parents and parent groups throughout the state worked hard to make their voices heard,” Sullivan said in a statement. “Today, I am happy to say, the little guys won. It is a good day for parental rights in New Hampshire. More importantly, it is a good day for New Hampshire’s public school children. I am grateful to the Governor for signing this important piece of legislation into law.”

Supporters say the law gives parents the power to approve of the material their children are being taught at school. Opponents, including the New Hampshire School Boards Association, the New Hampshire School Administrators Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union, say it will create challenges when it comes to teachers leading class discussion in sex education.

“This bill jeopardizes Granite State students’ ability to get the critical information they need to make healthy lifelong choices,” said Kayla Montgomery, director of advocacy and organizing at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. “We are disappointed Governor Sununu who did not listen to the thousands of constituents and experts both in education, public health, and local school administration who opposed this bill.”

The legislation amends existing law, which allows parents or legal guardians to opt their child out of material they find objectionable. Now, schools must give advance parental notice of curriculum materials.

Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia require school districts to allow parental involvement in sexual education programs. Four states — Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and now New Hampshire — require parental consent before a child can receive instruction.

New Hampshire is ranked as one of the best states for teaching sexual education in schools, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC surveyed schools to ask if health instruction included 16 “critical” sexual education topics, which includes “how to create and sustain healthy and respectful relationships,” “how to obtain condoms,” and the “importance of limiting the number of sexual partners.”

New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York were the only states to teach all 16 topics in at least 75 percent of schools.

The New Hampshire Democratic Party quickly criticized the governor for signing a bill that makes “it harder for schools to teach sex-ed.”

Instead of passing/signing any economic bills (still at ZERO), Sununu decided to make it harder for schools to teach sex-ed #nhpolitics https://t.co/psJada9UFx

— NH Democratic Party (@NHDems) April 17, 2017

The first bill Sununu signed as governor repealed required permits for concealed carry firearms. Right-to-work legislation failed to make it to his desk, which he would have likely signed, after the measure failed to pass in the House.

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The rankings for the most popular governors are out and the top 10 are all Republicans. New Hampshire’s own Gov. Chris Sununu isn’t far behind the pack, though, coming in at 16th, highlighting a decent start to the Republican’s first term in the corner office.

Sununu has a 55 percent approval rating, with 22 percent disapproving of the first Republican governor in 12 years, according to a Morning Consult poll released Tuesday.

The New Hampshire online survey was taken between January and March with 644 voters and has a margin of error of 4 percent.

That time period is important because it’s essentially the first three months of Sununu’s term. Politically, a lot has happened during that time and the results could depend on when people were surveyed. For example, Sununu made right-to-work legislation a priority, even mentioning its importance in his inaugural address. Yet, the measure failed in House, where moderate Republicans and representatives with union ties sided with Democrats to kill the bill.

There have been bright spots for the governor too, and these could have led to his positive approval rating. He picked Gordon MacDonald to replace Joseph Foster as attorney general, and MacDonald was widely seen as a great pick across party lines. He was confirmed unanimously by the Executive Council last week, with three Republicans and two Democrats voting for him.

The recent budget battle also probably did not factor into the results either. For the first time in recent memory, the House failed to pass a budget. Conservatives banded together to defeat the House Republican leadership’s budget plan, forcing them to recess before the House could pass a budget. Democrats are trying to paint Sununu as the loser of this budget battle since he couldn’t get his own party, which has a 53-member majority in the House, to pass his, or some version of his, budget.

However, Sununu also stands the most to gain from the House’s failure. The Senate Finance Committee will now begin its part of the budget process and instead of using the House version (since there is none), they’re using Sununu’s original budget proposal as a starting point. The House previously took out his funding for full-day kindergarten, removed increased monies for the Alcohol Fund, and even cut his scholarship program for high school students to further their education. The Senate has been more open to Sununu’s priorities, already passing several bills that honored the governor’s budget wishes.

It remains to be seen what the Senate ultimately does with Sununu’s budget, but if his campaign promises remain in the final version, his approval numbers could increase.

Despite his positive approval rating, Sununu still has a high percentage of voters who don’t know about him. He actually ranked 3rd of all the governors in the country for “most unknown,” coming in at 23 percent. The most unknown governor was Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb of Indiana at 27 percent. That’s expected though for many freshman governors, as voters learn more about them throughout their terms.

