Committee Summary for Senate Finance (05/13/2025)

Bill/Time	Type	Title	Sponsor
HB2 00:19:13.039 - 12:17:59 PM	Executive Session	relative to state fees, funds, revenues, and expenditures.	Weyler, Kenneth(R)[A-]2025

HB2: Chair Information Only00:19:13.039 - 12:17:59 PM; The Chair apologized for the delay in starting the meeting due to a caucus and noted that some senators needed to retrieve items from their offices. The meeting was then called to order and moved into executive session.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:25:14.240 - 12:24:00 PM; The Chair introduced the first item, an insurance department request for a consumer service office position, which was removed in the governor's proposed budget. The committee voted unanimously to pass this request.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:26:18.240 - 12:25:04 PM; The Chair discussed a Department of Labor amendment (2025-211S) concerning workers' compensation and second injury fund claims and denial hearings. The committee agreed to hold this item for further review.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:27:10.000 - 12:25:56 PM; The Chair moved to the Department of Employment Securities budget, noting no changes were requested. The item was dropped from further consideration.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:28:24.480 - 12:27:10 PM; The Chair addressed a request from the New Hampshire Adult Parole Board to fund a secretary position. After discussion, the committee voted unanimously to deny the request.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:29:41.480 - 12:28:27 PM; The Chair moved to the Office of Consumer Advocate, noting no additional requests or changes. The item was dropped from further consideration.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:29:41.480 - 12:28:27 PM; The Chair discussed the Public Utilities Commission, noting no changes from the house budget. The item was dropped from further consideration.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:29:41.480 - 12:28:27 PM; The Chair addressed a Banking Department request to amend section 445 regarding a 5% assessment fee. The item was put on hold for further discussion.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:31:14.679 - 12:30:00 PM; The Chair moved to the P's Development Authority, noting no changes or requests to the house's budget. The item was dropped from further consideration.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:31:14.679 - 12:30:00 PM; The Chair discussed a Department of Transportation request to reallocate funds within winter maintenance. The committee voted unanimously to approve this request.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:32:35.120 - 12:31:21 PM; The Chair introduced amendment 2091s related to penalties for causing water to run onto state highways or roads, expanding it to include state-owned railroads. The committee voted unanimously to approve this amendment.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:33:38.559 - 12:32:24 PM; The Chair discussed amendment 2090s, enabling the Department of Transportation to seek reimbursement for removing vehicles from park and ride rest areas. The committee voted unanimously to approve this amendment.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:34:46.719 - 12:33:32 PM; The Chair addressed a Department of Transportation request regarding accounting procedures for encumbrances and task orders. The item was put on hold pending further information from the Department of Administrative Services.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:35:57.520 - 12:34:43 PM; The Chair introduced amendment 2093s related to Senate Bill 153, concerning expedited permitting for driveways. The amendment directs revenue to the highway fund and adds funding for a position. The committee voted unanimously to approve this amendment.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:37:58.880 - 12:36:44 PM; The Chair discussed a request from Police Standards and Training to appropriate $250,000 in fiscal year 26 for training equipment. The committee voted unanimously to approve this request.
HB2: Chair Information Only00:40:01.599 - 12:38:47 PM; The Chair noted the completion of items marked for deletion and asked if there were any other bills that needed immediate attention. Senator Waters requested attention to House Bill 707 and Senate Bill 227 on waste management.
HB2: Senator Pearl Information Only00:40:58.880 - 12:39:44 PM; Senator Pearl mentioned that bills related to house energy have already been referred and that the site evaluation committee process will handle what was envisioned in those bills. They discussed modifying House Bill 2, specifically suggesting to remove sections 224 and 227 as the site evaluation work will be handled in section 178.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:42:12.400 - 12:40:58 PM; The speaker discussed confusion about sections in House Bill 2, specifically mentioning that sections 17 and 18 will be modified, and sections 224 to 227 can be removed. A motion to delete sections 224 to 227 was made and passed.
HB2: Senator Gray Information Only00:43:22.839 - 12:42:08 PM; Senator Gray reported on discussions in the Senate Energy committee regarding sections 231 to 240 of House Bill 2, which deal with renewable energy changes. The committee decided these sections should be removed from the bill, and a motion to do so was passed.
HB2: Senator Waters Information Only00:44:50.880 - 12:43:36 PM; Senator Waters discussed an amendment with Senator Pearl concerning sections 187 to 188 of House Bill 2, which deal with the renewable energy fund. The amendment proposes to allocate up to $5 million annually from the fund to support the Department of Energy's Office of Energy and Innovation and new projects, with any excess going to the general fund. The amendment will be included in the Department of Energy's recap packet for further discussion.
