New Hampshire
Ayotte uses inaugural speech to praise NH, offer warnings
Gov. Kelly Ayotte used her first speech as New Hampshire’s 83rd chief executive Thursday to call for “common-sense cooperation” as the state tackles issues ranging from housing, to education, to the state budget.
In her roughly 45-minute long inaugural address, Ayotte simultaneously lauded New Hampshire as a model for the rest of the nation, but warned that pressing concerns — financial and otherwise — would require policymakers to make difficult decisions in the coming months.
You can watch Ayotte’s full inauguration speech here.
“I could not be more optimistic about our future, but at the same time we have real challenges that we have to take head on, if we want to keep our state moving in the right direction,” Ayotte told a crowd in the State House’s Representatives Hall that included current lawmakers and state officials, as well as several former governors, congressmen, and other political veterans.
“Whenever we talk about cuts, just like a family making hard decisions, there are things we can’t skimp on: protecting our most vulnerable and serving those most in need.”
Gov. Kelly Ayotte, forecasting upcoming state budget negotiations
Ayotte said she’s proud the state ranks high in categories including freedom, public safety, and taxpayer return on investment, but said slowing tax collections and the end of billions of dollars of federal aid dictates that the state “recalibrate” its spending.
“Whenever we talk about cuts, just like a family making hard decisions, there are things we can’t skimp on: protecting our most vulnerable and serving those most in need,” Ayotte said.
Ayotte’s speech was light on specifics — she called for few clear policy initiatives or spending cuts — but she did announce one new state initiative: a Commission on Government Efficiency, or COGE, to help identify ways to spend less state money. The committee will be led by former Gov. Craig Benson, who nominated Ayotte to be New Hampshire attorney general in 2004, and businessman Andrew Crews, a longtime political donor to Ayotte.
Ayotte told the Democratic leaders of the New Hampshire House and Senate that her door would always be open to them. She meanwhile asked GOP legislative leaders to “marshal our Republican majorities over the next two years to deliver on the promises we made to keep our state moving in the right direction.”
Ayotte called public safety her “absolute top priority” and said she expected Republicans to pass a ban this year on so-called sanctuary policies, which aim to protect undocumented immigrants from criminal penalties. She also said the state needs to further tighten its bail policies, and boost police retirement benefits to make it easier to recruit officers and keep them on the job.
She identified housing as another top issue and said the state needs to “get serious” by modeling good behavior to cities and towns, by enforcing a 60-day turnaround on state permits for new housing projects. She also promised to “strengthen new and existing partnerships” between the state, cities and towns and the private sector to get new housing units built.
Ayotte also highlighted education, and said while New Hampshire’s current rate of pupil spending was “wonderful,” lawmakers need to “keep it up” while simultaneously expanding the state’s voucher-like school choice program. Ayotte also promised to ensure students can learn and teachers can teach without distraction by banning cell phones in the classroom.
“Screens are negatively impacting our learning environments,” Ayotte said. “No more.”
On other issues, Ayotte promised to expand the state’s ranks of mental health providers, strengthen anti-suicide efforts, oppose a controversial landfill proposal in the town of Dalton, and veto any new abortion restrictions.
More digs at Massachusetts — but also a welcome
After framing her gubernatorial campaign last year as a rebuke of Massachusetts, Ayotte also used her inaugural address as another chance to take digs at the Granite State’s southern neighbor.
Ayotte criticized policymakers there for what she described as out-of-control spending, tax hikes, and lax immigration policies. But she did say New Hampshire welcomes Massachusetts residents as shoppers and visitors.
One of Ayotte’s biggest applause lines was addressed to Bay State business leaders.
“To the businesses of Massachusetts: We’d love to have you bring your talents to the Granite State,” she said. “We’re happy to show you why it’s better here.”
Ayotte extended a similar invitation to Canadian businesses, saying they would be especially welcome in New Hampshire’s North Country.
Lawmakers say they’re ready to get to work
Republicans in both legislative chambers will enjoy sizable majorities this session, and the party’s leaders say they’re ready to use those numbers to advance the policy goals Ayotte laid out Thursday.
House Majority Leader Jason Osborne praised the governor’s speech and said that along with the expansion of Education Freedom Accounts, his caucus will focus on “addressing issues of affordability across all sectors: housing, healthcare, electricity, you name it.”
He expressed optimism about Ayotte’s proposed COGE initiative to make government more efficient, but acknowledged that trimming the state budget could cause tension as lawmakers seek to protect their favorite programs.
“Everything we do is someone’s favorite pet project, so we’ve got to figure out who is going to get sent to the chopping block,” he said.
Osborne added that while his majorities are larger this session than last term’s near evenly split House makeup, he knows there will be disagreement within his own caucus.
“The more willing that we are to let people do their own thing, for things that are important to them, the more we’re going to be able to band together and get things done together, as well,” he said.
Sen. James Gray, a Republican from Rochester who leads the Senate Finance Committee, told reporters it was too early in the budgeting process to forecast where the state may trim to balance its books. He said he plans to work with Ayotte to advance her campaign promises.
With a 40-seat disadvantage, House Democrats will have little ability to set the legislative agenda this session, but Minority Leader Alexis Simpson of Exeter said she was grateful that Ayotte expressed a willingness to work across the aisle. She said Democrats would focus on ensuring any budget reductions don’t end up harming the state’s neediest residents.
