Jeb Bradley for State Senate

Recent Blogs

Top 10 reasons to vote for Romney

On Tuesday, the long-anticipated first-in-the-nation New Hampshire Presidential Primary will le...

01-08-2012 05:36pm
Comments [0] | Read More

Continued Frugality Necessary to Protect Taxpayers and Grow Jobs

In passing the 2011 budget, the Legislature made tough decisions and difficult cuts to stabiliz...

11-28-2011 05:35pm
Comments [0] | Read More

MAKING TOUGH CHOICES TO ENSURE A STRONG ECONOMIC FUTURE

On Wednesday, both the House and Senate passed a comprehensive two year budget that Governor Lynch h...

06-27-2011 02:03pm
Comments [0] | Read More

In The News

06-25-2011
Pension reform revived after Gov. Lynch's veto

CONCORD — When lawmakers at the Statehouse today consider the two main bills for the 2011-2013 biennium budget, they may have a feeling of déjà vu — especially when they see that the retirement system reform measure they passed on June 8 has been reinserted in the larger budget bill. When the New Hampshire House and Senate passed the second major public employee retirement system reform legislation in four years, Republican leaders hailed the measure as long overdue and necessary.

Read More

06-25-2011
NH lawmakers send $10B budget to governor

The Legislature yesterday passed a $10.2 billion two-year budget with enough votes in both the House and Senate to override a potential veto by Gov. John Lynch. Republicans are proud of what they've done, saying they heard what voters wanted and delivered. The Democratic minority, however, decried the spending plan, saying it will hurt the state's most vulnerable residents.

Read More

06-19-2011
N.H. Greenhouse gas compromise fails

CONCORD — A House/Senate conference committee failed to reach agreement on a bill that would alter the state's participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, effectively killing the bill. The committee met over several days, with House members wanting outright repeal and senators backing the bill, a compromise measure put forth by Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro. The compromise would have required the first dollar from RGGI auctions to go to energy efficiency projects and the rest to ratepayers, allow New Hampshire to withdraw if one other New England state does and revamp the manner in which projects are awarded.

Read More

06-19-2011
NH governor vetoes pension reform bill

CONCORD, N.H.—Gov. John Lynch vetoed legislation on Wednesday that would require public employees to pay more toward their pensions and some to work longer -- to spare New Hampshire taxpayers.

Read More

06-19-2011
Three Vetoes From Lynch

Pension veto sparks most ire, but changes are also in the budget. Other vetoed bills would limit rail authority and bar planning boards from requiring fire sprinklers in new homes. NHPR's Josh Rogers reports. One vetoed bill would force public workers to pay more toward their pensions and some to work longer. to collect one. Another would strip the New Hampshire rail authority to power to issue contracts or accept donations. A third would bar local planning board from requiring sprinkler systems in new one or two family homes.

Read More

06-19-2011
Lynch should sign pension reform bill

The New Hampshire House of Representatives and Senate gave final approval last week to a comprehensive pension reform bill that would make significant changes to the state’s retirement system. While no bill is perfect, it makes some common-sense changes to the state’s pension laws, particularly those that deal with “double dipping” and how final retirement payouts are calculated. As such, we urge Gov. John Lynch to sign it when it arrives on his desk.

Read More

06-19-2011
New Hampshire Lawmakers Pass Carbon-Market Repeal Measure

New Hampshire’s Republican-led legislature cleared a bill to withdraw the state from the U.S. Northeast’s carbon-trading market, a proposal that may be vetoed by Governor John Lynch. The legislature passed a shoreland protection bill today with an amendment that would pull New Hampshire out of the 10- state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Carole Alfano, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, said in an e-mail.

Read More

06-19-2011
NH negotiators agree on pension reform bill

New Hampshire House and Senate negotiators reached a tentative agreement on reforms to the state's public pension system on Monday that will shift more of the costs onto employees. Negotiators settled the last two issues holding up the compromise that lawmakers could vote on Wednesday. One would limit part-time workers to 32 hours a week before they would have to contribute to the pension system. An exception was made for retired police officers hired by communities seasonally for events such as motorcycle week in Laconia.

Read More

06-19-2011
Double dippers have it both ways in NH

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Double Dip: The Telegraph examines how retired state and municipal employees return to work in the public sector while collecting a pension and a paycheck on top. The seven-day series will focus on local retirees cashing in on the system, and legislative efforts to close the loophole that’s draining the retirement system and angering taxpayers. For 47 years, it has been illegal for a former public employee to collect a state retirement system pension after he takes another government job.

Read More

06-19-2011
NH Senate passes $10B budget package

New Hampshire's Senate passed a $10.3 billion budget package that sets the stage for negotiations with the House over a compromise plan where the biggest spending differences are on services for the mentally ill and disabled.

Read More

06-19-2011
State should stay in regional compact

The 2011 Republican assault on things that make sense includes a misguided effort to force New Hampshire to withdraw from the pioneering 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. The compact is an effort to encourage electric utilities to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions by requiring them to purchase credits at auction for every ton they emit. Those credits currently sell for $1.86 per ton. The money raised, at least what's left after raids on the fund by the governor and Legislature, is distributed by a Public Utilities Commission board to support energy conservation measures.

