Senate poised to block effort by House to repeal Sununu paid family leave program – New Hampshire Bulletin

The New Hampshire Senate seems poised to defeat an try by the Home to repeal Gov. Chris Sununu’s paid household and medical go away program, after lawmakers in a Senate committee beneficial the repeal effort be shelved.

Voting 4-1, the Senate Commerce Committee beneficial that Home Invoice 1165 – which might strike all statutory language associated to the brand new paid household go away program – be moved to “interim research,” a designation that will forestall it from passing this 12 months. 

The advice will head subsequent to the total Senate. 

Lawmakers handed the governor’s paid household go away proposal within the two-year state funds final 12 months, including it as a last-minute compromise merchandise throughout negotiations between the Home and the Senate.

The brand new program is meant to create a state-supported insurance coverage market to permit non-public employers to decide right into a paid go away coverage supplied by a provider. This system is designed to be bolstered by the state’s 10,000 public staff; underneath the statute, the state can pay the premiums for these staff, permitting insurers to craft insurance policies with a assured pool of beneficiaries as a place to begin. 

Beneficiaries would obtain as much as six weeks of paid go away at 60 % of pay; premiums could be capped at $5 per particular person, monthly, state officers say. 

The proposal continues to be in growth. The New Hampshire Insurance coverage Division despatched out a request for proposals from corporations in late March and is accepting bids till Might 9. The state’s staff unions haven’t but publicly stated whether or not they’ll settle for the profit of their subsequent contract. 

This system has been introduced by Sununu as a method to supply employers choices for paid household and medical go away with out making the profit necessary. Previous proposals by Democrats had included necessary participation – a mannequin utilized by different states with common paid go away packages – with Democrats arguing the strategy was vital to construct a threat pool sufficiently big to maintain premiums low.

However whereas Republican lawmakers handed the brand new program as a part of the funds final 12 months, Republicans within the Home have voiced opposition, arguing that it might show expensive to the state in the long term. 

“Over time, this FMLI will morph right into a public sector profit/entitlement paid for by taxpayers,” stated Rep. Len Turcotte, a Barrington Republican. The repeal invoice handed the Home, 172-164, with Democrats opposing it, arguing that it must be mounted however not eradicated.

Republican senators seem supportive of the governor’s program – or at the very least supportive of letting or not it’s.

“Loads of work has been put into standing up this program,” stated Sen. Jeb Bradley, a Wolfeboro Republican, throughout Tuesday’s Senate Commerce Committee assembly. “I see no motive that we must always simply repeal it.” 

Sen. Harold French, a Franklin Republican and the chairman of the committee, stated he voted towards the paid household go away plans “time after time.”

“Nonetheless, we put this in our funds; it’s a Republican funds,” he stated. “We must always give it the prospect to see if it may be profitable or not.”