CONCORD, N.H. – On Monday, New Hampshire House Republicans laid out an outline for the legislative vision of their next term, following a comparable overview from their Democratic counterparts earlier this month.
The Republicans’ 10-point plan, which they entitled the Contract with New Hampshire, focused around reducing taxes and regulations at the state level on a variety of issues.
Collaboration and discussion with communities and stakeholders in certain industries that would be impacted by certain laws, such as new regulations placed upon local childcare businesses without consultation of those companies during the COVID-19 pandemic.
State Representative Joe Sweeney (R-Salem) said that housing in particular would be one of those topics where Republicans would attempt to remove state limitations and foster cooperation and conversation among municipalities and residents, hoping to avoid a one-size-fits all solution that could harm certain parts of the state.
“We’ve been building a lot in my community, so I am going to vote in a way that supports my community just like all Representatives are going to vote in ways that support their communities,” he said. “I definitely believe going forward and empowering communities with incentive structures and having conversations with them to figure out which communities in the state are willing to take more housing and which communities are saying ‘you know what, we’re kind of maxed out for what we can handle with our water and electrical infrastructure.”
There was also an emphasis in giving greater freedom to New Hampshire residents. The word “freedom” itself was used numerous times during the press conference, challenging usage of that word by Democratic candidates.
“(Democrats) have suddenly and laughably decided that they’re now the party of freedom. What (Democrats) call freedom is nothing more than an illusion,” said New Hampshire House Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn). “When they push for higher taxes, they’re not freeing you. They’re chaining you to bigger government. When they push for more regulation, they’re not liberating you, they’re making it harder for small businesses to thrive and for individuals to succeed.”
Democrats were also attacked regarding what was described as a misrepresentation of New Hampshire Republican views on abortion, stating that there are currently no legislative service requests draft legislation changing New Hampshire’s laws on abortion and that Democratic talk on the issue was a distraction from their policies on economic issues.
“Republicans are sending a clear message that we’re not touching the issue, we’re keeping it where it is, where the majority of Granite Staters believe it should be.”
On crime, former State Representative and current candidate Ross Berry (R-Weare) said that he felt the issue of personal recognizance bail reform would be resolved once it was completely removed from state law, although he believes that personal recognizance bail for non-violent offenders is a reasonable compromise. Sweeney also sought to pass state laws requiring law enforcement agencies in Hillsborough and Cheshire County to collaborate with federal law enforcement agencies regarding federal immigration laws.
Given the size of the New Hampshire state legislature and the fact that it is not certain who will serve during the next term,
“Obviously the New Hampshire House of Representatives is a great bastion of democracy and ideas and discussions,” said Sweeney. “Obviously leadership will bring forth solutions to these problems, but we’ll have broader conversations. The idea is that come six months from now, we may have different ideas on (how to implement the plan), so we’re going to engage in conversations with all of the legislators that get elected on November 5th.”