Press Releases

Concord, NH – Today, Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem) and Speaker Shawn Jasper (R-Hudson) announced the formation of a Task Force to review the options for the State of New Hampshire as Concord Steam plans to cease operations in May 2017.

The Concord Steam Task Force includes Senator Gary Daniels (R-Milford), who will chair the task force, Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) and Senator Lou D’Allesandro (D-Manchester), Representative Richard Hinch (R- Merrimack), Representative Steve Shurtleff (D-Penacook), Representative Lynne Ober (R-Hudson) and Representative Gene Chandler (R-Bartlett).

“With the impending closure of Concord Steam, which supplies the heat for a number of state office buildings, we need to develop a plan to keep costs low while providing energy efficient replacement options early next spring,” said Senate President Chuck Morse (R-Salem). “The task force will be chaired by Senator Gary Daniels, whose experience serving as chair on the Capital Budget Committee will serve us well in guiding the rest of the legislators to find the best option for the state. The Task Force will produce recommendations and legislation that we hope to fast track early next session.”

“It is important that we address the issue of Concord Steam sooner rather than later,” said Speaker Shawn Jasper (R-Hudson). “There are several options for the state to study and I look forward to working with my colleagues in both the House and Senate to come up with a solution that best serves the interests of the taxpayers of New Hampshire. The State House and 25 state office buildings are affected by this move. Hopefully it will be an opportunity for us to cut our heating bills significantly while maintaining energy efficiency throughout our buildings.”

“We realize that losing Concord Steam in such a short period of time will require a well-devised plan to come together quickly, which is why I am encouraged by Senator Morse’s and Speaker Jasper’s call for this Task Force to begin work right away,” said Senator Gary Daniels (R-Milford).

“We have our work cut out for us in the next two months to find a solution that can be implemented seamlessly once Concord Steam goes offline. I believe we all agree that replacing the heating system that serves a number of state buildings needs to be both cost effective and energy conscious, and I look forward to meeting with other Task Force members and Administrative services to begin our discussions on September 29.”

The Concord Steam Task Force will hold its first public meeting on September 29 at 2:00 p.m. and the final report is due by Thursday, December 1.

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Concord, NH – Today, Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) issued a statement following a press conference on the status of the opioid and heroin crisis in New Hampshire.

“James Vara has done more in his four and a half months as drug czar than his predecessor did during his entire tenure. After Governor Hassan kept an inept drug czar for more than a year, Vara’s competence is reassuring.”

“But before we pat ourselves on the back let’s remember the tragic overdose death toll is still rising, with the total number of deaths projected to be nearly 500 for 2016, up from 439 last year.”

“The legislature on a bipartisan basis, allocated additional funds for treatment and recovery, law enforcement, supportive housing, as well as a state-wide drug courts grant program.”

“Despite the legislature’s progress, we are still hearing that funding is not hitting the streets fast enough, in part caused by Gov Hassan’s veto of the 2015-16 budget for partisan purposes.”

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Concord, NH – A rate proposal filed last week with New Hampshire’s Insurance Department shows a dramatic decreases in worker’s compensation rates by 9 percent. Last year, Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley sponsored SB 133 which aimed at reforming the workers’ compensation system in New Hampshire.

“Lowering the cost of workers’ compensation rates is a critical part of making New Hampshire a more attractive place to do business. It is encouraging to see that worker’s compensation costs are moving in the right direction,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro). “In the past, New Hampshire has consistently had some of the highest workers’ compensation rates in all of New England, stifling small businesses and limiting their ability to grow.”

“That is why the legislature has taken steps to reform the workers’ compensation system over the years. Last year, in particular, I sponsored legislation to reduce the costly burden of exorbitantly high claims being paid for by many employers in our state. The bill, SB 133, put the burden of proof on the health care providers when determining if the cost of services rendered is reasonable. This change in conjunction with other reforms has set that ball in motion to continue driving down workers’ comp rates for employers in the future. This step, in particular, builds upon our other efforts in order to make New Hampshire the most attractive state to do business and raise a family,” added Bradley.

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Concord, NH – Today, two bills, SB 522 and SB 533, were signed into law as part of the comprehensive plan to curb the heroin crisis in New Hampshire.

“I am thankful that SB 522, which provides the necessary funding to make upgrades to the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program [PDMP], became law today. Increasing the use of the PDMP by making it more user-friendly will help lessen the occurrences of doctor shopping or when opioid addicts seek multiple prescriptions for controlled opioids from more than one doctor. By expanding the use of the PDMP prescribers will have an updated record of the individual patients’ opioid prescriptions from all prescribers. This preventative step will help limit prescribing in instances where it is clear the patient is abusing drugs and we expect it will help reduce the number of cases of opioid and heroin addiction in the future,” said Senator Jeb Bradley (R- Wolfeboro).

“In addition, SB 533 increases the resources available for treatment and recovery by funding transitional housing, while also providing the means to add a position within the Attorney General’s office responsible for prosecuting drug related crimes in New Hampshire.”

“These bills were crafted specifically to target the areas of prevention, treatment or recovery efforts in order to hamper the deadly heroin crisis in our state. We worked to not only prevent the influx of new users but increase our capacity to help those struggling with addiction to find treatment and enter into recovery in order to have a lasting impact on ending this crisis.”

