House Majority Leader Jason Osborne and Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm negotiated a compromise that allowed a closely divided House to pass the state budget, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. The deal added $61 million in spending for housing, health care and education.
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne, R-Auburn, and House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm, D-Manchester, offered the proposals, which they had privately negotiated
the New Hampshire Union Leader
Osborne explained the give-and-take behind the agreement, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader that the budget reflected a trade-off on school choice spending.
Osborne said it was “only fair” that House GOP leaders agreed to reduce by $20 million planned spending on Education Freedom Accounts, because the House last month initially approved a bill to limit the program in the future.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The compromise drew broad support on the floor, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. Wilhelm commended GOP leaders for meeting his colleagues halfway, referring to Osborne as “my great friend.”
“This amendment does so much to improve the budget and deliver on key priorities,” Wilhelm said, calling Osborne “my great friend.”
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The House endorsed the negotiated amendment by a wide margin, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
The House endorsed the Osborne-Wilhelm amendment , 328-63, as part of the trailer bill (HB 2) that makes necessary changes in law for the state budget.
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Conservatives such as Rep. J.R. Hoell objected to the overall spending increase and tried to cut the budget, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported.
“In my household we don’t choose to spend more than we take in because that leads to things like bankruptcy that is not good fiscal policy,” Hoell said, calling the spending plan “irresponsible.”
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House Finance Committee Chairman Ken Weyler defended the higher spending as a response to inflation and a workforce shortage, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader “It’s not an increase I would like to see, but it’s reality.” As the article reported, all 193 House Democrats backed the plan while the GOP split 134-63, and the House rejected Hoell’s bid to cut the budget 300-72 before sending it to the Senate. The amendment also raised the Affordable Housing Fund allotment from $15 million to $30 million and trimmed planned EFA spending from $60 million to $40 million over two years.
Gov. Chris Sununu, whose own proposal the House budget had largely set aside, kept his focus on the road ahead. He cast the vote as an early step in a longer negotiation with the Senate.
“Today’s vote was just one step in a long process,” Sununu said in a statement.
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The negotiated amendment trimmed planned EFA spending from $60 million to $40 million over two years while raising the Affordable Housing Fund allotment from $15 million to $30 million. The House had set aside several of Sununu’s own priorities, including funding for a new men’s prison and added school construction aid.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
