On Tuesday Governor Sununu announced the formation of the Governor’s Economic Re-Opening Task Force. The task force will develop a plan and oversee the state and private-sector actions needed to reopen the economy while minimizing the adverse impact on public health. The Governor said “Today’s announcement does not mean we are flipping a switch and opening things tomorrow but is rather a proactive approach enabling us to plan for the re-opening of our economy from a public health standpoint.”
The task force is comprised of 19 members including eight legislators, private-sector leaders and state officials. The first remote meeting of the task force took place on Wednesday and will be meeting every day over the next few weeks.
New Hampshire’s stay-at-home order expires May 4. The Governor has said they are looking at different options including changes to the order based on “geography and demographics.” He is expected to make a decision next week about extending the order. Yesterday, he said “the data is not supporting pulling back on too much right now.”
The House Speaker made the determination that a quorum of a committee can include a quorum of a committee meeting virtually. If a committee utilizes the electronic meeting capabilities then a telephonic option has to be available (so the meeting is open to the public). The Speaker said the ruling was temporary and only intended to allow for committees to meet in executive session on second committee bills previously scheduled. He also stated that committees can only consider amendments that are germane. Lastly, the Speaker stated that they are continuing to figure out how the legislature can continue its work.
As a result, the House Finance Committee has scheduled an executive session for next week which will be conducted utilizing a zoom webinar system. Other committees are expected to do the same in the coming weeks.
It is very likely that the Senate will be taking a similar approach to bills that were due to be taken up in executive session.
This week a judge dismissed the lawsuit brought forward by Democratic leaders challenging Governor Sununu’s right to spend federal COVID-19 money without legislative permission. He ruled that the lawmakers lacked legal standing.
The partisan battles continued this week when the Joint Legislative Fiscal Committee voted along party lines to reverse $26 million the Department of Health and Human Services had transferred from various programs in the state budget to pay COVID-19 related spending. The Governor had said that these transfers were a cash flow move that was temporary and would be replaced with the CARES act federal money.
The Governor also said this week that the Coronavirus epidemic will severely impact the state budget. He said “The level of budget impact that the state will see between now and the end of June is probably on the order of a couple hundred million dollars. And then from June of this year to next year, you could be looking at 250 to 500 million more dollars.” The Governor said this will result in massive budget cuts.
However the Democrats believe the revenue losses could be bolstered by using the federal stimulus dollars. The Governor has said this is illegal and prohibited by federal law.
Last year a $13.1 billion budget was passed, jumping from $12 billion in the previous budget. Because of that large increase the Governor believes there is room to make spending cuts.
We will continue to keep you updated, but if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.