This afternoon, the state Senate voted on six bills previously vetoed by Gov. Lynch. 16 votes were required to override the Governor’s veto. The bills that were successfully overridden by the Senate today now go to the House for action.
SB 3: Senate overrides Gov. Lynch veto, 19-5
SB 3 makes comprehensive changes to the state pension system.
SB 57: Senate overrides Gov. Lynch veto, 17-7
SB 57 permits short-term lenders to charge interest rates of up to 25 percent a month on title loans, loans taken out when the collateral the borrower supplies is the title to a car.
SB 88: Senate overrides Gov. Lynch veto, 17-7
SB 88 eliminates the requirement for a permit to carry a concealed weapon, allows gun owners to brandish their weapon, and permits use of deadly force without retreat.
SB 91: Senate overrides Gov. Lynch veto, 17-6
SB 91 prohibits local boards from requiring residential fire suppression systems.
SB 129: Senate sustains Gov. Lynch veto, 7-17
SB 129 would require voters to present photo identification to vote in person.
SB 154: Senate sustains Gov. Lynch veto, 15-9
SB 154 would end the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The initiative reduces carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by requiring the plants to purchase an allowance for the carbon dioxide they emit and distributes the proceeds for energy efficiency initiatives.
When the New Hampshire legislature passed SB 154, which would end the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), House Speaker Bill O’Brien claimed the action would ”offer relief to our residents and employers” and “get our economy moving forward.” More than 225 New England businesses disagree and have signed an open letter to the region’s governors supporting the initiative.
The letter, coordinated by the New England Clean Energy Council, calls for governors of RGGI states to support the initiative and improve it by updating the emissions cap and increasing the scope by reaching out to other states.
“We believe strong clean energy and clean air policies create jobs and stimulate economic growth. RGGI shows that market-based programs can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while boosting our economy,” the letter reads. “By reducing spending on out-of-region fossil fuels, RGGI improves energy security and economic competitiveness and frees up energy dollars for spending in other parts of our economies.”
Gov. Lynch vetoed SB 154 declaring RGGI “is helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs, and helping our businesses save money and become more competitive.” The legislature is expected to attempt to override the veto this fall.
Gov. John Lynch has until midnight tonight to act on 31 more bills passed by the legislature this session. Here’s his first batch of responses.
VETO: HB 380, to exempt the Commission on the Status of Men from repeal.
People may in good conscience disagree and debate the relative merits of the two commissions. But there can be little disagreement that eliminating the Commission on the Status of Women while extending the Commission on the Status of Men makes little sense.
VETO: SB 91, to prohibit local boards from requiring residential fire suppression systems. (The legislature has already overridden the Governor’s veto of HB 109, a similar measure that became law on July 1, 2011.)
The decision of whether or not to require automatic sprinkler systems for new or renovated residential development has been, and should remain, a local one. The State should not preempt local decision-making.
VETO: SB 88, to broaden New Hampshire’s deadly force law.
SB 88 would unleash the potential for increasing deadly violence in our communities. It would allow the use of deadly force on street corners, in shopping malls, public parks, and in retail stores. Drug dealers and other felons who brandish weapons will be further emboldened to use their weapons, while prosecution of those criminals will be made more difficult because of this bill’s expansion of the right to use deadly force.
Yesterday, Gov. Lynch vetoed two bills that would roll back legislative initiatives previously passed with the support of bipartisan majorities.
SB 57 would permit short-term lenders to charge interest rates of up to 25 percent a month on title loans, loans taken out when the collateral the borrower supplies is the title to a car. In 2008, bipartisan legislation capped interest rates on title and payday loans at 36 percent APR. Lynch pointed out 31 states prohibit these high interest loans.
For vulnerable families, these excessive interest charges could force them further into a cycle of debt, and potentially onto public assistance. The New Hampshire Local Welfare Administrator’s Association said the “temporary relief” that may come from a title loan “often comes at the cost of enslaving recipients in a cycle of increasing debt for basic needs, causing an ultimate crash and the need to come to the legal welfare office.” …
That cycle of debt hurts our families, hurts our local communities, and ultimately our economy. Therefore, I am vetoing SB57.
SB 154 would end New Hampshire’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The initiative reduces carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by requiring the plants to purchase an allowance for the carbon dioxide they emit and then distributes the proceeds for energy efficiency initiatives. In his veto statement, Lynch cited the bipartisan team that worked to craft the initiative.
[T]he cumulative impact of the initiative through the end of 2010 has been a net benefit of over $16 million in allowance revenue. These are funds that have been invested directly in helping New Hampshire families, businesses and local governments become more energy efficient, reduce costs, and create jobs.
RGGI continues to have bipartisan support today because it is helping to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, creating jobs, and helping our businesses save money and become more competitive. I believe that we should continue that progress. Therefore, I am vetoing this legislation.
In the last seven years of recruiting businesses to move to New Hampshire, not one business leader has ever even asked me if New Hampshire had a right-to-work law, let alone suggested it was a factor in the company’s location decision. No New Hampshire business leaders have ever told me that the lack of a so-called right-to-work law prevented them from expanding or hiring new workers here in New Hampshire. And no New Hampshire workers have ever told me they couldn’t get a job because New Hampshire doesn’t have a so-called right-to-work law.
There is no justification in this case for state government to interfere with the right of private businesses to freely negotiate and enter into contracts with their employees. Therefore, I am vetoing HB 474.
— Gov. John Lynch, explaining his veto of proposed right-to-work legislation
