Welcome to the 2008 Fall issue of The HARVEY Letter: From the State House to Your House
This e-letter is my way of keeping you informed of what's going on in Concord; it's my strong belief that much of what we do in Concord has a bigger effect on your day-to-day life than what happens in Washington, DC.
A Note About the Ballot
Before we get into the nuts and bolts of the last session, here's a reminder that NH voters no longer have the choice of "straight ticket" voting. That means when you go into the voting booth with your ballot, you can no longer fill in one circle to vote for all candidates in one party. You must fill in the circles for every candidate of your choice. So start at the end of the ballot and VOTE BOTTOM UP!
Nashua's Ward 2 Polling Place: Charlotte Ave. School
Primary Election: September 9th, 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM
General Election: November 4th, 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM
Be There or Be Square!
The 2007-08 Session
The 2007-08 session was historic in that it was the first time in many decades--84 years, actually-- that the Democrats held the majority in the House and Senate. Together we had many legislative accomplishments, several of which were long overdue and ignored by the previous majority.
So how did we do? Here are some hightlights of our successes in '07-'08, with some of the relevant bill numbers.
Education
*Made public kindergarten available statewide (SB 530)
*Finally defined an "adequate education," meeting the Court's mandate (SB 927)
*Developed an adequate education costing formula (SB 539)
*Revised state laws relating to special education (HB 679, 765, 766)
*Raised high school graduation rates by raising the drop-out age to 18 (SB 18, 101)
Health
*Expanded NH Children's Health Program to cover an additional 10,000 kids (SB 192)
*Expanded family health care coverage for dependents up to age 26 (HB 790)
*Created HealthFirst to help small businesses access affordable health care for their employees (SB 540)
*Budgeted to eliminate the developmental disabilities waiting list over the next 3 years (SB 138)
*Strengthened the law to help prevent lead poisoning in children (SB 176)
*Banned smoking in restaurants and bars (SB 42)
Natural Resources
*Passed the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) (HB 1434)
*Supported sustainable funding for the Land & Community Heritage Investment Program, (LCHIP) (budget item)
*Strengthened the Comprehensive Shoreland Protection Act HB 1601, (SB 352)
*Banned the combustion of toxic construction & demolition (C&D) debris (HB 428)
*Banned the disposal of mercury-added products in solid waste landfills (HB 416)
*Passed the Renewable Energy Act, requiring ~ 25% of NH energy come from renewable sources by 2025 (HB 873)
*For the first time since 1963, invested in the infrastructure of NH's State Parks system (HB 25)
Businesses, Working Families, and Retirement System
*Increased minimum wage for the first time in 10 years (HB 514)
*Created a Job Training Program for workers to learn new job skills (SB 97)
*Established a Research & Development Tax Credit & an Economic Revitalization Tax Credit (SB 134)
*Addressed the 15-year underfunding of the state retirement system (HB 653)
*Established commission to make recommendations for long-term viability of the NH retirement system (HB 876)
Privacy
*Legalized Civil Unions for same-sex couples (HB 437)
*Prohibited NH from joining the Federal Real ID program (HB 685)
*Repealed a law infringing on a woman's right to choose (HB 184)
Impressive for a volunteer legislature in session from January-May for only two years. We've worked hard and accomplished many good things for residents of the Granite State. But there's more work to be done and our hope is that none of the above is undone by the next legislature.
The HARVEY Letter will continue on this website in January 2009 with monthly reports from Concord.
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