Nationally though, Morning Consult’s poll found that more voters are happier with their new Republican governors than with their former Democratic ones.

Sununu, who replaced Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan, is 3 points more popular than she was before she headed to Washington to serve in the U.S. Senate. Her approval rating was at 52 percent in the fall.

It also appears that Hassan is struggling with her approval numbers. Morning Consult also looked at the most popular senators in the country and Hassan was ranked in the middle of the pack. Her approval rating is 5 points lower than former Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte, who Hassan replaced in the 2016 election.

According to the poll, Hassan has a 53 percent approval rating among Granite Staters, while Ayotte’s approval was at 58 percent in September. Their disapproval ratings are similar with Hassan at 31 percent compared to Ayotte’s 32 percent before the election. Yet, despite her four years as governor, 16 percent of voters don’t know who she is or have no opinion of her, while only 10 percent said the same of Ayotte in the fall.

New Hampshire Republicans have been trying to call Hassan a rubber stamp of the Democratic Party. They have also called the freshman senator an “intern” of her New Hampshire colleague U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, since they have similar voting records.

Shaheen is more popular than Hassan, according to the poll. Shaheen’s approval rating is at 57 percent, with 30 percent disapproval, and 13 percent not knowing anything about her or having no opinion.

Hassan and Shaheen aren’t up for reelection in 2018, but Sununu is already expected to face some challengers if he seeks a second term. Democrat Steve Marchard already jumped into the 2018 gubernatorial race, making his candidacy official last week. Libertarian candidate Jilletta Jarvis also threw her name into the fray in March.

In the Morning Consult survey, Republican Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker topped the list as the most popular governor with a 75 percent approval rating. The least popular governor was New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie who had a stunning 25 percent approval rating with 71 percent disapproval.

While more Republican governors maintained positive ratings, according to the poll, it’s important to note that Republicans control 33 governorships compared to the Democrats’ 16 governors.

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When New Hampshire voted on Chris Sununu, they had thoughts of the success and prosperity seen under his father, John Sununu, who served three consecutive terms from 1996 to 2002 before moving into the U.S. Senate. New Hampshire was hoping to get back to fiscal conservatism after seeing the budget increase under Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan. To support him, New Hampshire voted him a majority of Republicans to pave his way. We can’t recall the last time the House has not passed the governor’s budget.  Until now.

New Hampshire voted for someone they thought would stand up for the New Hampshire family’s wallets, not try to drain the spare change from their children’s piggy banks. This is not the fiscal conservative that people looked for in a Republican. But then again this is the same man who declared his full-hearted support for Planned Parenthood and all it stood for in a live-streamed voting session of the Executive Council. Then the next day, declared that Planned Parenthood had “tricked him” into that vote. So either he doesn’t read the bills put before him or he just simply doesn’t understand them. Since he had voted against the bill only a year before, it seems more likely that someone read a poll to him and said in this way he could win votes from both sides of the table. Winning the election was all he cared about, so he could jump to a U.S. Senate seat in 2020.

It seems that a higher salary is all he is aiming at. This is evidenced by the fact that he took the highest possible gubernatorial salary he could since before Craig Benson was in office, and then the first thing he did in office was give himself a 2 percent raise.

I encourage the Republicans and Democrats in both the House and Senate to think about the New Hampshire people when amending and voting on the budget. To think about the fact that we’ve done all we can to support our communities. To remember that many communities have voted down increasing taxes for full-day kindergarten because we simply can’t afford it and let the individual communities make that decision based on what they can and cannot do. It’s not that we don’t want to support our children. I have a child in public elementary school and had two children already graduate from public school, so I understand and value the education they get because I want them to have the best possible future. One of those children wants to be a teacher herself.

I urge our legislature to remember that our small businesses cannot afford to increase their tax burdens and that any increase to them will force them to let go of more employees (those that still have employees). To remember that more than one large businesses are leaving the state due to the cost of doing business here already and when they leave, they take much needed jobs with them.

It is important that we remember the people who pay the taxes in the state when voting on a budget and why they voted for you in the first place. The current governor may not remember them, but I have faith that our elected legislature will.