Read More

06-19-2011
NH Dem governor has plan to close $47M revenue gap

New Hampshire's tax receipts for April are disappointing, but Gov. John Lynch said Monday he has a plan to close a potential $47 million general fund revenue shortfall by the end of the fiscal year. The state will have a balanced budget on June 30 thanks to his aggressive management of spending, Lynch said.

Read More

06-19-2011
Kudos go to Bradley for responsible pension bill

Thumbs up to State Sen. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro, for his responsible leadership of efforts to reform the New Hampshire Retirement System. At this point, most everyone in the state agrees that the system's roughly $4.7 billion unfunded liability needs to be addressed immediately. Further, there is a general agreement on the factors that got our usually responsible state into the mess it's in when it comes to paying the pensions of teachers, police, firefighters and other state, county and local employees. And it needs to be stated again that the workers are not at fault. That said, the House and Senate have come up with very different plans, which have been sent to a conference committee for negotiations. We hope the final plan that emerges has more Senate and less House.

Read More

04-06-2011
Pension reform: Sensible changes are close

Lost in all the hubub about the House plan to change collective bargaining rules for public employees was another enormously consequential, but far less controversial, public employee benefits change. Last week, the Senate passed Senate Bill 3 and the House passed similar but not identical legislation in its budget. Both would dramatically improve the way the state figures pension benefits for public employees.

Read More

04-06-2011
NH Senate passes school funding

CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire lawmakers would have full discretion to determine the amount and methods of raising school aid under a proposed constitutional change passed by the Senate on Wednesday

Read More

03-29-2011
Retirement bill a good compromise

Opponents of SB3, a bill to reform the financially plagued state employees' pension system, have raised some valid concerns. As a result, the Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee made changes in the bill before giving it a 4-1 “ought to pass” vote and sending it to the Senate floor as soon as Monday.

Read More

02-10-2011
NH Senate: School funding bill provides stability

CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire Senate members said Wednesday they've crafted a public school funding bill that provides stability to state and school district budgets and treats all students equally.

Read More

02-10-2011
That 9 percent return on public pensions has got to go

Watch me bite the hand that will feed me. When my lovely wife, Little Kahuna (her mother is the Big Kahuna), accepted a position in a local school supervisory office, she brought home a description of the pension plan that is available to her.

Read More

02-10-2011
Unions balk at some changes debated for state retirement system

DOVER — Debate and discussion about reforms to the state retirement system are far from over. While municipal officials and legislators last week lauded SB3, which aims to make comprehensive changes to the system, union officials take issue with some of its proposals and provisions

Read More

02-10-2011
Bradley retirement plan on the mark

A bill being proposed by State Sen. Jeb Bradley to reform New Hampshire's ailing public pension system is right on target.

Read More

02-10-2011
Pension overhaul in works

Firefighters, teachers, school boards and government administrators agree that the New Hampshire Retirement System must be reformed to make employee pensions affordable and sustainable. The $3.7 billion question is: Who is going to pay for it?

Read More

02-10-2011
Unions speak out on state pension reform

CONCORD – Unions offered a series of concessions Thursday as the Legislature takes up reforming the state's troubled pension plan. The N.H. Retirement System Coalition, which includes police, firefighters, teachers and state workers, offered to start paying higher contributions, work more years to an older age, cut the size of the retirement system board, and adjust the formula used to figure their pensions. The move came in reaction to Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley's bill that proposes a series of reforms, including those the unions proposed. Union officials said the Bradley bill goes too far in shifting the burden onto workers and retirees.

Read More

02-10-2011
Pension push: Be open to changes

Regarding pensions for New Hampshire's public employees, "(t)axpayers have seen their contributions quadruple over the past decade, from $70 million in 2000 to $302 million last year," our Concord bureau chief Tom Fahey reported yesterday. Does anyone, in the private sector or public, consider that kind of growth sustainable.

Read More

02-10-2011
GOP’s pension plan gains support

CONCORD – Municipal, county, school board and business leaders endorsed Thursday the sweeping plans of Senate Republican leaders to make newer public employees work longer and pay more for their taxpayer-paid pensions

Read More

02-11-2011
Bradley bill provides vital reform for N.H. pensions

State Senate Republican Leader Jeb Bradley has put forward a legislative effort that includes real, yet reasonable, reforms to the New Hampshire Retirement System.

Read More

01-28-2011
N.H. retirement system reform ideas gain support

CONCORD â€” It appears that state legislation aiming to provide comprehensive retirement system reform is something most lawmakers can back.

Read More

01-26-2011
Senate GOP proposing NH public pension reforms

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Senate Republicans are proposing raising the retirement age for public safety workers as one of the ways to reform New Hampshire's public pension system.

Read More

10-08-2010
Three for Senate: Forrester, Bradley, Forsythe

07-20-2010
UNION LEADER EDITORIAL: "Those 5 percent cuts: Lynch steals another idea"