State Sen. Jim Gray is working for a better New Hampshire

District 6 State Sen. Jim Gray (Rochester Voice file photo)

Sen. Jim Gray does his homework and gets results. Over the past six months, Jim has been one of the most tireless and effective lawmakers at the State House, and we could not have crafted a conservative, fiscally responsible budget for New Hampshire without him. This final budget we've delivered keeps the promises we made to manage our state's finances, boost our economy, and meet the needs of the Granite State's most vulnerable populations.

Sen. Gray has always been a champion for Granite State taxpayers. Because of his efforts over the past several years, New Hampshire's economy is among the strongest in the country. In fact, our state's unemployment rate is now lower than when the COVID-19 pandemic began. This budget cuts taxes on New Hampshire employers, reducing the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax, and increasing the threshold for filing the BET to $250,000. That will provide immediate relief to New Hampshire's small businesses and help create more high paying jobs for our friends and neighbors.

We also phase out the Interest and Dividends Tax on savings and retirement income, helping our seniors. We protect Main Street businesses who received loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program from an unexpected tax bill and lower the Meals and Rooms Tax for the first time in decades to give a boost to our travel and tourism industry.

This budget provides relief to property taxpayers at every level. We send back $100 million under the Statewide Property Tax. We also share $188 million in Meals and Rooms Tax revenue with cities and towns, an increase of $50.5 million over the last budget, and for the first time protect that revenue sharing with a dedicated fund. We also increase funding for county nursing homes by $29.1 million, providing relief on the county portion of your property tax bill.

We promised to address education funding, and we delivered. The COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for our schools. Because enrollments were down last fall, our school funding formulas would have provided less funding for districts next year. We promised that this would not happen, and we delivered. We have fixed the funding formulas and protected $67 million in state aid going to our local schools.

This budget also provides $30 million in building aid for new school construction projects, and $35 million under the Relief Funding Plan targeted to school districts with the most pressing fiscal need. Overall, this budget increases education funding by $102 million over current law for a total of $2.2 billion.

Jim has long supported giving New Hampshire families more control over their children's education, and this budget expands school choice through Education Savings Accounts for low-income New Hampshire families who need more choices for their children's education. School choice helps students who need options to fulfill their educational opportunities.

We promised to protect our most vulnerable, and we delivered. This budget increases support for programs addressing mental health and substance misuse, including funding for a new forensic psychiatric hospital, additional transitional beds to tackle the emergency room boarding crisis, and full funding of the Developmentally Disabled Waitlist. We also set aside $3 million to help seniors and veterans recover from the social isolation caused by the pandemic.

In the Capital Budget funding our state's infrastructure and construction projects, Jim fought for funding for the new Rochester Circuit Courthouse. The final package includes $1.16 million for that project's initial engineering once a suitable site has been chosen.

Outside of the budget, Jim did an amazing job chairing the Senate Election Law Committee. He worked across the aisle to improve the way local election officials process absentee ballots, improved local election administration, and helped build confidence in the integrity of New Hampshire elections.

Sen. Jim Gray is an invaluable member of the New Hampshire Senate. The people of District 6 should be proud of the work he's doing on their behalf. We certainly could not deliver on our promises without his quiet, steady leadership.

Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) is Senate President. Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) is Senate Majority Leader.