For the first time since at least 1969, the New Hampshire House did not pass its version of a state budget. The budget is the second major issue that House Republicans had split factions on, highlighting deep and unhealed wounds within the Republican Party. While many people are putting the blame on Gov. Chris Sununu for not leading the party, he stands to gain the most from it.

House Speaker Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, did not mince words after the House voted to adjourn and recess before a budget could be passed by the Thursday deadline. He blasted those who opposed the budget.

“They were bankrupt in terms of ideas,” said Jasper. “There were really no ideas that they had other than to say ‘somebody else needs to figure this out.’”

Thirty-two Republicans did not support Republican’s leadership trailer bill, which failed by a 177-169 vote. That came the same day that 66 Republicans rejected the leadership’s $11.9 billion budget bill, which failed by a 220-134 vote. One of the key components of the leadership budget was $50 million in property tax relief for cities and towns.

Yet, for keen political observers the ultimate failure of the state budget was predicated weeks ago, as conservative House members did not like that spending increased over former Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan’s budget and that the budget created by the House Finance Committee lacked tax cuts.

@keithammon #nhpolitics $12 Billion in spending & 0 tax cuts 4 R citizens $150million MORE than Hassan raised the budget Yep, I see trouble

— Rep. JR Hoell (@NH_Braveheart) March 24, 2017

Rep. J.R. Hoell, R-Dunbarton, is the leader of the House Freedom Caucus. He led the charge against the House Republican’s leadership budget. He tweeted about how he could “see trouble” getting the budget passed two weeks before the vote.

“The Speaker pulled me out of the budget hearing,” Hoell told New Hampshire Public Radio before the vote. “We sat in the back of the room and talked and I explained that some of us wanted to see tax cuts. There are no tax cuts in this budget. I’ve left it up to the Speaker whether he wants to play ball and make these changes or not. That’s entirely up to him.”

The comparisons between the conservatives in the New Hampshire House derailing the budget and conservatives in the U.S. House of Representatives blocking the Obamacare repeal because it didn’t go far enough are justified.

On Wednesday, the House failed to pass HB1 and HB2, which were created by the House Finance Committee and approved by the Republican leadership, by a 220-134 vote. After that budget was voted down, conservatives attempted to cobble together in an amendment their version of a budget, but that also failed on a 282-76 vote. House Democrats offered their own plan, but it lost by 34 votes, the closest any budget came to passing that day. The final vote was 196-162. The House then tabled the budget bill and recessed until Thursday morning.

A Wednesday deadline for new amendments to be brought forward to the state budget debate saw six amendments filed, yet none from House Republican leadership. They said it would be “disrespectful” to change the hard work and time the Finance Committee put in to create the budget.

When the House reconvened on Thursday, a trailer bill that accompanied the budget proposed by the finance committee failed, and the leadership saw no possible way they could get a budget passed, so they voted to recess, essentially not giving a budget to the Senate to work on.

Jasper condemned the 32-member conservative caucus who voted against the budget.

“This is just a movement of people who, I think, are totally disconnected from their constituents and totally disconnected from the facts,” he told reporters after the vote.

Yet, Jasper wanted to quell fears about the implication of the House not passing a budget.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “This is a step in the process, and while it is unusual, it really doesn’t affect anybody in the state because the Senate is going to move forward with their proposal.”

The Senate Finance Committee will begin drafting its version of a state budget on Monday, launching a weeks-long process of hearings and meetings before they present it to the full Senate for a vote. Senate GOP leaders said they will use Sununu’s budget proposal as a base and have also invited House Finance Committee members to present their plan, so they aren’t completely shut out of the process.

THE O’BRIEN FACTOR

There were outside groups influencing representatives before the state budget vote this week. It wasn’t the usual dark money organizations that try to sway elections. It was former House Speaker William O’Brien. Jasper defeated him in the 2014 speaker race with the help of the entire Democratic caucus. O’Brien was in contact with several conservative members ahead of the budget vote, encouraging them to vote their conscience.

“You have the critical mass to require a budget that fulfills the commitment that the NH Republican Party has made in its platform to: ‘[l]imit the growth of state spending to not more than the rate of inflation plus population growth.'” He wrote in an email to representatives. “If you ignore the threats, warnings, and ultimatums, and if you stand together and tough, you will prevail.”

After the budget failed, O’Brien sent a congratulatory email to members who voted against the budget and trailer bill.

