Priorities for the NH Legislature

this business. I’m FRED KOLKER. The New Hampshire Legislature is at the state capitol and New Hampshire is back in the town of Concord. Businesses are looking at what legislation will hurt or damage or strengthen New Hampshire businesses. There’s a particular player at the state capitol right now that’s eyeing the bills. This is the New Hampshire Business Industry Association. Their priorities in this legislation, workforce availability, housing affordability and accessibility. energy costs. Medicaid expansion and business. Supervision. climate. Top two priorities. labor and housing. That quote was quoted by the CEO of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors earlier this month. right here. BOB Quinn, CEO of the New Hampshire Association of Realtors, said lawmakers are finally acknowledging that lack of inventory is a drag on the state’s economy. Businesses can’t find workers who can’t find housing, he said. Join me in discussing business priorities in TWIN and 23 legislation The Legislature is the President and CEO of the New Hampshire Association of Business and Industry. Buyer, Michael Scott. Welcome, Mike. thanks. Nice to have you here. It’s a pleasure to be here. I’m assuming you agree with BOB Quinn on the housing and workforce issues. Absolutely. In the hundreds of conversations I’ve had with members and businesses across the state, the number one challenge they want to talk about is the workforce. Labor availability. And they immediately identified housing as one of the root causes of workforce challenges. And one of the main reasons we’re interested in working with the legislature to develop housing policy and address this issue. what do you want to see? Well, I think there have been some policies that have been put in place over the last few years that I think have started to create some momentum going forward. There is bipartisan agreement that we need to do more on housing, and it has been encouraging to see that the House has created its own select committee to study housing, which is really a big step forward. A housing bill will be introduced this year that will allow communities that want to move forward and do more to recognize workforce housing. Some motivation for doing so. So we look forward to that bill. We think it’s a big step forward. OK vitality. It’s just a comment I’ve heard from businesses and individuals. It is energy costs that cause people to spend less. Retailers and small businesses are considering closing their doors. What do you see? How is the Legislature tackling energy issues this year? Clearly, this is an issue over which they actually have little control. It’s tough because we’re part of the regional energy market, so there’s only so much we can do in our state to fix this. But we can take some substantial steps. I think the legislature is moving in that direction. The first is siting reform. When we want to build a new energy facility, whether it’s a wind farm or a solar array or some other type of energy, creating technology, we need to be able to sit it right and build it. And legislation is being introduced to help do this in a more timely and transparent manner. We think it’s important. Medicaid expansion. One of your priorities with this act is to have you be cared for in the same way as a CAMP Advocate, but for different reasons. It’s really a labor issue. And, you know, if we don’t report the rise, Medicaid, 60,000 people in the Granite State will lose their health insurance. And the cost of providing uncompensated care would be shifted to the employer community, and we would lose $500 billion in federal resources that would go to our states. Over there. I think it’s something that needs to be done to be widely recognized in the healthcare hospital sector and in the business world. Finally, the business regulatory environment, what are you looking at in that space? Well, dozens of bills affecting HR are introduced every year. Employer-employee relationships, many of which are intentional. They are not always well structured. They can have unintended effects. And our role in engaging and trying to educate legislators and trying to provide information on the possible impact. I think we have a very good regulatory environment right now. The state is on a good trajectory, and I don’t think our message to the Legislature will do any harm, let’s focus on addressing workforce housing and energy. If we fix the problems in these areas, it will keep our economy growing. This is the first time in 29 years I’ve done this show that Texas isn’t on your list. Just leave a comment. Well, it’s because they fell. They fell. I think that reflects why, you know, we focus on what we hear directly from our members. Now, it’s workforce housing, child care. You know, some of these issues have really affected their day-to-day operations. Taxes are always important. I think the state has done a good job of gradually reducing sales taxes over the past few years. We want to see them stay there. MICHAEL SCOTT becomes President, responsible for the creation of businesses and industries in New Hampshire. Thank you. Thanks for that. If you want to see some of them again, you can go to WMUR

NH Business: Priorities for the NH Legislature

Host Fred Kocher joins Michael Skelton on New Hampshire’s business priorities

Updated: Jan. 22, 2023 8:28 AM ET

Fred Kocher, New Hampshire Business Host

The New Hampshire legislature is back at the state capitol in Concord, with many scrutinizing legislation that could hurt or boost New Hampshire businesses. With that in mind, the New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry has now laid out a list of priorities they want addressed in the state legislature. On the latest episode of NH Business, host Fred Kocher joins President and CEO Michael Skelton with the New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry to learn about New Hampshire’s business priorities.

Manchester, New Hampshire —

The New Hampshire legislature is back at the state capitol in Concord, with many scrutinizing legislation that could hurt or boost New Hampshire businesses. With that in mind, the New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry has now laid out a list of priorities they want addressed in the state legislature.

On the latest episode of NH Business, host Fred Kocher joins Michael Skelton, president and CEO of the NH Chamber of Commerce and Industry, to discuss New Hampshire’s business priorities.