NH Senate Finance - One of the Worst Hearings Ever

The NH House passed a budget for the state, and it crossed over to the Senate where it's currently being  examined and probably rewritten. The NH Senate seems bent on undoing all of the positive work done in the House this year. As part of the process, the Senate Finance Commitee held what was supposed to be a four hour hearing on the budget on May 9, in Representative's Hall. This was a chance for members of the public, various agencies, and special interest groups to weigh in on the needs of the state. 

The hearing lasted for 6 hours. Committee Chair Chuck Morse announced at the beginning: "We don't limit testimony" and he went on to do just that. At large House hearings, generally the committee chair will give each person a three minute limit for testimony, and often the chairs are quite dogmatic about keeping on topic. 

This committee was not bound by any such considerations, and as such, there were all manner of hijinks. There was at least one piece of performance testimony, with a dramatic rant delivered by a fellow calling himself "Adam Sutler." (Adam Sutler was a character in V for Vendetta.) Given the number of Free State Project members in the room for the hearing, it's quite possible that the Sutler character was one of them. Another performance piece apparently took place after I left, with a speech from the movie Demolition Man. 

 State Representative Barbara French rose to speak on behalf of Family Resource Centers, and presented a bloc of fellow speakers as a fait accompli. The testimony of the combined group lasted for over 30 minutes. A state rep should know better than this, especially given the hundreds of people who were there to testify. The first 2 speakers each testified for 10 minutes apiece. It wasn't the worst run hearing I've ever been to at the NH legislature, but it was in the top 3. 

One of the first two speakers was Greg Moore of the NH outlet of Americans for Prosperity - the right wing group founded by the Koch brothers in 2004. He spoke for 10 minutes, and one certainly wonders why this lobbyist was given such a plum speaking time slot. Moore (who worked for Speaker O'Brien during the last biennium) was there to speak in opposition to the entire budget. He has the sads about business taxes, but then went into a rantlet about fee increases. NH is apparently supposed to run on the prayers of magic unicorns, and require no actual money to be raised or spent. Mr. Moore is also very opposed to the proposed Medicaid expansion. It seems that people who get Medicaid actually use the health care system. This is heady stuff - people who have access to health care actually USE IT. Oh, and that's a BAD THING. 

Folks were present to speak in support of all manner of programs. Two staffers from Granite State Independent Living testified about how the personal care attendant program enables them to be out in the community, working, and having an independent life. 

There were people who urged the committee to increase funding to our state's nursing homes. Some recovering substance abusers from New Futures spoke about the need to fund treatment in NH. 

NH Judge Edward Gordon spoke about the need to properly fund the state's Intervention Fund, created in 2001, and administered by the Governor's Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse. It was supposed to be funded with 5% of the gross profits from the State Liquor Commission. Since 2003, the law has been suspended, and the fund has been raided for other uses. The 2012-2013 budget provided for a paltry $3.2 million for two years. If the fund had actually gotten the 5%, it would have received $18.3 million. Judge Gordon said, "If we're going to aggressively market alcohol as a state, we should be prepared to address the consequences." In speaking of his own years in court, he said, "alcohol flowed through my courtroom like a river." 

Maggie Fogarty of the American Friends Service Committee testified about the good work done by NH Legal Assistance, and how they need to be better funded. 

People spoke on behalf of funding domestic violence programs, affordable housing programs, and fully funding the state's Developmental Disability wait list. One of the great shames of our state is that we have a waiting list for DD services. 

Parents brought their children who have developmental disabilities to the hearing. They sobbed as they spoke about their fears for these children. Some of us wept as we listened.

This is a terrible process, that people have to come and share their private business with the public, and  plead for the kinds of help that they need. Surely as a state we can do better than this? 

Still, as shameful as that process is, it is far more shameful that some cult members would have so little respect for members of the public that they would turn it into mockery theater.