New Hampshire
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is in Maine. NH lawmakers want to change that.
An aerial view of Seavey Island in the Piscataqua River, home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, seen from the east in 2001. Kittery is to the right and Portsmouth is in the upper left. The Piscataqua River Bridge carrying I-95 is in the upper right. Gregory Rec/Portland Press Herald file
A New Hampshire legislator has fired the latest round in an on-again, off-again border dispute between Maine and New Hampshire over the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.
Republican Rep. Joseph Barton, a freshman lawmaker, is the prime sponsor of a resolution that urges Congress to find that the Piscataqua River and Portsmouth Harbor are within New Hampshire and asks President Donald Trump to designate the duty stations of Portsmouth Naval Shipyard personnel as part of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Congress would have to redraw the boundaries, but Trump can reassign the duty stations, Barton said.
The tax status of shipyard employees is a big reason for the resolution, he said. New Hampshire does not have a state income tax, and residents of the Granite State who work at the shipyard pay Maine taxes. Shifting the borders to bring the shipyard into New Hampshire would shield New Hampshire residents from Maine income taxes.
“We won’t get more tax revenue,” Barton, who worked as an engineer at the shipyard, said in an interview Thursday. “The citizens will get more tax relief.”
Some Maine income tax revenue would disappear if the more than 3,100 New Hampshire residents who work at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard no longer have state taxes withheld. It wasn’t immediately clear how much revenue Maine would lose. A spokeswoman for the state Department of Administrative and Financial Services said taxpayer confidentiality bars disclosure of information.
Kittery Town Manager Kendra Amaral said New Hampshire would inherit traffic problems if it takes possession of the Naval Station, which has two land-based access points, both of which run through Kittery.
If New Hampshire wants the shipyard it will need to build bridges from Portsmouth to the Naval Station island, “so they can assume all of the traffic congestion and infrastructure impacts Kittery, Maine, shoulders as the host of the (shipyard),” Amaral said.
The issue of who has jurisdiction is not new. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled on a border dispute in Maine’s favor in 2001, dismissing New Hampshire’s claim to the shipyard. The court denied a New Hampshire request to reconsider, ruling that the boundary between the states is the middle of the Piscataqua River.
More than half of the shipyard’s nearly 8,000 employees are Mainers, according to the Seacoast Shipyard Association, an advocacy organization. And 56% of the Portsmouth shipyard’s $716.2 million payroll is for Mainers and 36% is paid to New Hampshire residents. The remainder of the shipyard workers live in Massachusetts and other states.
Its total economic impact in 2023, including purchased goods and services, maintenance and military construction, was more than $1.5 billion.
Barton’s resolution says jurisdiction and control over the Piscataqua River “is and always has been entirely” within New Hampshire’s Rockingham County and “complete dominion and ownership of the tidal waters and submerged lands” of the river, including Portsmouth Harbor, are part of the state.
“This is the boundary. This is where it is,” he said.
The resolution has been the subject of a public hearing and must be voted on by the House and Senate and signed by Gov. Kelly Ayotte. Her office did not respond to an email Thursday asking if she supports the measure.
The federal government has activated the New Hampshire National Guard’s 157th Air Refueling Wing in connection with the war with Iran.
“I’ve had a briefing myself, a classified briefing, but it’s really important on the messaging on this that we really coordinate with the Pentagon,” Gov. Kelly Ayotte told reporters during a press briefing following Wednesday’s Executive Council meeting.
Ayotte said she was unable to share additional details about the nature of the New Hampshire National Guard’s activity related to the conflict, including how many guard members have been activated or what role they are playing.
“We’re going to respect what messaging comes out of the Pentagon just to make sure that our men and women in uniform are fully protected and that we aren’t providing any information that could be used in a way that would be harmful to them,” Ayotte said.
In a statement Thursday, Ayotte said the unit had been deployed in late February to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility in support of the operation.
Earlier this week, Pentagon officials confirmed that members of the Vermont National Guard were involved in attacks against Iran over the weekend, though our news partners at Vermont Public were not able to confirm additional details on the nature of the operation.
During the briefing with local reporters, Ayotte also stressed her support for servicemembers and those close to them.
“I have such respect for our men and women in uniform,” Ayotte said. “As you know, I come from a military family, and they have our full support, and we appreciate them and their families, and obviously anyone who is serving right now, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost someone that they love.”
By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – While Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has said she opposes increasing highway toll rates across the state, the Senate voted Thursday to increase rates for out-of-state license plate holders.
It now goes to the House for consideration.
This would be a $1 increase for those who have out of state plates going through the tolls at Hooksett, Hampton and Bedford for out-of-state plates, a 75 cent hike for those taking Hampton’s Exit 2 and on the Spaulding turnpike at Rochester, and a 50 cent hike for those taking the exit off I-93 to Hooksett.
An analysis in the bill shows that this would increase toll revenue by $53.3 million in fiscal year 2027 and go up each year to generate $81.4 million a year in 2036.
Senate Bill 627 passed on a voice vote with two Republicans, Senators Regina Birdsell of Hampstead and William Gannon of Sandown opposing.
Senator Mark E. McConkey, R-Freedom, moved to take the bill off the table and offered an amendment.
He said the last time there was a systemwide increase to the turnpike toll was 19 years ago.
“I am sure we could all agree the cost of operations…has continued to escalate when revenue is not rising with it,” and he noted that with an enterprise fund, the state can only spend what it takes in.
The state has just completed a 10-year highway plan and there was a $400 million shortfall in projects that could not be paid for under the current income.
McConkey said the measure would not increase tolls for New Hampshire drivers with a state license plate.
“Why don’t we ask our neighbors,” to pay a toll increase. “We are getting the best of all worlds,” by passing the bill, he said, including “protecting our residents” and having resources for improvements to the turnpike system.
Sen. Gannon, R-Sandown, asked McConkey if there are any studies on impacts near the border on businesses.
If implemented, McConkey said the state will be the 27th lowest in per mile cost still. McConkey said the bill would also increase from seven to 14 days the amount of time for those with NH license plates to pay for a toll adding there are other states that also have different rates for out-of-state users.
The Hampton toll cost would go from $2 to $3, while Hooksett and Bedford would rise from $1 to $2 for out-of-state plates.
New Hampshire currently has the lowest rate per mile among states with tolls roads.
The governor said she does not support a toll increase.
“We are not going to put a burden on drivers for a toll increase,” Ayotte said. “Families are struggling.”
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