House and Senate Agreement on Budget Package for a Final Vote; Governor Ayotte Threatens Veto
This week, House and Senate Committee of Conference members reached an agreement on a final state budget proposal which will require a full vote from each chamber to approve it and send it to the governor. That said, Governor Ayotte announced shortly after negotiations were complete that she intends to veto the budget because it does not include her preferred retirement plan for Group II employees (police and fire) and it would result in a significant reduction in state aid to Manchester for schools.
Here are some of the highlights that were at issue during negotiations and remain in the final budget agreement that impact you, your students, and your schools.
What’s In:
- Special Education Aid Stays in Education Trust Fund: The House took special education aid out of the Education Trust Fund to be like any other generally funded item, but conferees agreed with the Senate position to put special education and other public education costs back under the Education Trust Fund where they belong.
- Ban on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: The Senate budget proposal included a slightly modified version of the House provision to prohibit diversity, equity, and inclusion “programs” or “initiatives” in public schools, which was agreed to in the committee of conference. This provision remains vague as to what is included and still leaves these decisions solely to the Commissioner of Education.
- Education Funding Formula: Conferees ultimately agreed to the Senate plan for state education aid for the next two years. The Senate plan largely preserved the funding formula from the last biennium but incorporated part of the House’s proposal, which limits additional aid to communities with more than 5,000 students. This addition most notably hurts Manchester when compared to the aid they have received in the last two years. We have major concerns about what that means for the largest school district in the state, as it reduces their aid package by approximately $10 million per year.
- “Bell-to-bell” cell phone ban: Budget negotiators also put the contents of SB 206 as amended by the House in the budget trailer bill as well. This language is the Governor’s preferred language that requires school districts to adopt policies prohibiting the use of cell phones and other electronic communication devices throughout the regular school day.
What’s Out:
- Mandatory Open Enrollment: The Senate would not agree to the House plan to make every public school an open enrollment school to any student in the state regardless of residence.
Other Important Budget Negotiation Results:
- Universal Voucher Expansion: Both sides agreed to the Senate budget estimates for universal vouchers (which dramatically underestimate what the cost of this program will be for the next two years), which will reduce the amount of overall money available to support public education.
- New Medicaid Premiums: This budget would require the Department of Health and Human Services to institute new premium costs for low- and moderate-income adults and children under the state’s Medicaid program. Granite Advantage and CHIP premiums would be determined based on fixed dollar amounts, rather than a percentage of income as introduced in past proposals. Among the Granite Advantage program, premiums would be $60 per month for a household of one, $80 for two, $90 for three, and $100 for four or more during the second year of the biennium. For CHIP, families would be expected to pay higher premiums: $190 for a household of two, $230 for three, and $270 for four or more.
Result of Bills in Other Key Committees of Conference
Some of the harmful bills we opposed this session died because the House and Senate could not agree on a compromise; others reached a compromise and will be voted on June 26th.
Key Bills That Died in Committee of Conference:
- SB 96 had to do with the required disclosure of information when a parent makes a written request to a licensed educator. The bill has similar language to one section of the recently signed so-called “parental bill of rights,” though it specifically lays out that violations of this law are violations of the Educator Code of Conduct. However, the House also added a substantial amendment that included some draconian penalties for violations of the larger parental rights bill. Senate conferees would not agree to the House demands of increased employment and licensure penalties, so the bill is now dead.
- SB 206, the bill prohibiting cell phone use in schools, was adjourned without agreement because the language was put into the budget trailer. However, with the Governor threatening a veto of the budget bill, the fate of this policy is uncertain without it being a standalone bill.
- SB 210 came to the House as a legislative study bill on bullying in schools but was amended to rewrite the state’s bullying law, without proper vetting and public input. The House had also added language around mandatory open enrollment. Thankfully, the Senate would not agree to the House additions, and the House was not willing to compromise or go back to the needed study, so the bill died.
Bills Headed for a Floor Vote:
- SB 97 authorizes parents to transfer their children to other schools within their resident district as long as such school has the capacity to accommodate the student. So, this is not the broader statewide open enrollment language that was shelved in the committee of conference report.
- SB 213 was a bill about proof of identification when requesting an absentee ballot, but the House gutted that language and put in the language of HB 340 which the Senate had previously dispatched earlier this session. If passed, that language would broaden restrictions on public employees’ rights to advocate for a candidate or local ballot questions, including the funding of their collective bargaining agreement during the school district meeting season. Tell your state representative(s), there is no reason to broaden a law that already works well, especially where unintended consequences could impact employees’ rights to advocate for their school budgets and contracts.
More Bills!
There was action on more legislation this week in committees of conference we are tracking so please feel free to visit our NEA-NH bill tracker to find a bill you may have been following.
Questions?
If you have questions on any of these bills or ones not mentioned here, please feel free to contact Brian Hawkins, NEA-NH Director of Government Relations at bhawkins@nhnea.org.