January, 2021 – Op-Ed by Senate President

Friends,

In case you missed it, this weekend the Union Leader published an Op-Ed by Senate President Chuck Morse and Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley discussing the Republican “Rebuilding a Stronger New Hampshire” 2021 Action Plan!

Read the Op-Ed below and check out our full 2021 Action Plan here!

Thank you,

The NH Senate Republicans

Chuck Morse and Jeb Bradley: Agenda for 2021 is rebuilding a strong NH

Jan 24, 2021

2020 was an incredibly difficult year for all New Hampshire residents. We are blessed to have had so many people from all over our state step up in these challenging times to care for their friends and neighbors, to protect the public health and keep our economy largely open.

Under Governor Chris Sununu’s able and consistent leadership, state government responded to the crisis of the pandemic and will continue to do so. As we prepare for the 2021 legislative session in the Senate, which is now under Republican leadership, we look forward to continuing to work with the governor as well as our Democratic colleagues.

Keeping New Hampshire residents safe and healthy must remain our top priority until the pandemic has abated. We support the governor’s efforts to build a comprehensive testing network, assure supplies of protective gear and hospital capacity and now ramp up distribution of vaccines. We also recognize each of us has a responsibility to protect the health of our neighbors by wearing masks and socially distancing. Lastly we will continue to work with the governor to ensure distribution of federal stimulus funds to hard hit businesses and employees.

While New Hampshire’s unemployment has dropped significantly, many people and businesses are still struggling with financial stress caused by the pandemic. Now is not the time to raise taxes on hard-working men and women. Prior to the pandemic, lower business taxes and workers compensation cost had made our state more competitive. That needs to continue if we are going to get people back to work and grow our economy.

We also need to continue to reduce regulatory burdens and work for lower health care costs through associated health plans to also spur job creation.

We must always remember that New Hampshire’s lack of an income tax, sales tax and capital gains tax has not only protected hard-working taxpayers, it has also led to a better job climate than any state in the Northeast.

Creating a state budget that does not raise taxes while providing the resources to bipartisan priorities such as mental health and substance abuse prevention, child protection and education funding will be a key priority. Another priority will be continued assistance to property taxpayers through aid to municipalities and building upon the new resources in the past budget for education funding. We will further protect property taxpayers by rejecting the reintroduction of donor towns. The strong economy produced record revenues prior to the pandemic and restoring that economy must be a priority.

The pandemic has taught us a lot about education and the way children learn. Remote and hybrid learning has shown that education does not need to exist in a one-size-fits-all schoolhouse. We will give greater opportunities to all New Hampshire children and parents to choose the education that best fits the student. That means support for public charter schools, establishing Education Savings Accounts, providing adequacy funding for home-schooled students, targeted aid for special education students in small school districts, and grants for kindergarten.

New Hampshire is one of the safest states in the country and it is up to us to ensure that we remain that way. Police departments must have the resources they need to protect our communities. Our bail system must not allow repeat offenders to avoid prosecution and now allow release of violent offenders.

Other priorities include funding for clean water projects and wastewater projects, resources for affordable housing and homelessness, broadband deployment and a truly voluntary family leave plan not funded by an income tax.

While New Hampshire has thankfully escaped the controversy of other states’ election problems, we will build upon previous reforms such as voter ID to ensure that everyone with a right to vote in New Hampshire can in fact do so in a transparent and honest manner.

We have an opportunity to bring New Hampshire back from the pandemic in better shape than ever and that’s exactly what we plan to do. We approach this responsibility with humility but look forward to overcoming the challenges ahead and making a positive impact on the lives of Granite Staters.

Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) represents District 22. Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) represents District 3.