“We feel these budget cuts at the state level will lead to higher costs at the local level, so we’re really working on making sure the vulnerable populations that Gov. Ayotte spoke about really are protected in this budget,” Simpson said.
Simpson also said she hoped for bipartisan collaboration on housing, mental health services and other issues.
Notable political faces fill the room
Thursday’s inauguration ceremony brought out a crowd of high profile political figures in the state, past and present.
Outgoing Gov. Chris Sununu received a sustained round of applause when he entered Representatives Hall, and was again thanked by Ayotte during her speech for his eight years of service to the state.
Others present included former Congressman Charlie Bass and Scott Brown, a former U.S. Senator representing Massachusetts and ambassador to New Zealand, who was also New Hampshire’s 2014 Republican U.S. Senate nominee. Also in attendance was former Gov. Maggie Hassan, who now serves in the U.S. Senate after unseating Ayotte in 2016.
Former Gov. Craig Benson was seated in the chamber, as was Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais, who entered the room to cheers.
Four of the five justices on the New Hampshire Supreme Court were in attendance, as were federal judges for the District of New Hampshire. New Hampshire Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald swore in Ayotte, while she was flanked by her husband and two children.
Members of the Executive Council were also sworn in during Thursday’s proceedings.
New Hampshire
Massachusetts man in burning car rescued by trooper on N.H. Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s security detail
A Bay State man who was trapped in his vehicle after crashing into a toll plaza was rescued by a trooper who’s on New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s security detail, according to police.
The governor also helped at the chaotic scene, police said, as the group helped the seriously injured 51-year-old man from Massachusetts at the Bedford Toll Plaza on the F.E. Everett Turnpike.
The state trooper assigned to the governor’s security detail helped pull the driver from his burning vehicle. The driver has been identified as Yevgeny Mirman.
At 11:55 a.m. on Tuesday, troopers assigned to the Troop B barracks responded to the single-vehicle crash involving a 2026 Lucid Gravity that struck the toll plaza. 911 callers said the vehicle had caught fire, and someone in the vehicle appeared to be trapped.
While units were responding, a veteran trooper assigned to Ayotte’s security detail came upon the crash, saw that the vehicle was actively on fire, and spotted the driver inside the car.
The trooper then pulled the driver from the burning car through a window. Ayotte, along with other witnesses at the scene, provided assistance to the trooper.
Mirman was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with serious injuries. The name of the trooper is being withheld due to the nature of their position.
“Certainly, their actions were heroic in what they did,” Colonel Mark B. Hall said in a statement. “Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it.”
Troop B was assisted by members of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Bedford Fire Department, Litchfield Fire Rescue and Merrimack Fire Rescue.
No charges were immediately filed. However, all aspects of the crash remained under investigation.
Anyone with information that may help the ongoing investigation was asked to contact Trooper Nathan Belanger at Nathan.R.Belanger@dos.nh.gov.
New Hampshire
Texting and driving? Lawmakers want you to pay steeper fines – Monadnock Ledger-Transcript
If you use your cell phone while driving, you may want to think twice — unless you’re willing to pay twice as much.
A bipartisan bill, backed by state law enforcement, would institute higher fines for drivers who use handheld devices behind the wheel. In some cases, motorists could lose their licenses for a month or more.
Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democrat from Keene who serves on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s Highway Safety Task Force, pointed to state crash data as reason for the change proposed in his Senate Bill 649
The number of traffic deaths in New Hampshire has crept up over the past few years. In 2023, there were 127 fatalities, at least six of which stemmed from distracted driving, Fenton said.
“Distracted driving is becoming more pronounced, more dangerous and more deadly,” he said at a public hearing last week. “The current penalties are not enough to change behavior, particularly with repeat offenses.”
There were 133 traffic deaths in 2024 and 138 in 2025, according to the Office of Highway Safety. In 2026 so far, thirteen people have died in car crashes.
Fenton’s bill would increase the amount someone has to pay for violating the prohibition on cell phone use while driving. First-time offenders would pay $250 instead of the current $100, and on the second violation in two years, the offender would pay $500. For the third offense in two years, they would pay $750 and lose their license for 30 days. All those penalties could increase if cell phone use behind the wheel is found to be a contributing factor in a car crash.
Current law allows hands-free operation of a cell phone via Bluetooth but prohibits handheld device use. The state collected more than $568,000 in related fines and penalty assessments in the most recent fiscal year.
Distracted driving was a contributing factor in 4,520 of the state’s nearly 28,000 non-fatal crashes in 2023, according to the Department of Safety. That’s a little over 16%, though a report from the task force said officials suspect distracted driving is difficult to track and underreported in more serious collisions. Cell phones are a common culprit in distracted driving.
Ayotte’s task force has highlighted other policies that it says would increase public safety, including doubling the license suspension period for refusing a breathalyzer test.
In the first 10 weeks of 2026, three-quarters of the people arrested for impaired driving in New Hampshire refused to take a breath alcohol test, Ayotte said in a recent press release. The governor has waged a public campaign for the proposed law, Senate Bill 260, which she says would disincentivize drivers from refusing the test.
What’s next: Senate Bill 649 breezed through the Senate earlier this year. The House of Representatives is set to vote on it in the coming weeks after a committee recommended its passage almost unanimously.
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