The battle over the 2012-2013 New Hampshire state budget has officially commenced, and Gov. John Lynch will make the case for his $4.7 billion budget proposal to lawmakers at a public hearing tomorrow.
Fresh off his budget address to the Legislature yesterday, Lynch will face questions from members of the joint House and Senate Finance committees. Among many details still to be deciphered, Lynch’s budget proposal would:
- Cut state general fund spending to $160 million less than it was in 2008-2009.
- Eliminate about 1,100 state job positions (including current vacancies) and fire around 255 state workers.
- Eliminate the state’s subsidy for municipal retirement costs — yet recommend reforms that will save municipalities, school districts and the state $1.5 billion over the next 20 years.
- Cut $20 million in uncompensated care payments to hospitals to fund federally optional Medicaid services, such as prescription drugs, nursing services and wheelchairs.
- Close visitor welcome centers and four Motor Vehicle substations.
Lynch said the budget was a result of “re-thinking every aspect of state government” and making hard choices given the drop-off in federal stimulus funding and the slow pace of economic recovery.
“We have pored over every line in every budget,” Lynch said Tuesday. “We’ve asked not only whether a program was worthy, but also whether it was the most important thing for us to continue to do as a state. For programs that we believe should continue, we asked ask how they could be done more efficiently.”
One question Lynch is guaranteed to hear — and likely more than once — is how he justifies his 2012-2013 revenue projections. They are $300 million above the $4.4 billion figure the House has already approved as its benchmark. House Majority Leader Rep. D. J. Bettencourt (R-Salem) said the budget proposal was “an important first step” but he criticized Lynch for missing “a tremendous opportunity to bring transformative change” to state government.
“Instead, he took a step back by overinflating revenue figures by nearly $300 million, which would set us up for budget deficits for the next two years,” Bettencourt said.
While Lynch and House Republicans agreed on a proposal to repeal the 10 percent gambling winnings tax, Lynch parted ways with other House proposals to reduce the rooms and meals tax and tobacco taxes — which could account potentially for as much as one-quarter of the $300 million difference in the biennium revenue estimates. In particular, Bettencourt said that the budget keeps in place a $30 car registration fee surcharge, “which is a huge burden to working families of New Hampshire.”
>> Thursday, Feb. 17, public hearing of the joint House and Senate Finance Committees on Gov. John Lynch’s budget proposal, Legislative Office Building, Rooms 210-211, 10:00 a.m.
>> You can see the complete budget proposal (all 1,540 pages) here. You can also read the easier-to-digest 39-page budget summary here.
This Daily Dispatch was written by Michael McCord.