By GARRY RAYNO, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — The House voted to help municipalities, school districts, and counties, as well as state retirement system members, Thursday on the last day for the House to act on its own bills.
The House overturned its Finance Committee recommendation to kill House Bill 1417 which would have had the state pay 7.5 percent of retirement costs for municipalities, school districts, and counties.
The state paid 35 percent of those costs for many years, but stopped paying in 2010 during the great recession when the state faced deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Cities and towns, school districts, and the counties had to replace what the state no longer paid, said Rep. Michael O’Brien, D-Nashua, driving up property taxes.
“This is a true taxpayers’ bill,” he said. “In a way you created a tax paid by each municipality.”
That starves city and town budgets and prevents funding other services, he said.
O’Brien said they are not asking for the 35 percent but 7.5 percent which he called a good compromise, noting the state has plenty of money now and it is a good time to begin making up for the 11 years of costs passed down to cities and towns.
“When you are digging yourself a hole, the first thing you need to do to preserve your political career is to stop digging,” O’Brien said. “This is not a benefit issue, it is an issue of what your taxpayers are paying.”
But Rep. Gerald Griffin, R-Mont Vernon, said the state has no control over how many employees a city or town hires nor any input into negotiations between public officials and workers.
“This will encourage hiring at the local level,” Griffin said, “and we all know that results in higher property taxes.”
He said the costs will be $28 million in both fiscal year 2024 and 2025 when the state may not have the money it does today.
“Passage of this bill will encumber future legislatures,” he said, “and that is never good policy.”
Rep. Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, said the bill will have very little impact on the property taxes of property owners and no impact on the benefits of retirees and he urged his colleagues to kill the bill.
The House voted down the original recommendation on a 182-163 vote before passing it on a 186-159 vote.
The House also approved House Bill 1535 which would have provided a cost of living increase of 1.5 percent for retirees who have been retired five or more years ago.
Instead, the House Finance Committee changed the bill to provide a one-time $500 payment for those who have been retired for five years or more.
But Rep. Joshua Adjutant, D-Enfield, urged the House to vote down the change and return to the 1.5 percent cost of living adjustment. He said retirees are the hardest hit by inflation, and they need the state’s help.
Adjutant said some talk about the $78 million cost increase, but he compared that to a bill the Senate has to cut business tax rates that will cost almost that much.
“I firmly dismiss the idea that we cannot afford to support seniors when we keep shoveling out money for corporate tax cuts,” he said.
But others said the request comes in an off budget year when it would be better addressed with the two-year budget process.
The House approved the $500 grant on a 218-100 vote.
Both bills now go to the Senate.
Garry Rayno may be reached at garry.rayno@yahoo.com.