“I don’t want to talk about individuals,” Jasper said when asked about whether O’Brien influenced the state budget vote. “But there were clearly outside influences who were ginning up members to vote no. There’s no question about that, and that’s unfortunate.”

JASPER SPEAKERSHIP IN JEOPARDY

With the recent budget failure, this marks the second important issue Jasper failed to get through the House. Right-to-work legislation, which Sununu called a top priority for the state, failed earlier this year in the House after moderate Republicans sided with Democrats to kill the bill.

With a 53-member majority, Jasper shouldn’t have that much of an issue getting bills passed, and if he can’t keep his party unified, there could be calls for him to resign as speaker in favor of someone else.

Rep. Laurie Sanborn, R-Bedford, challenged Jasper for the speakership in November, but lost. She’s a member of the conservative House Republican Alliance who voted against the leadership budget on Wednesday, but voted in favor of the trailer bill on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, we were shut down in many steps in the process,” she told WMUR. “I think we could have come up with a way to pass a Republican budget, and, unfortunately, that debate was shut down.”

She has no intention of challenging Jasper, but said she has heard from people who are not too happy with how Jasper is doing as speaker.

“Many folks are concerned about the leadership’s style because there’s a feeling that there hasn’t been a lot of give and take and listening, and they’d like to see more of that,” she said. “I’m hoping the speaker listens and learns from this experience so we can get together to get one Republican budget accomplished this year.”

DEMOCRATS BLAME SUNUNU

While fingers were pointed at Jasper for the budget failure, Democrats were quick to cast blame on Sununu for not effectively leading his party and getting a budget passed.

“[Sununu] has chosen to threaten rather than build coalitions, stay silent rather than making his opinions known, and stay distant rather making his presence felt,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley in a statement. “His sense of entitlement has led him to expect support rather than work for it. Sununu was supposed to be the leader of the party; instead, the tail is wagging the dog.”

Even Jasper said he didn’t want to comment on Sununu’s involvement in getting the budget passed.

“With all due respect I’m just going to keep my thoughts on that to myself,” he said. “I have enjoyed my working relationship with the governor. He did come into our caucus twice and I’m going to leave it with that.”

Yet, in a statement from the governor’s office, it appears Sununu is putting the budget failure in the hands of House leadership.

“While I’m disappointed that House leadership couldn’t get a budget passed today, I am encouraged that the Senate has moved swiftly to take up my budget as a starting point for their deliberations,” he said.

Although Sununu is essentially the face and leader of the Republican Party, he might actually end up getting what he originally wanted.

The House version of the state budget cut his full-day kindergarten proposal, scholarship fund, and funding for the Alcohol Fund. Those were key priorities he made during his budget speech in February.

Now, the Senate said they will use his budget proposal as a starting point and they’ve already passed a number of bills on issues related to Sununu’s budget priorities, which indicates they’re more likely to include several of the governor’s wish list items.

While Democrats are trying to paint Sununu as the loser of this budget battle, he actually poises as a potential winner for not having his budget slashed…yet.

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New Hampshire’s infrastructure is crumbling, and it’s not just the state’s roads and bridges. A total of 12 infrastructure categories received a “mediocre” or “poor” rating, according to a Wednesday survey by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), highlighting the lack of time and investment the state has made into these projects.

Overall, the state’s infrastructure grade was a C-minus, which is a decrease from the last time the engineers conducted a survey of the state. In 2011, the state earned a C.

New Hampshire’s new grade is slightly higher than the United States’ grade, which was a D-plus.

“New Hampshire’s infrastructure is living on borrowed time thanks to past generations’ investments,” said Logan Johnson, chairman of the Report Card for New Hampshire’s Infrastructure. “We’re not investing in the maintenance and modernization our infrastructure needs to support a thriving economy.”

A team of professional engineers from across the state assessed the 12 categories and found these areas need upgrades to stay operational:

Credit: American Society of Civil Engineers Report Card for New Hampshire’s Infrastructure

The state’s energy and airport systems received the best score with a C-plus, but the ports, wastewater, and storm water systems scored the lowest grade with a D-plus.

Much of the focus at the legislative level will be on roads and bridges.

