New Hampshire

Concord update: What do you want to see in Governor Ayotte’s budget?

Published

1 year ago

February 13, 2025

Concord update: What do you want to see in Governor Ayotte’s budget?

State Rep. Chris Muns
| Portsmouth Herald

Happy (early) Valentine’s Day. Don’t forget to do something nice for that “special someone” before it’s too late… and all the “good cards” and still alive roses are all gone.

State budget

On Thursday, Feb. 13 Governor Ayotte will be presenting the outlines of her budget for the next two years to the NH House of Representatives. If you are interested in watching her address go to the NH House’s YouTube Page and you can stream it live. The next day on Feb. 14, the governor will be sitting down with me and my colleagues on the House Finance Committee to discuss her proposal in more detail.

We on the House Finance Committee will be making our budget recommendation to the full House by no later than April 3. The full House will then vote on the budget and pass it over to the Senate for their consideration by no later than April 10.

A budget is about priorities and our state’s budget should reflect the priorities of Granite Staters. Ahead of Governor Ayotte’s budget address, I – along with my House and Senate Democrats – want to hear from you — what are the top priorities you want to see receive funding? Please take a few moments to share your thoughts by Clicking Here or going to https://www.facebook.com/NHHouseDemCaucus.

Housing

The low supply of housing units in New Hampshire is driving up prices and our property taxes. We need to build about 60,000 new units before 2030 and 89,000 units before 2040 to meet projected demand. I am looking forward to hearing what Governor Ayotte will be proposing to “jump-start” that effort.

Whatever the governor does propose, will take several years to have a dramatic impact. In the meantime, we need to do what we can to keep the homes that already exist affordable and available for Granite Staters.

On Feb. 6, the House voted on two bills that are likely to make that more difficult.

HB 60 allows tenants to be evicted without cause when their lease has expired. Given our historically low vacancy rate (0.6 percent for a two-bedroom rental unit), Democrats felt that this “no cause” eviction should only take effect when the vacancy rate is 5% or more (which is the generally recognized indicator of a “healthy” rental market). That amendment was defeated with 217 no (Hampton State Reps. Nicholas Bridle and Linda McGrath) to 140 yes (Hampton State Reps. Erica de Vries, Mike Edgar, and Chris Muns). A subsequent amendment to delay no-cause evictions only when the rental vacancy rate is 2.5% or higher was also defeated 212 no (Bridle and McGrath) to 145 yes (de Vries, Edgar and Muns)

HB 444 would have ensured tenants in a restricted multi-family residential property receive 30 days’ notice before the sale of their building, so that if they have to move, they can begin planning to do so or if they want to make a competing offer, they have a chance to do so. Defeated 213 no (Bridle and McGrath) to 144 yes (de Vries, Edgar and Muns).

Abortion

Since 2021, New Hampshire has had a ban on abortions after 24 weeks with exceptions for the life of the mother and fatal fetal anomalies.

During the 2024 election season, House and Senate Republican leaders pledged they would not pass further restrictions on abortions. And, in her inaugural speech, Governor Ayotte pledged that “if you send me legislation that further restricts access to abortion beyond our current law, I will veto it.”

That did not, however, stop a group of nine House Republicans (backed by Cornerstone Action, a religious liberty advocacy group) from sponsoring HB 476, which would have made abortions after 15 weeks illegal, even if the pregnancy was caused by incest or rape.

On February 6, that bill was withdrawn from consideration by a vote of 340 yes (Bridle, de Vries, Edgar, McGrath and Muns) to 15 no.

While that is an encouraging sign, it is no guarantee that other limitations on every woman’s right to safe and protected reproductive healthcare will not be considered by this legislature. We will need to hold Governor Ayotte to her promise.

Climate change

In mostly partly line votes, the House’s Republican majority rejected several efforts to address the local impacts of climate change during our February 6 Session. Among them were:

HB 189 changes the state’s definition of clean energy, to include “low greenhouse gas emitting sources.” In other words, rather than cutting our greenhouse gas emissions, we are OK with continuing to emit them. Adopted 206 yes (Bridle and McGrath) to 148 no (de Vries, Edgar and Muns).

HB 526-FN would have established a Division of Climate Change and Damage within the Department of Environmental Services to take a proactive, data-driven approach to climate adaptation. Defeated 207 no (Bridle and McGrath) to 146 yes (de Vries, Edgar and Muns)

HB 106 would have created a commission to study the financial risks of climate-related impacts like extreme precipitation, coastal flooding and extreme heat and recommend equitable ways to pay for resilience efforts. During the debate, the Republican vice-chair of the House Science, Technology and Energy Committee said the bill ran contrary to the Trump Administration’s “Drill, baby, drill,” approach to climate change and added that the premise of climate change as a real issue is “still up for debate. Defeated 207 no (Bridle and McGrath) to 149 yes (de Vries, Edgar and Muns)

This was only the first session of the House in which we voted on bills that were voted out of committee. Approximately 800 bills were introduced by House members this year. We will be meeting every week to get through all of those by mid-April, when we need to hand over those that we pass to the NH Senate.

Office hours

I will be holding Open Office Hours on Saturday, Feb. 15, between noon and 2 p.m. at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton. If you have any questions or would just like to say hello, please join me then. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at chris.muns@gc.nh.gov.

Chris Muns is one of Hampton’s five NH state representatives. He is currently serving his third term, having previously served between 2012 and 2014 and 2022 and 2024.