HB2: Senator Pearl Information Only00:47:24.319 - 12:46:10 PM; Senator Pearl clarified that the amendment discussed by Senator Waters would be part of the DOE packet, and they confirmed the details of the amendment related to sections 186, 187, and 188 of House Bill 2.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:49:54.800 - 12:48:40 PM; The speaker discussed section 12 of House Bill 2, which concerns terrain alterations, and noted that the House adopted the same language as the governor's budget and the Senate's SB 110. They decided to hold off on any amendments to this section for the moment.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:51:13.839 - 12:49:59 PM; The speaker mentioned a fee increase in Senate Bill 110 that was agreed upon in energy discussions and should be kept in the budget. They also mentioned moving on to other sections of House Bill 2, including section 68 related to the lottery commission and section 99 related to HHS, both of which would be addressed later.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:52:57.440 - 12:51:43 PM; The speaker discussed section 156 of House Bill 2 concerning clean water grants. They mentioned a $30 million appropriation in the last budget and a governor's proposal to repeal it, saving the general fund $30 million by keeping the section in.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:53:48.480 - 12:52:34 PM; The speaker discussed section 252 of House Bill 2 related to Hampton Beach, noting that the House removed the appropriation but kept the policy language, which allows the Hampton Beach Commission to perform certain actions.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:55:43.920 - 12:54:29 PM; The speaker mentioned sections 309 to 316 and 317 to 323 of House Bill 2, noting that the House modified these sections by removing appropriations and keeping only policy language related to housing funds.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:56:29.280 - 12:55:15 PM; The speaker discussed section 329 to 334 of House Bill 2, which concerns the determination of adequate education grants, suggesting to hold off on this section until addressing the Department of Education. They also mentioned a desire to delete sections 350 and 351 as an unfunded mandate for an unidentified problem related to voter registration and tuition changes.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:57:38.240 - 12:56:24 PM; The speaker clarified that the discussed bill does not relate to tuition but involves reporting to the Department of Safety. They noted that no funds were allocated in the budget for this bill. It passed the House and was retained by House Finance, with its policy language included in House Bill 2. They suggested holding off on making a decision until further discussions, particularly with Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs, due to related issues about student residency and voting rights.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only00:58:53.839 - 12:57:39 PM; The speaker discussed the complexities of House Bill 2, mentioning the use of it as a 'sleeping pill' due to its length. They noted the need to hold discussions on certain sections related to the Department of Education (DOE) and Department of Energy, and clarified the financial implications of sections 377, 378, and 385 regarding payments and reimbursements to counties, particularly related to nursing home funding and Medicaid services.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:00:42.160 - 12:59:28 PM; The speaker provided detailed information about the financial implications of sections 20 and 21 of the bill, which relate to Medicaid services and long-term care funding. They explained how these sections would distribute $22.5 million over four years and discussed the net benefit to counties, despite a planned increase in the county cap by 3% year-over-year.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:03:11.079 - 1:01:57 PM; The speaker expressed concerns about section 415, suggesting its removal as it duplicates Senate Bill 34. They highlighted the administrative burden on schools and potential impact on Medicaid funding due to the requirement for written parental consent for each medical service already consented to during the IEP process.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:05:06.359 - 1:03:52 PM; The speaker reviewed the status of various bills, including those retained or tabled, and discussed their fiscal impacts. They mentioned the need to update a document reflecting the committee's actions and noted specific bills like House Bill 763, House Bill 159, and House Bill 581, focusing on their general fund impacts and appropriations.
HB2: Senator Waters Information Only01:07:19.200 - 1:06:05 PM; Senator Waters discussed Senate Bill 59, which was tabled despite its policy on recruitment and retention for emergency services being non-controversial. They mentioned an amendment to remove the financial component and incorporate the policy into HB2, emphasizing the need for a vehicle to enact these changes.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:09:46.799 - 1:08:32 PM; The speaker discussed the financial implications of several bills, including Senate Bill 81 and Senate Bill 113, noting the challenge of finding savings to fund them. They also mentioned Senate Bill 239 related to Fish and Game, suggesting it be moved due to amendments already addressing department requests.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:11:44.520 - 1:10:30 PM; The speaker highlighted the addition of $300 million in revenues by the Ways and Means Committee and discussed bills that could potentially increase revenue, such as those related to the Office of Public Guardian and long-term care eligibility. They emphasized the need for any further bills to be properly processed through LBA.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:12:36.960 - 1:11:22 PM; The speaker mentioned Senate Bill 273, noting it was described as a zero-cost bill, but it was not on the list they were currently discussing. They indicated that any amendments or bills they wish to bring forward would need to be processed through LBA and each senator would need to decide on what to bring forward for discussion at the meeting.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:13:55.880 - 1:12:41 PM; The speaker acknowledged awareness of the need to prepare amendments and mentioned having started working with Kate on some amendments, focusing on those that are not cost-prohibitive. They also mentioned that accessible voting machines would be funded by HAVA money through the secretary.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:14:48.280 - 1:13:34 PM; The speaker noted that the next meeting would be on Friday with a new packet, giving more time for preparation. They also mentioned that two bills were taken off the floor the previous week and were held onto during the last executive session, but a decision on when to exec them had not yet been made.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:15:39.640 - 1:14:25 PM; The speaker confirmed the next meeting would be on Friday and mentioned an addendum for the next calendar to include everything for the 22nd. They discussed the possibility of turning around amended bills in time for the Friday meeting and the plan to finish any remaining bills on Monday or Tuesday to get them on the floor on the 22nd.
HB2: Unnamed Speaker Information Only01:16:25.199 - 1:15:11 PM; The speaker confirmed the plan to exec four bills currently in committee on Friday and to finish any others on Monday or Tuesday to include them in the addendum for the floor on the 22nd. They then moved to end the executive session.

Gray, James(Chairman)(R)[B-]2025	Innis, Daniel(V Chairman)(R)[B]2025	Carson, Sharon(R)[B]2025
Watters, David(D)[D-]2025	Birdsell, Regina(R)[B-]2025	Lang, Timothy(R)[B-]2025
Rosenwald, Cindy(D)[F]2025	Pearl, Howard (R)[B]2025