According to the state Department of Transportation (DOT), there are about 17,000 miles of roads in the state. The ASCE says there are 3,848 bridges, including 2,160 state bridges, and 1,688 municipal bridges in New Hampshire.

The state also has about 150 red-listed bridges, meaning they are in poor condition, must be inspected every two years, and be at the top of the state’s priority list of funds for repair or replacement. The ASCE found that 492 of New Hampshire’s 3,848 bridges — approximately 13 percent – were structurally deficient.

Gov. Chris Sununu has been a big proponent of improving the state’s infrastructure. In his budget, he proposed creating a $84 million Infrastructure Revitalization Fund to address some of the problems identified in the ASCE’s report, like with bridges and roads.

“This is one of the highest numbers in the country of red listed bridges,” he said during his gubernatorial campaign. “These are where our priorities need to go. Infrastructure is absolutely critical in a small state like New Hampshire, a state that’s centralized to the entire New England region. We have to get our priorities straight and we have to make tough decisions to get those projects done.”

The problem is that the estimated cost to repair or replace some of the red-list bridges is more than six times the amount Sununu proposed. That’s something Victoria Sheehan, commissioner of the N.H. DOT, said would happen if infrastructure funding is constantly kicked down the road in the legislature.

“When we defer investment, it can cost three or four times as much to get back to the same level condition,” she recently told New Hampshire Public Radio. “So, for example, if we can keep up with pavement conditioning, doing pavement preservation treatments, that’s a much lower cost in maintaining the infrastructure. Once [roads have] deteriorated, to do a full reconstruction or rehabilitation can cost a lot more money to the taxpayer. We are so underfunded at times, we make those per investment choices that end up costing more in the long run.”

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, (D-N.H.), reintroduced legislation in the Senate that would begin to address the more than 56,000 structurally deficient bridges across the country. The Strengthen and Fortify Existing Bridges (SAFE Bridges) Act, which was also cosponsored by New Hampshire’s other Democratic senator, Maggie Hassan, would establish a program to provide funding specifically for repairing and replacing structurally deficient bridges. It would authorize an additional $2.75 billion annually through 2020 to enable state’s to fix their bridges and funding would be allocated through a needs-based formula according to their share of the nation’s deficient bridges.

“The condition of New Hampshire’s bridges is unacceptable,” Shaheen said in a statement. “Their disrepair hurts our economy, increases traffic, adds wear and tear to vehicles, and puts public safety at risk. The consequences of bridge failures are catastrophic and it is critical that Congress prioritize this infrastructure. My legislation provides a long overdue initial investment to help repair and replace New Hampshire’s structurally deficient bridges while putting Granite Staters to work.”

The ASCE survey also found that the state’s dams were increasingly at risk of being structurally deficient. About 60 percent of New Hampshire dams were built before modern dam safety engineering standards were developed.

The “years of inattention” resulted in shoddy conditions at many of the state’s ports and extensive flooding could happen unless the state makes some adjustments in how it manages storm water.

The Legislature recently made drinking water and storm water a priority during this legislative session. Both areas need improvement, according to the ASCE survey, which gave New Hampshire’s drinking water a C-minus and storm water a D-plus. The Senate is working on legislation that would give more funds to cities and towns to improve their drinking water, after recent developments which found high traces of harmful chemicals in several seacoast towns’ water supply. Sununu also is hoping the Environmental Protection Agency rolls back some storm water regulations poised to go into effect that could cost municipalities millions of dollars to comply.

The ASCE report notes that in order for the state to meet its infrastructure needs, “lawmakers need to pursue consistent policies and funding sources to ensure sustained support for infrastructure and enable long-term planning. The state needs to pursue more locally sourced funding for infrastructure, rather than relying so heavily on federal funding and financing to supplement the state’s budget for infrastructure investment.”

The report also called for consistent policy and funding sources and for the state to to pursue “more locally sourced funding,” like fully funding the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, identifying “dependable, long-term sources of funding” for the cleanup of contaminated sites, and considering a toll increase to finance major turnpike projects.

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Three months into Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s term it already looks like he’s got a couple challengers in 2018. The first to announce in March was Jilletta Jarvis for the Libertarian ticket. Now, Steve Marchand, former Democratic mayor of Portsmouth is throwing his hat into the ring too.

