Building a More Affordable New Hampshire

 

Right now New Hampshire families are being pinched from all sides. They’re dealing with energy bills that have doubled, housing costs that have skyrocketed, rising property taxes, the lack of affordable child care, and higher costs every time they go to the store. We need to work to lower costs today, but also work to protect New Hampshire from future price surges by producing more of the goods and services we need here in New Hampshire. Whether that’s producing more energy here in New Hampshire or growing more food close to home, there’s more we can do to lower costs, support Granite State businesses, and give people the freedom to produce more in New Hampshire. 

  

Boost American-Made Products: Dr. Sherman was proud to sponsor the law that adds “Buy American” provisions to state construction projects in order to support New Hampshire steel fabricators. When we purchase from New Hampshire manufacturers, that money then gets spent at local stores and restaurants and lifts our entire economy. And the last few years have shown that we need to be less reliant on foreign goods. By supporting American manufacturing, we help protect our domestic supply chain and keep prices more stable.

  • Policy Proposal:
      • Review state purchasing and contracting regulations for places where it could better support existing New Hampshire and U.S.-based manufacturers
      • Double funding for the Small Business Development Center so they can expand capacity to help grow businesses here
      • Waive the first two years of business taxes for new manufacturing businesses

 

Lower Property Taxes & the Cost of Housing: One of the biggest monthly costs for Granite Staters is their housing, and it’s a significant barrier to growing our workforce. We need to increase our housing supply across the board and send more money back to cities and towns so they can lower property taxes. We’ve run an annual surplus for years. We don’t need an income tax or a sales tax to do this, we just need to stop giving tax breaks to out-of-state corporations at the expense of Granite Staters. And for people struggling with housing insecurity, providing more stable housing can help connect them with a multitude of opportunities.

  • Policy Proposal:
      • Fulfill the state’s obligation to give more money back to cities and towns so they can lower property taxes
      • Restoring our communities through the Building New Hampshire Values plan
      • Eliminate source of income discrimination for housing
      • Increase per-night shelter reimbursement so shelters will have greater capacity to connect people to services and the workforce

 

Expand American Energy: Energy bills for Granite Staters are skyrocketing because of the state’s over-reliance on natural gas. New Hampshire needs to take control of its own energy future by producing more energy here at home. There have been multiple bipartisan measures to do so over the years, but Chris Sununu has vetoed them. It’s time to reduce red tape and declare New Hampshire open for clean energy business to attract good-paying jobs and private-sector investment..

  • Policy Proposal:
      • Remove regulatory barriers so people have the freedom to expand their energy options and lower costs
      • Increase funding for low-income energy efficiency programs
      • Expedite offshore wind production

 

Raise Wages: When Granite Staters have more money in their pockets, they invest that money back in New Hampshire businesses and restaurants. It’s time to finally raise the minimum wage and create a state prevailing wage law – cost overruns resulting from worker shortages end up costing businesses more in the long run than just investing in highly-skilled workers in the first place.

  • Policy Proposal:
      • Phase in an increase to a $15 minimum wage
      • Create a state prevailing wage law
      • Stand up for the right to collectively bargain

 

Improve Access to Childcare: In New Hampshire, childcare can cost $1,000 a month, an amount that is unaffordable for many families. And in part because of a lack of childcare workers, there are thousands of families on waiting lists for affordable childcare spots. That’s thousands of parents waiting to go back to work if we incentivize more childcare options.

  • Policy Proposal:
      • Restoring pipeline programs in our public schools to encourage students to study early childhood education
      • Tuition-free early childhood degrees at state community colleges for students who will commit to working in New Hampshire for five years
      • Tax breaks for companies that provide childcare
      • Perform a regulatory audit for any unnecessary regulations adding to the cost of providing childcare

 

 

Cut Barriers for New Hampshire Farmers: The past few years have made clear that we need to produce more products closer to home – and that includes the food we eat. Right now there are regulatory barriers to expanding output for local farmers, including a shortage of facilities and individuals trained to process meat. We should give people more freedom to grow food right here in New Hampshire. 

  • Policy Proposal:
      • Promote more locally grown & consumed food
      • Common-sense regulations that seek to minimize red-tape for producers while helping to ensure food safety, environmental protection,  and consumer confidence in local food production
      • Restore the state’s USDA National Organic Program certification for farm producers
      • Increase capacity for animal processing in New Hampshire
      • Drought & natural disaster resilience for New Hampshire farmers