By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD — Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte weighed in with members of the media on the subjects of campus carry and open enrollment – along with commenting on nuclear power and broad-based taxes – on Wednesday after a long Executive Council meeting.
CAMPUS CARRY
Ayotte said safety will guide her decision on the campus carry bill.
“What I can tell you is, obviously, I have not looked at the language that closely, and so I will look at it like all the other bills,” she said. “I want to make sure that whatever we do, public safety is paramount.”
House Bill 1793 passed the House on a vote of 188-165 and a lengthy public hearing on the bill was held Tuesday, with many opponents speaking against the measure.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Samuel Farrington, R-Rochester, a senior at the University of New Hampshire and a first-term legislator who has filed a series of bills related to firearms.
Farrington mentioned mass shootings where students, shoppers and theater-goers are unarmed and murdered, and said many perpetrators target gun-free zones, although studies dispute that.
“They know victims will be left defenseless and vulnerable,” Farrington said.
New Hampshire is a constitutional carry state, which allows the public to carry a weapon in a public place with exceptions.
If passed and signed by the governor, the bill would prohibit public colleges and universities in Durham, Keene and Plymouth from regulating the possession or carrying of firearms and nonlethal weapons on campus.
It would also extend to all seven community college campuses. If any of the other 19 institutions of higher learning in the state receive public funds, they also would be included in the bill.
Currently, each state institution has the right to regulate firearms on their campuses.
At least 11 states allow students to carry guns on campus without having a college policy to decide, while other states – like New Hampshire – allow the institutions to decide.
The states that allow campus carry are not in New England, and include Colorado, Utah, Texas, Oregon and Wisconsin.
“This would be the best campus carry statute in the entire nation,” Farrington said.
Elizabeth Chilton, president of the University System of New Hampshire, agreed that it would be the most open carry of all the states that have passed such bills.
Safety is a primary concern, Chilton said, and the state has some of the safest campuses in the country, adding that there is no evidence that this would make campuses safer.
TAX DAY MESSAGE
Given that Wednesday was April 15, known as Tax Day, the governor voiced her support for a constitutional amendment on the state income tax, which was being heard in a committee as she spoke.
“We are going to protect the NH Advantage in terms of no income tax, no sales tax, lowest business taxes in the region, and the best place to do business and raise a family,” Ayotte said.
She said if the measure went on the ballot in New Hampshire, it would receive strong support.
Ayotte said people move to the state “because they have been out-taxed in other states.”
She said if you look at the millionaire’s tax in Massachusetts, which was passed in recent years, a recent study found there has been over $5 billion in loss to that state, and New Hampshire is in part the beneficiary, with Florida being the largest beneficiary, she said.
OPEN ENROLLMENT
Ayotte also was asked about open enrollment in the state, and if she believes children should be able to go to any public school they want.
“I believe that children in New Hampshire certainly should be in the education setting that is best for them in reaching their full potential,” she said. “It’s why, of course, I supported expansion of the Education Freedom Accounts.
“I am a strong supporter of our public schools. I am the product of New Hampshire public schools, and very proud of that, and so for me, I want to make sure that our public schools succeed. I want to make sure that the teachers have the support they need.”
Ayotte said it is hard to know where the bill will land with amendments likely to be tacked on, and though she noted she had some initial concerns, she is waiting to see the final version.
“The latest version we have not analyzed,” she said.
But she said “we want to make sure our public schools remain strong, that every child reaches his or her full potential and that when we are looking at local schools they are not disrupted and have the support they need.”
NUCLEAR SUPPORT
Ayotte said she will always look for ways to reduce energy costs in the state, and noted she issued an executive order on getting behind more advanced nuclear power and bringing more natural gas into the pipeline.
“I think New Hampshire has been ahead on the nuclear issue and we are going to continue to push to make sure that we have the benefit of all new technologies that will help reduce our energy bills,” Ayotte said. “And then, of course, also this one protects the environment. It’s carbon neutral.”