Capitol Insight: Weekly Legislative Update 3/31/25
The Senate met their crossover deadline this week and sent all their remaining bills over to the House of Representatives. The House met for two long days of work in order to finish their work on the budget before their crossover deadline on April 10th. It was a busy week in Concord and the budget process continues to be a focal point for legislators.
Feds Claw Back $80 Million from DHHS
On Monday afternoon, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) received notice from the federal government that they would be reclaiming $80 million in COVID money that was earmarked for public health initiatives. The funding was expected to be available until 2026, but the new administration decided to recoup unspent funds immediately. The late notice sent DHHS scrambling to determine how to preserve services that were expected to be funded with the money. The issue was discussed in depth at the Governor and Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, where the Governor insisted she will work with the Department to appropriately shift funds to meet this new challenge. Hundreds of millions of dollars are expected to be cut from the DHHS budget by the House prior to the proposal being considered by the Senate and will gain additional attention over the coming weeks.
Moving the State Primary
The debate to move the New Hampshire primary to an earlier date has reared its head again in the Legislature. Last session, House and Senate members could not agree on a change, leading to a return to the historic September date. Each chamber adopted bills this week that would move the primary to June, but they still have one major difference to hash out. The Senate version takes effect in January 2026. The House bill, on the other hand, has an effective date of 2027, delaying the first election impacted by two years. The House argued that moving the 2026 primary to June does not provide enough time for campaigns to plan for the date change in what is expected to be a crowded US Senate primary for Republicans and Democrats alike. The Secretary of
State continues to have concerns about a June primary, but any opposition to changing the September primary is much more muted this year. The House and Senate may still have their differences, but they are much closer to agreement than in years past.
No Room on the Table
In budget years, it is common practice for the Senate to pass spending bills, table them and then include the language into their proposal. With tight revenue numbers being projected, not everything will make it into the budget and the table is getting crowded. There is bipartisan agreement that more needs to be done to address affordable housing and there have been several bills that seek to speed up the process for building new homes, permitting accessory dwelling units and changing zoning laws to encourage more The Week in Concord residential construction. There is also a bill on the table that would increase the annual transfer of money from the real estate transfer tax to the affordable housing fund from $5 million to $10 million while making an additional $25 million appropriation. Clean drinking water continues to be a concern, particularly for the southern tier of the state, which has been negatively impacted by PFAS contamination. A tabled bill would appropriate nearly $29 million for the Southern New Hampshire Regional Water Project to provide an additional 2 million gallons of water per day to the communities impacted by PFAS contamination. There are plenty more bills on the table that would fund healthcare initiatives, wastewater projects and a whole host of other issues. The Senate will begin taking a closer look at them when the budget reaches their chamber and consideration of the proposal begins in earnest.
Week Ahead
The Senate will begin its post-crossover schedule and continue hearing as many House bills as possible in preparation for the budget’s arrival on April 11th. Meanwhile, although a few House committees will meet to consider second committee bills, the vast
majority of the heavy lifting will be done by the House Finance Committee. They will begin finalizing their version of the budget Monday to meet their final Thursday deadline. Neither body will meet in session this week.
About Rath, Young and Pignatelli
Capitol Insight is produced with the support of the Chamber’s government relations consultant: Rath, Young and Pignatelli (RYP). RYP merges traditional legal practice areas with legislative and public policy expertise. They have earned a reputation for achieving client success through skillful and creative advocacy in private party negotiations, before courts, regulatory agencies, and legislatures.
Their professionals are leaders in key sectors of the economy where business and government intersect including business and finance, energy, tax, health care, environmental, and insurance.
About The Greater Manchester Chamber
Incorporated in 1911, the Greater Manchester Chamber (GMC) is the largest business organization in New Hampshire, focusing its efforts primarily on Manchester and the surrounding communities of Auburn, Bedford, Candia, Derry, Goffstown, Hooksett, Litchfield, Londonderry, and Merrimack. It is the Chamber’s mission to bring together business and community to enhance economic success and quality of life in our region. For more information visit www.manchester-chamber.org.