Do these names sound familiar? Well, they both ran for governor in 2016. Jarvis was an Independent and Marchand came in second in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, finishing behind eventual nominee Colin Van Ostern.

“We can make New Hampshire the best place in America to start and raise a family, and the best place to start and grow a business,” Marchand wrote in a Monday email to supporters. “We will aspire to be the example of what America, at our best, can be. That’s why I’m running for governor.”

Last year, Marchand trailed behind his Democratic challengers in campaign fundraising and the polls, often coming in behind businessman Mark Connolly and Van Ostern, the former executive councilor. However, he managed a surprising second place finish, garnering 25 percent of the vote. Van Ostern received about 52 percent and Connolly took 20 percent.

On a Tuesday press call, Marchand chalked up his difficulty in fundraising to his timing and to entering the race late, but told reporters he enjoyed the experience.

“Keep in mind, last year, I got to second place in our primary despite very little time and consequently very little money,” he said.

Now, he’s not going to make the mistake of entering late again, and while it is definitely early to announce a run for the Corner Office in 2018 (more than a year-and-a-half out), Marchand said he couldn’t sit idly by under the leadership of President Donald Trump and Sununu.

“I realized there was an unprecedented passion unprecedented due to a lot of circumstances at the state and national level,” he said. “These are unusual times.”

Marchand has been quietly campaigning for the past few months, attending various Democratic meetings and doing meet-and-greets with his base. Already, he’s criticizing Trump’s and Sununu’s agendas. He pointed to Sununu’s first bill signing, which repealed required permits for concealed weapons.

“That’s not the direction we need to go in as a state,” he said. He also accused Sunnunu of wanting to weaken unions, suppress voter turnout, and privatize public education.

So what makes this campaign different than his last one?

He’s taking his job of fundraising more seriously, by hiring Nick Daggers of the CFO Consulting Group. Daggers specializes in fundraising for political campaigns.

Marchand only raised about $30,000 during his campaign last year, according to campaign filings with the secretary of state’s office. Van Ostern raised $1.1 million in just the primary election.

Daggers even wrote a blog post on his company’s website discussing the importance of early campaign fundraising.

“An early fundraising start will give the opportunity to build a solid infrastructure, allow the candidate more time to campaign, and most importantly give you the greatest chance at victory,” he wrote in 2013.

If Marchand can drum up a solid war chest before other candidates jump into the race, he could be a serious contender before he actually starts spending any of it.

Don’t expect too many changes in his platform, though. Marchand still supports legalizing and taxing marijuana and increasing the state’s business profits tax, which would supply millions of dollars to support state aid for full-day kindergarten and improve the state’s infrastructure, among other policies.

Yet, his record is already being criticized by the Republican Governors Association.

“From property taxes, to the gas tax, to the business profits tax cut, Marchand has consistently supported increasing the tax burden on New Hampshire families,” the group said in a statement. “While Steve Marchand may claim to be the most fiscally responsible candidate for governor, his campaign won’t be able to rewrite his record of supporting higher taxation on Granite State voters.”

Besides entering the race early, Marchand said he’s more committed to expanding his “knowledge base” and getting out to interact with voters on a grassroots level statewide.

“The more you go out and speak to groups and to people, the more you learn,” he said.

With this early momentum, Marchand also seeks to improve upon some mistakes his Democratic challenger made in the general election.

Van Ostern’s biggest struggle in his race was name recognition. A poll before the election found that only 10 percent of respondents did not recognize Sununu’s name, but about 28 percent never heard of Van Ostern. While Van Ostern benefited from a strong ground game from the New Hampshire Democratic Party and a bigger war chest than Sununu, the voters didn’t turn out for the Democratic nominee like they did at the top of the ticket.

By getting out of the gate early and meeting with voters now, Marchand is increasing his chances that come Election Day next year, the voters will remember who he is.

Yet, Democratic voters might also recognize Connolly’s name on the ballot. The former gubernatorial candidate is also mulling another run. He stirred some intrigue when he had a paid “sponsored post” on Facebook last week.

Connolly said Marchand’s announcement was too soon and that now is the “time to governor” and the “focus should be on the budget.”

“We should be working with our leadership in the Senate and House to get our best possible budget for the state,” he told NH1 News. “After the budget plays out… I’ll consider running again if the ideas I offered in 2016 aren’t being fully addressed. But certainly at this stage you don’t say if you’re in or you’re out.”

