House Majority Leader Jason Osborne led a press conference unveiling a 10-point “Contract with New Hampshire” agenda that House Republicans pledged to pursue if voters kept them in the majority, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader. The plan called for cutting taxes and lowering everyday household costs while leaving the state’s existing abortion law in place.
House Republicans unveiled a 10-point, “Contract with New Hampshire” agenda Monday that included cutting taxes and lowering energy, health care and child care prices while protecting the state restrictions on legal abortions.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
Osborne framed the platform around expanding personal freedom and limiting the reach of government, as the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. He said his colleagues would deliver on the platform if voters retained a GOP edge in the 400-person chamber, which Republicans had held by the slimmest of margins in recent years.
Speaking at the Legislative Office Building, Osborne summed up the message this way: “Real freedom is about trusting you, not government, to make the best decisions about your life,” Osborne said at a press conference in the Legislative Office Building.
House leaders also pointed to tax relief already on the way for Granite Staters, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported. House Majority Floor Leader Joe Sweeney said one tax cut the group would back is lowering the communications services tax that appears on monthly cell phone bills, while another priority was already set to take effect.
Starting Jan. 1, the state’s tax on interest and dividends will be fully repealed, a top priority of House GOP leaders in 2023.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
House Speaker Sherman Packard underscored the state’s character, telling the New Hampshire Union Leader that “New Hampshire has always been a place where freedom, hard work and community spirit drive us forward.”
On abortion, Packard said there was no reason to change the 2021 law that bans the procedure after 24 weeks except in cases of a health emergency or a fatal fetal anomaly. He cautioned voters about the coming campaign.
“Throughout this election you will hear repeated lies from our opponents about New Hampshire’s abortion laws,” Packard said.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
The agenda also covered bail reform, with House Republicans backing changes to deny no-cash release to those accused of violent offenses, and a long-sought parental rights measure that would require parents be told about conversations their children have with school officials on topics such as gender identity. Two weeks earlier, House Democratic Leader Matt Wilhelm had outlined his party’s competing Freedom and Affordability agenda, which called for tighter eligibility standards for the Education Freedom Account program and enshrining an abortion right in state law.
House leaders also drew a contrast with their Democratic counterparts, who had rolled out a competing platform two weeks earlier. Party Chairman Ray Buckley pushed back on the GOP agenda, arguing Republicans could not be trusted on abortion and other priorities, and pointing to past votes as evidence.
“House Republicans want to ban abortion at (six) weeks — which they’ve tried to do twice now — raise property taxes, and focus on weird, fringe issues that do nothing to help New Hampshire families get ahead,” Buckley said.
the New Hampshire Union Leader
In 2022, voters had handed Republicans the slimmest House majority in 150 years, a margin that left bills swinging week to week on attendance alone. The “Contract with New Hampshire” was pitched as the platform the caucus would deliver if voters renewed that majority in the fall.
Read the full story at the New Hampshire Union Leader.
