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Jan. 10: Gov. Hassan takes oath for second term
Gov. Maggie Hassan began her second two-year term on Thursday with the oath of office and an inaugural speech that staked out her political agenda to include the minimum wage, commuter rail and Medicaid expansion.
New Hampshire Chief Justice Linda S. Dalianis administered the oath to the Exeter Democrat.
Hassan told the gathering that no one political party has all the answers to the challenges that face the Granite State.
“At every step of the way, we must ask ourselves how can we reach the middle ground that fuses our individual ideas into something greater, something that will strengthen the economic future of all of our people?” she said. “How can we find new solutions and approaches, the ones that nobody has thought of yet?”
See the entirety of her address here.
The meat of the next two years of the Hassan agenda will be in the budget that she’ll present to lawmakers in February.
What she offered this week in her inaugural address were the broader progressive goals of creating a minimum wage law in the Granite State, extending commuter rail from Boston into New Hampshire, and making sure that the Medicaid expansion law remains intact.
The state has no minimum wage law, so it defaults to the current federal minimum of $7.25 per hour.
“Increasing the minimum wage will have a ripple effect on wages higher up the pay scale, while supporting businesses and encouraging job creation by putting more money in the pockets of consumers so that they can buy goods and services. It is long past time that we take this critical step forward for our economy,” she said.
She wants to see commuter rail to Boston available not only to Nashua but to the Manchester area as well.
“Rail brings with it improved access to the entire region, and can provide new transportation and housing opportunities, the kind of opportunities that 21st-century workers and families are looking for,” she said. “Our business community understands the many benefits of commuter rail, and that is why they are calling on us to act.”
The compromise legislation that expanded Medicare ends at the end of 2016 if the Legislature doesn't reauthorize it. “As we plan for the future of healthcare in our state, we must do so with the commitment that our responsibility to our people, to our businesses, and to our economy cannot sunset,” she said.
See a Concord Monitor story on the address here.
The governor’s progressive goals are likely to get some pushback from Republicans, who control both the N.H. House and Senate.
The question is whether House Republicans have control of themselves with deep political division within the ranks still on display this week.
It all surrounds the failure of state Rep. Bill O’Brien, R-Mont Vernon, to regain the role of House speaker once the GOP regained control of the House. He was selected by the Republican caucus, but lost in a House vote to Rep. Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson.
Now the dispute centers around the majority leader. Jasper has chosen his own leadership team, but a lot of House Republicans (and members of the NH GOP) believe that O’Brien should be the majority leader. There’s even talk that O’Brien will set up his alternative leadership team in an office across the street from the State House.
See an NHPR story here.
Also in the news
One of the first acts of the newly organized New Hampshire House was to allow concealed guns back into the chambers and gallery. Whether someone can carry a gun into the House has become a symbol of the party in power. The GOP was in the majority in 2011 and 2012 and voted to allow guns. Democrats banned the practice in 2013 when it took the majority. Now with the Republicans in charge again, guns will be allowed in 2015 and 2016.
Residents of the Monadnock Region community of Richmond took their concerns about a natural gas pipeline to U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH). She held a town hall meeting this week and residents packed into the hall. “I think it’s important to be bipartisan on this and make sure you get a full, transparent review.” she told the crowd. Texas-based Kinder Morgan wants to construct approximately 70 miles of pipeline through southern New Hampshire. About 90 percent of the project would be along an existing power line corridor. See a Union Leader story here.
The issue of the pipeline and the use of eminent domain is the subject of one of the discussions over on our Facebook page. Join the discussion.
Live Free or Die Alliance
www.livefreeordiealliance.org
Source: http://townhall.livefreeordiealliance.org/xn/detail/4091641:BlogPost:68646
