On a special NH Journal podcast, House Speaker Sherman Packard and Majority Leader Jason Osborne discussed the state budget, including spending cuts, ending the interest and dividends tax, executive power reform and restricting the use of Critical Race Theory. NH Journal reports the two leaders described how they moved from an early-session impasse to a budget some Republicans called the most conservative ever.
On this special edition of the NHJournal podcast, New Hampshire Speaker of the House Sherman Packard (R-Londonderry) and Majority Leader Jason Osborne (R-Auburn) give an insider’s analysis of the state budget
NH Journal
NH Journal lists the topics the leaders covered during the conversation.
— Real spending cuts — Ending the interest and dividends tax — Executive Power reform — Restricting the use of Critical Race Theory
NH Journal
The episode also traced the path the House took through a turbulent session.
Plus, the two House leaders talk about the process they used to get from a session in early disarray to a budget some Republicans describe as the most conservative ever.
NH Journal
The podcast was hosted by NH Journal’s Michael Graham, with a guest from a state policy center, as the outlet notes.
Hosted by Michael Graham of NHJournal, with Drew Cline of the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy.
NH Journal
The two leaders walked through the budget’s major elements, from real spending cuts to the phase-out of the interest and dividends tax, and explained the reasoning behind each piece.
They also addressed executive power reform and the provision restricting the use of Critical Race Theory, NH Journal reports, describing how those items came together in the final package.
Much of the discussion focused on the process itself, with Packard and Osborne recounting how the House moved from early disarray to passage of a budget both characterized as among the most conservative in decades.
The conversation offered listeners a behind-the-scenes look at how leadership held its slim majority together through the session’s key turning points.
The full episode, including the leaders’ analysis of each provision, is available from NH Journal.
The leaders reflected on how the caucus regrouped after a difficult opening to the session.
They described the budget as the result of months of negotiation across both chambers.
Listeners heard how leadership weighed competing demands within its own ranks.
The discussion closed with both leaders pointing to the final product as a culmination of long-standing goals.
The episode walked through the interest and dividends tax phase-out among other items.
It also covered executive power reform and the provision on Critical Race Theory.
The conversation offered a behind-the-scenes look at the session’s turning points, NH Journal reports.
Both leaders framed the result as among the most conservative budgets in recent memory.
The episode rounded out the outlet’s coverage of the budget’s passage with the leaders’ own account.
The hosts pressed the leaders on how real the spending reductions were.
Osborne and Packard fielded questions on each of the budget’s headline items.
The episode underscored the role leadership played in steering the package to passage.
It capped a session the leaders said began in disarray and ended in a major win.
Read the full story at NH Journal.
