CONCORD, NH – Without ceremony, but quickly and before the end of the fiscal year, Gov. Kelly Ayotte has signed the budget, the trailer bill, full funding of the Group II retirement plan, delay of cuts to Manchester schools and 32 other bills this week.

House Minority Leader Alexis Simpson was critical Friday of the state budget in a release headlined “Ayotte’s Budget Puts the Wealthy First, Leaves Working Families Behind.”

“Governor Kelly Ayotte and State House Republicans are reviving the same cruel politics defined by the Speakership of Rep. Bill O’Brien. Just like their predecessor, they are gutting public services, sowing dysfunction, and putting extreme ideology above hardworking Granite Staters.

“The budget just signed raises costs on all of us. Their budget hands millions to wealthy private schools and out-of-state corporations, paid for by slashing the services families count on to stay healthy and safe.

“It imposes a new tax on low-income families, hikes prescription costs, and creates red tape designed to strip away healthcare from the most vulnerable, while cutting $51 million from healthcare services that affect all Granite Staters. This budget fails to address the housing crisis, despite Granite Staters’ desperate need for economic solutions that enable them to thrive at all stages of life.”

Ayotte’s news release said she also signed the following other 32 bills this week:

• HB 64 – Relative to extending hiring preferences for military members and their spouses to the state and private businesses, and establishing purchase preferences for disabled veterans and military spouses regarding state supply purchases.
• HB 87 – Prohibiting the posting of land not owned by the poster.
• HB 92 – Requiring recusal of members of zoning boards of adjustment and planning boards in certain circumstances.
• HB 110 – Authorizing counties to establish revolving fund accounts.
• HB 134 – Relative to the state building code.
• HB 178 – Relative to foster parent representation of foster children with disabilities.
• HB 179 – Relative to hazardous waste accident fees.
• HB 187 – Relative to restraining orders sought by a parent on behalf of a minor child.
• HB 213 – Relative to wage garnishment for child support.
• HB 214 – Relative to the regulation of recreational therapists and respiratory care practitioners and relative to delaying the effective dates of various new procedures for criminal history records checks.
• HB 260 – Creating a commemorative license plate celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence.
• HB 265 – Requiring that a public body’s meeting minutes include start and end times of the meeting and the printed name of the recording secretary.
• HB 373 – Relative to the management and regulation of town real property.
• HB 394 – Relative to the powers and duties of cooperative school district budget committees and the role of cooperative school district board member representatives on such committees.
• HB 469 – Relative to the operation of the public deposit investment pool and the membership of its committee.
• HB 632 – Permitting health care providers affiliated with the Veterans Administration to certify medical accommodations on behalf of veterans residing in New Hampshire.
• HB 633 – Creating a legislative study committee to investigate the implementation of housing investment trusts in New Hampshire.
• SB 31 – Establishing an apprentice guide license.
• SB 42 – Relative to notice of death affidavits.
• SB 92 – Relative to the collection of birth worksheet information.
• SB 105 – Enabling towns to adopt budget caps.
• SB 172 – Banning certain contract provisions from being enforced against advanced practice registered nurses.
• SB 173 – Relative to residential property subject to housing covenants under the low income housing tax credit program.
• SB 179 – Relative to the state council on housing stability.
• SB 190 – Relative to the state health assessment and state health improvement plan advisory council and the commission on the interdisciplinary primary care workforce.
• SB 235 – Enabling funds from the Pitman-Robertson Act to be spent by the Fish and Game Department on threatened and endangered species in New Hampshire and allowing the Fish and Game Department to collect donations at sites approved by the executive director.
• SB 236 – Relative to transferring control of the Electric Assistance Program to the Department of Energy.
• SB 248 – Establishing a committee to study palliative and hospice care in New Hampshire.
• SB 250 – Relative to pharmacist administration of long-acting injectable drugs.
• SB 252 – Relative to criteria for providing certain medical care through telemedicine.
• SB 262 – Relative to the penalty for trafficking in persons under 18 years of age.
• SB 292 – Relative to aid to school districts for the cost of special education.