Marchand’s focus is on Trump and Sununu. He believes Sununu’s “full-throated” support for Trump during the campaign and still in his term, will ultimately be his downfall.

“It’s never too early to begin what’s going to be a long and difficult process,” he said. “It is difficult to defeat a first-term incumbent governor. I’m under no illusions. I will be a happy warrior. I will not be outworked. I know the magnitude it will take.”

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There’s a new presidential opioid commission in town, but drug policy experts remain skeptical about its mission and effectiveness. It also appears that New Hampshire does not have a seat at the table, for now at least.

The President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis was announced Wednesday when President Donald Trump signed the executive order laying out its blueprint. It will be chaired by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has made the opioid crisis a priority as governor, and will study appropriate steps for lawmakers and federal officials to take to combat the epidemic.

“This is an epidemic that knows no boundaries and shows no mercy, and we will show great compassion and resolve as we work together on this important issue,” Trump said.

The panel’s mission would be to identify federal funding streams that could be directed to address the crisis, determine the best practices for prevention and recovery, evaluate federal programs and the U.S. health system to identify regulatory barriers or ineffective initiatives like prescribing practices, and consider changes to the criminal justice system.

More than 52,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in 2015 — up from 47,000 in the previous year — according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, and nearly two-thirds of those deaths involved an opioid.

The commission would make interim recommendations within 90 days of its establishment along with a final report in October. The agencies involved would be expected to take actions implementing those policies.

The commission would be composed of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tom Price, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, and Defense Secretary James Mattis. Another five members from state governments, law enforcement, and other groups would finish it. Massachusetts Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper are reportedly set to sit on the panel.

When the commission was announced, a spokesman for New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu told NH1 News that he “doesn’t have a formal role with the commission.”

If that stands, it would be an interesting position from the White House. The Granite State has the second-highest overdose deaths in the country. While Massachusetts has also been devastated by the opioid crisis, Baker did not support Trump in the 2016 presidential election and Governor John Sununu never once wavered from his support for Trump.

There was also no one from New Hampshire taking part in the listening session at the White House when they announced the commission. None of New Hampshire’s Democratic congressional delegation took part in the session.

That’s worth noting because Trump and Christie as presidential candidates often discussed the opioid crisis during their campaign visits in New Hampshire.

“A wall will not only keep out dangerous cartels and criminals, but it will also keep out the drugs and heroin poisoning our youth,” Trump said in a stop in the Granite State in October.

However, drug policy experts are concerned that Trump is focusing on just the criminal justice side of the crisis, and not enough on treatment and prevention.

“We don’t yet fully know what the Trump policy towards the opioid crisis will be,” said Leo Beletsky,a law professor at Northeastern University who specializes in health and drug policy, in an interview with NH Journal.

“During the campaign, he made statements supporting treatment access and focusing on interdiction at the US-Mexico border,” he added. ‘Since the election, we have heard much about the ‘Wall,’ other interdiction efforts, and criminal justice tools to combat the crisis, but not so much about the treatment issue.”

Other advocates are frustrated with actions the Trump administration has already taken that could actually worsen the crisis.

The Office for National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) would support the commission, and the office’s director — known as the “drug czar” — would represent the president. Yet, the ONDCP post is still unfilled, despite reports that former U.S. Rep. Frank Guinta of New Hampshire was being considered for the job.

A new spending plan reported last week would cut the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s mental health block grant by $100 million in 2017. Trump’s proposed 2018 budget for HHS would cut the agency’s funding by nearly 20 percent.

Beletsky was also concerned about Sessions being involved in the commission due his skepticism about treatment and favoring a punishment system to handle the opioid crisis.

“Further, Jeff Sessions is a long-time adherent to the idea that we can arrest and punish our way out of substance misuse in this country — an idea that has been a demonstrable failure and one that has frankly brought us to where we are today,” he said.

Several experts also question the value of the commission and how its efforts could be duplicative of actions and groups already in existence.

In November, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released the office’s first-ever report on opioids and addiction, which included tools and recommendations to combat substance abuse.