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New Hampshire

Bedford man barred from conducting any securities business in New Hampshire

Published

10 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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Bedford man barred from conducting any securities business in New Hampshire

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New Hampshire

New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

Published

22 hours ago

March 2, 2026

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New Hampshire employment law in 2026 – NH Business Review

What employers are getting wrong, and how to fix it before it becomes a claim

New Hampshire’s employment law landscape heading into 2026 may not be dramatically different from last year, but the real risks lie in implementation missteps. From the initial setting of wages, to calculating and distributing wages, employers will likely find a specific statute and/or labor regulation governing the transaction. Failure to follow these detailed wage and hour laws can result in significant back wages and other penalties being imposed by the state or federal Department of Labor following an audit. Fortunately, however, this area of employment law is relatively easy to master, once you are familiar with the basics.

Notice compliance

One of the most common pitfalls for employers in New Hampshire is misunderstanding the wage and hour notice requirements under RSA 275 and the related New Hampshire Department of Labor Administrative Rules.

At the time of hire, employers must notify employees in writing of their rate of pay and the day and place of payment. This notice is traditionally delivered to employees by way of an offer letter or some sort of “New Hire Rate of Pay” form. (A sample form is available from the New Hampshire Department of Labor website.) What surprises most employers, however, is that Lab. 803.03(f)(6) also requires employers to request and obtain their employees’ signatures on this written notification of wages, and employers must keep a copy of the signed written notification of wages on file. Further, employers must notify employees in writing during the course of employment of any changes to wages or day of pay prior to such changes taking effect, and the employer must obtain the employee’s signature on this subsequent notification as well. (See RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Employers are further required to notify employees in writing, or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to employees, of:

• employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits.

• deductions made from the employee’s payroll check, for each period such deductions are made.

• information regarding the deductions allowed from wage payments under state law. (RSA 275:49; Lab. 803.03.)

Policies regarding vacation and sick leave should inform employees whether or not the employer will “cash out” unused time at year end or at the end of employment, and if so, under what terms. Again, if any changes are made to vacation pay, sick leave and other fringe benefits during the course of employment (all of which are considered “wages” under New Hampshire law), employers must request and obtain their employees’ signatures on the written notification of the change, and must keep a copy of the signed form on file. (Lab. 803.03.) Importantly, notification by way of pay stub alone is not sufficient, and, these requirements apply to both increases and decreases in pay.

Two-hour minimum (reporting pay)

Another frequently overlooked obligation is New Hampshire’s two-hour minimum reporting pay requirement. Under RSA 275:43-a, non-exempt employees who report to work but are sent home early must generally be paid for at least two hours. Weather-related closures, client cancellations or operational slowdown days can trigger this rule. Employers should also note that the New Hampshire Department of Labor currently applies this law to remote-based employees. Consequently, employees who “report to work” at an employer’s request from a home office may likewise have a right to two hours of pay, depending on the circumstances.

Salaried vs. hourly employees

Misclassification of employees as exempt from overtime remains a significant source of compliance exposure. The position’s job duties — not the titles or label such as “salaried” — determine whether an employee qualifies for an overtime exemption.

Employers, particularly in nonprofits, health care and small businesses, unintentionally misapply exempt classifications to roles such as administrative staff, office managers, executive assistants, program coordinators or hybrid jobs that involve significant non-exempt tasks. Over time, as organizational needs evolve and employees take on broader responsibilities, job duties can drift outside of an exemption’s scope.

Best practice is to periodically review job descriptions and actual job duties to ensure continued compliance with exemption criteria, particularly following any significant restructuring or job redesigns.

Peg O’Brien is chair of McLane Middleton’s Employment Law Practice Group. She can be reached at margaret.o’brien@mclane.com.

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New Hampshire

New photo released in unsolved 1997 homicide of a N.H. woman

Published

1 day ago

March 2, 2026

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New photo released in unsolved 1997 homicide of a N.H. woman

Local News

“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” said the family of the victim.

A new photo has been released of the victim in a nearly 30-year-long unsolved murder case, in the hope of finding any new potential witnesses in the cold case, New Hampshire officials said.

“Our family wants to know what happened, who did this and why,” the family of Rosalie Miller said in a press release. “We miss her and want to give her peace.”

Miller was last seen on December 8, 1996 at her apartment in Manchester. At the time of her disappearance, Miller had plans on meeting friends in the Auburn, New Hampshire area, officials said.

Her body was found on January 20, 1997 in a partially wooded spot on a residential lot along the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn, officials said in the release.

The autopsy report declared Miller’s death a homicide by asphyxiation due to ligature strangulation, N.H. officials wrote.

As part of a new effort to garner public help with the case, an “uncirculated” photo of Miller, 36, is being distributed “in hopes it may jog the memory of someone who saw or spoke with her in the winter of 1996,” Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall announced on behalf of the New Hampshire Cold Case Unit in a joint press release.

Investigators are especially hoping to talk to anyone who was in contact with Miller in December of 1996 or anyone “who may have seen her in the vicinity of the Londonderry Turnpike in Auburn during that time,” officials said in the release.

The newly released photo of Rosalie Miller, 36, who was strangled to death nearly 30 years ago. – Attorney General John M. Formella and New Hampshire State Police Colonel Mark B. Hall

“We are releasing this new photograph today because we believe someone out there has information, perhaps a detail they thought was insignificant at the time, that could be the key to solving this case and bringing justice for Rosalie and those who loved her,” Senior Assistant Attorney General R. Christopher Knowles, New Hampshire Cold Case Unit Chief said in the release.

The New Hampshire Cold Case Unit encourages anyone with any amount of information to contact the group at [email protected] or (603) 271-2663.