The Democratic led House has killed a proposal to turn over a portion of the State's budget surplus to the rainy day fund. Joshua Elliott-Traficante at the Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy summarizes:
The current FY14-15 budget spends $30.5 million more on Health and Human Services than the House Budget proposed, when Uncompensated Care is removed. Revenue projections for the Medicaid Enhancement Tax (MET), which funds Uncompensated Care, were revised downwards in the Enacted Budget on the advice of HHS. Taking into account all back of the budget reductions, the Enacted Budget spends nearly $23.5 million more over the biennium than the House Budget in General Funds.
The last budget created a surplus of $72 million dollars. $57 million was spent in the current budget and legislators are now debating what to do with the remaining $15.3 million. The Senate position is to place the entire sum into the Rainy Day Fund, which currently stands at $9.3 million. The House has passed measures that would spend $7 million to restore reductions made in the Health and Human Services Budget, while placing the remaining balance in the rainy day fund.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Walter Havenstein panned the move:
I commend Senate Republicans for their responsible attitude and for refusing to authorize spending based on this money. They are making tough choices while the Governor is failing to lead. This is yet another missed opportunity to put New Hampshire back on track to good fiscal health. It's another missed opportunity by Maggie Hassan to show leadership on the economy. We need a fiscally responsible leader in the Corner Office. That's why I'm running for Governor.
Republican Senate Finance Chair Jeanie Forrester also frowned at the move:
Our Rainy Day Fund balance is more than $130 million below the minimum level deemed adequate by bond rating agencies, and the fund balance currently stands at its lowest level in 22 years. The House’s continued refusal to take the practical step of transferring the prior year’s surplus into the fund ignores the advice of our State Treasurer, is detrimental to the fiscal health of our state, and does a disservice to our taxpayers.