There’s also the Bipartisan Task Force for Combating the Heroin Epidemic, which was created in 2015 by Guinta and New Hampshire’s other delegate, Democrat U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster. It’s mission has transformed as the crisis evolved from just heroin to include opioids and fentanyl, but it remains a legislative approach to handling the epidemic.

“The Presidential Commission…appears to be weighed heavily towards a more partisan and more criminal justice-focused approach, in a tone set by the AG,” Beletsky said. “As far as I know, there is not one public health expert on the Commission, which is as clear signal as any that Obama Administration’s mantras of ‘public health approach’ and ‘we can’t arrest our way out of this problem’ will not find much support in this group.”

Kuster appeared supportive of Trump’s efforts to tackle the opioid crisis and create a presidential commission, but cautioned against repealing parts of the Affordable Care Act that provide support for individuals seeking substance abuse treatment.

“We also know that there is not enough capacity for those seeking treatment, and I was pleased to see that part of the Commission’s mission will be to assess the availability of substance use treatment and recovery services,” she said in a statement. “I look forward to working with the Commission and discussing how the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force can be a productive partner in the House of Representatives to advance policies to address the opioid addiction crisis.”

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For art advocates, they say their work is needed for a thriving “creative economy” in New Hampshire. Gov. Chris Sununu understands that, but apparently, President Donald Trump does not.

Members of the New Hampshire Citizens for the Arts and N.H. State Council on the Arts held a press conference Wednesday to raise awareness about the economic impact the arts has on the state and national economies and to protest Trump’s budget, which proposes defunding the National Endowment for the Arts.

“The arts are vital to a vibrant nation,” said Roger Brooks, chairman of the State Council on the Arts. “The arts enrich our souls, expand our horizons and aspirations, and identify the best within us.”

The State Arts Council was established in 1965 and is advised by a 15-member board, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Executive Council.

About 3,505 arts-related businesses and nonprofits in the state employ more than 10,300 people. A 2012 economic study from the Americans for the Arts of 161 nonprofit arts and cultural organizations in New Hampshire, showed a $115 million annual impact in the state. An estimated $62 million of that was spent by guests and visitors, which in turn supports more than 3,500 full-time jobs.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities receive about $150 million annually from the federal government. In the current fiscal year, the State Arts Council receives about $719,000 from the NEA, along with about $310,000 in direct state appropriation.

Ginnie Lupi, director of the State Arts Council, said they receive about 70 percent of their budget from federal funds and the elimination of that revenue stream would be “devastating.”

“It would be devastating and also from our perspective, we use those funds very consciously to really, truly underserved populations,” she told NH Journal. “All of our youth arts projects and grant making go to those kids at risk and underserved areas in New Hampshire.”

That’s the key argument for the State Arts Council and NEA. Congress has a chance to rewrite Trump’s budget, and while conservatives have traditionally called for the defunding of arts programs and public media, their funding usually stays in the budget with bipartisan support.

“We are disappointed because we see our funding actively making a difference with individuals of all ages in thousands of communities, large, small, urban and rural, and in every Congressional District in the nation,” NEA Chairman Jane Chu said in a statement after Trump revealed his budget earlier this month.

The State Arts Council is seeing more support at the state level, though.

It’s been reported that Rep. Kenneth Gidge, D-Nashua, is reaching out to other representatives to start a new House Arts Caucus.

Sununu has been supportive of their cause. He noted the importance of the arts in New Hampshire’s economy in his budget address and he increased funding for the council too.

“We are also reorganizing a new Department of Natural and Cultural Resources to create more comprehensive management and promotion of New Hampshire’s most treasured natural and cultural assets,” he said in his budget speech in February. “In doing this, we want to acknowledge the natural beauty of New Hampshire, while supporting what we call ‘the creative economy’ to, I believe, to date has been really left on the sidelines. But, it is vital to the New Hampshire advantage and something that must be supported.”

Sununu increased funding to the council by about $50,000 in the next biennium. Despite cutting several other priorities Sununu had in his budget, the House Finance Committee kept that increase in funds for the council when they voted to approve of their budget on Wednesday. The full House will vote on the budget next week.

Lupi said the money will go to fill a community arts position that’s been vacant for two-and-a-half years.

“Governor Sununu is the first governor to mention the creative economy in a budget address,” she said. “That there is a recognition that this sector of the economy exists, it’s very big in how to sustain, promote, and grow the arts.”

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