“We owe a sincere thank you to the advocates, doctors and prescribers, addicts in recovery, parents, legislators and everyone else who helped ensure these bills will provide a realistic, long-term solution to end the heroin crisis,” added Bradley.

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For Immediate Release:

June 21, 2016

Concord, NH – Today, three bills were signed as part of a package of Senate sponsored legislation to reduce the cost of doing business in New Hampshire, including SB 239, SB 342 and HB 1656.

“These three bills are part of our comprehensive goal to reduce the burdens small businesses face, reducing business taxes, energy costs, high workers’ compensation and healthcare costs in our state,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R- Wolfeboro). “It has long been one of the Senate’s top priorities to create a strong environment to run a small business and create jobs in the State of New Hampshire. I am pleased to see three bills become law which will encourage our local small businesses to grow and expand in the state, removing restrictions on increasing capital or changing the organization of a business to become more competitive.”

“With SB 239 becoming law, New Hampshire’s tax code will be aligned with the Federal Internal Revenue Code and will increase the capital expense deduction for small businesses from $25,000 to $100,000. These changes will encourage small business owners to invest in their companies by incentivizing the purchase of new equipment, helping small businesses to grow and thrive,” said Bradley.“In addition to reducing the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax in the FY 16-17 budget, we have made great progress in restoring the New Hampshire advantage, and as a result have seen increased job growth. Since January 8,500 more of our friends and neighbors have found employment, nearly double the number who found work in all of 2015 combined. I look forward to building on this effort and making New Hampshire even more competitive for small business in years to come.”

“I applaud the signing of SB 342 into law, which allows businesses to grow or change their businesses’ structure or organization without being subjected to an unfair tax penalty,” said Senator David Boutin (R-Hooksett), a co-sponsor of the bill. “Removing this ‘start-up’ tax shows prospective businesses that New Hampshire is supportive of innovative companies and their need to expand over time. This change will make New Hampshire an even more attractive place for entrepreneurs with big ideas to start their businesses.”

“Business owners, especially in their infancy, may purchase things like real estate in their personal names, and later on realize that there may be a justifiable reason to transfer that building into an LLC or other entity. Before passage of this bill, HB 1656, the State would charge a Real Estate Transfer Tax on the transaction, even though there was no actual change of ownership,” said Senator Andy Sanborn (R-Bedford). “Passage of this Bill will allow New Hampshire businesses to make reasonable organizational changes without fear of significant, inappropriate taxes being assessed, in what is clearly not a sale, but just a transfer from one entity to another entity where the ownership remains the same.”

“I am pleased to see this legislation become law because this recent interpretation of the Real Estate Transfer tax has made New Hampshire business owners refrain from expanding their business or creating jobs. I am thankful for my Senate colleagues support on this small step that will have a big impact on growing New Hampshire’s economy and making our state a better place to do business,” said Sanborn.

Concord, NH – Today, the Senate unanimously passed HB 1000, a bill that would extend the Granite Hammer program and drug interdiction efforts in New Hampshire.

“I am pleased that today, House and Senate members came together in a bipartisan way to do what’s right for the State of New Hampshire, voting to pass a bill allowing the successful Granite Hammer program to continue taking heroin dealers off of ours streets,” said Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro). “Granite Hammer, initiated by Manchester and State Police officers, has been extremely effective in removing deadly drugs from our communities, taking more than 25,000 doses of heroin off the streets in just a handful of operations. While we can’t be sure how many lives have been saved by the efforts of dedicated law enforcement as part of Granite Hammer and drug interdiction programs, we know that continuing and expanding this effort is the right thing to do. I appreciate how the Legislature worked together today, thinking first and foremost about people who are struggling with substance abuse.”

“We realize that none of the steps we’ve taken will alone end this crisis, however we believe that with each step we’ve taken, we are building a comprehensive approach to alleviate this crisis facing our communities,” said Bradley. “We’ve expedited this legislation to reach the Governor’s desk today and hope that she will sign this bill into law as soon as possible.”

“As the original sponsor of this legislation to continue the Granite Hammer program in our communities across the State, I am pleased to see it pass both bodies today,” said Senator Jeanie Forrester (R- Meredith). “We’ve made significant progress in finding solutions to curb the substance abuse crisis in New Hampshire, passing strong legislation aimed at prevention, treatment and recovery. This legislation specifically addresses the need to strengthen the ability for law enforcement across the state to eliminate drug dealers, effectively reducing the deadly supply of heroin and fentanyl making its way into the hands of our citizens. We’ve seen impressive results thus far and I look forward to seeing Granite Hammer’s continued success.”

“As a Senator representing Nashua, one of the larger cities in New Hampshire that has been dealing with the heroin crisis, I am especially pleased to see the legislation expanding the Granite Hammer program pass both the House and Senate today,” said Senator Kevin Avard (R-Nashua). “This program brings more law enforcement officers into our communities to target drug dealers has proven to be extremely successful in a short amount of time. By increasing our efforts to target illicit drug activity, we effectively limit the supply of deadly substances on our streets, and we will continue to work towards ending this crisis once and for all.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 15, 2016