Election season is in full swing and candidates from both parties are working hard to persuade voters and contributors to support them. Outcome predictions vary as to the degree of change, but most analysts agree that Republicans will regain at least some of the New Hampshire Senate and House seats they lost in 2006. Predictions are a little more difficult and less reliable this year than in the past since it is the first election following elimination of straight ticket voting. Many people believe the large increase in the number of Democrats elected in 2006 was the result of Governor Lynch supporters voting straight ticket for the entire slate of candidates on the Democrat side. This year, voters must vote separately for each office on the ballot and many will either vote in the top few races and leave the remainder of the ballot blank or vote for their party's candidate in the top few races and then make selections among Senate and House candidates based on local knowledge and relationships rather than party affiliation. Whatever the outcome on November 4th, here is a sampling of issues that successful candidates will have to contend with in the 2009 legislative session.
PAID FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE: This is Serious Folks
A proposal to provide paid family and medical leave to New Hampshire workers is expected this session. The proposal would extend unemployment benefits to workers who terminate their own employment provided the reason for leaving the job is to deal with urgent family needs (such as illness, or child or elder care) or due to a work transfer of a spouse. While one-time funding may come from the federal government, employers would have to foot the bill for the ongoing obligation through an increase in the unemployment tax. Labor unions are expected to actively support this proposal.
REFORM OF THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM: A Priority for this Administration
Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Nick Toumpas has made improving the state's mental health system one of his top priorities, and legislative proposals to begin to do so are expected this session. This week, Commissioner Toumpas released a ten-year plan and urged legislators to support and fund the plan. The plan calls for increased housing assistance for persons with mental illness who are able to live independently and more access to supported housing programs for people who cannot, increased bed capacity for inpatient psychiatric care, development of treatment teams in communities aimed at reducing reliance on emergency rooms and jails for needed care, implementing strategies to recruit and maintain a high quality mental health system workforce, and better planning related to mental health services delivered in the corrections system. A copy of the plan is available at the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services website.
STATE SUPPORTED HEALTH INSURANCE: A Work in Progress
A proposal to create some form of state supported health insurance program for adults is likely this session. The groundwork for such a proposal is already underway in two venues. First, a legislative study committee is working to establish a uniform and transparent definition of "community benefit" for hospitals and other healthcare charitable trusts that are required to report community benefit activities to the state. Second, a subcommittee of the House Health and Human Services Committee is working to improve a bill that would require health care providers to submit "dummy" insurance claims to the Department of Insurance for services they provide to the uninsured. The goal is to allow the Legislature to calculate the dollar value of community benefits being provided by healthcare charitable trusts statewide and then to determine how best to allocate those resources to pay for health care services for the uninsured. Diverting community benefits resources toward a statewide program for the uninsured is risky since it ignores local needs and priorities and moves decision making from local community leaders to more distant state government.
STATE OPERATING BUDGET DEFICIT: Local Budget Woes
The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies predicts a budget deficit of between $372 and $495 million by the end of the next biennium if no changes to the current budget plan are made. This is due to revenue shortfalls, increased demand for state services, and increased state responsibility for the cost of education. The state has already implemented strategies to cut government spending and that work will continue. However, proposals to tap additional revenue sources are a certainty in 2009, particularly since the deficit could be as much as $156 million even if expenditures remain at 2009 levels through the entire 2010-2011 biennium. Revenue proposals will include ideas introduced every year such as sales tax, income tax, and legalized gaming, but will likely include new ideas as well. A copy of the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies report is available at http://www.nhpolicy.org/reports/the_next_budget_conversation_20102011.pdf.
PROTECTION OF PRIVACY: Higher Cost for Lower Quality Care?
Protection of privacy was a priority for certain leaders in the New Hampshire legislature long before "identity theft" became a household term. This year, the focus was on privacy of patient medical records. A comprehensive bill was introduced to make New Hampshire law more strict than federal law with respect to protection of medical records, to authorize enforcement of statutory protections at the state level, and to expand the types of entities that must comply with privacy protection laws. Next session, this proposal will be introduced in three separate parts in the hope that at least some of the provisions will be enacted. Health care providers, insurers, information managers, and others in the business community support the concept of privacy protection but are concerned that the proposals currently being considered will disrupt efficient communication between health care providers thereby increasing the risk of medical and medication errors, increase the cost of health care due to information technology requirements necessary for compliance, and discourage the development of electronic medical records which are widely regarded as a tool to improve the quality of patient care.
ENERGY COSTS: More than just Fuel Assistance
An emergency plan to fund $12.1 million in additional fuel assistance and enhanced weatherization services for income-eligible New Hampshire citizens passed the House and Senate on "Veto Day," a session day typically reserved for the sole purpose of voting to sustain or override gubernatorial vetoes. Additional proposals to address energy costs, production, and conservation will be introduced for consideration in the 2009 session. Proposals could include increasing the amount of financial assistance provided or the number of people eligible to receive it, creating incentives for energy conservation by individuals and businesses, and supporting development of alternative fuel sources such as wind and solar power.
The filing period for new legislation is open from now until October 3 and from November 12 to November 26. Please watch for future Sheehan Phinney Capitol Group updates once filings are complete and bills are available. In the meantime, to check on your own, go to: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/ie/lsrsearch/default.asp for bill titles and http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/quick_search.html for copies of bills as they become available.
This article is intended to serve as a summary of the issues outlined herein. While it may include some general guidance, it is not intended as, nor is it a substitute for, legal advice. Your receipt of Good Company or any of its individual articles does not create an attorney-client relationship between you and Sheehan Phinney Bass + Green or the Sheehan Phinney Capitol Group. The opinions expressed in Good Company are those of the authors of the specific articles.
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