Matthew Houde
For State Senate
Issues
We have addressed a number of difficult and important issues facing our great state, and I am hopeful about the progress we can continue to make in the years to come. I have listed here some of the issues that I am proud to have worked on, and that I see as the most pressing for the future. If you have questions or concerns please contact me through the form provided on the site.
Commerce and Consumer Protection
Senator Houde sponsored SB 193, which continued the work that was begun while serving in the NH House to stop predatory lending practices by capping the interest rate on “payday” and title loans. SB 193 extended the interest rate cap to all small loans, an important step to close a loophole in previous legislation.
Health Care
Senator Houde sponsored SB 390, relative to health insurance premium only cafeteria plans, which provides a mechanism for employers to establish and maintain a section 125 plan for its employees to use to purchase health insurance. Supported by the NH Business and Industry Association, such plans are not only a good way for an employer to extend healthcare benefits to employees if the employer does not currently offer health insurance, but also would enable employers to save money in payroll taxes since contributions by the employee are made on a pre-tax basis.
SB 505 established a Health Care Cost Containment Commission, charged with looking at the health care reimbursement system, including the impact of federal health care reform, options for implementing a common payment system and ways to encourage the use of incentives to improve quality and efficiency. Goals of the commission include finding ways to promote competition in health insurance, reduce or eliminate payment differentials, ensure access, fairly allocate the burden of charity care, promote public access to cost information and contain the increase in health care costs. The costs will be covered by a one-time assessment, with half paid by insurers and the other half paid by hospital and ambulatory surgical centers in proportion to their net operation revenue.
SB 42 enables Medicaid patients to get the benefit of hospice care at the end of life. New Hampshire was one of the last states to offer hospice care under Medicaid. Hospice care is generally more cost-effective that hospital care and provides coordinated and comprehensive services to dying patients and their families, including home care, bereavement counseling, pain management and symptom control. Some hospice organizations also have facilities where they provide medical care and services to dying patients outside of a hospital or nursing home.
Education
SB 180 established an accountability system to ensure the opportunity for an adequate education, the final piece of a three-year legislative effort to define, determine the cost and ensure accountability for delivering an adequate education. Schools are required to demonstrate they are providing an opportunity for an adequate education either by meeting the school approval standards that relate to adequacy or by showing that their students are meeting academic goals based on various performance measures. The accountability system relies on data that school districts and the state Department of Education already collect.
HB 1523 updated existing state law that requires schools to have policies against bullying and adds a new definition for cyber-bullying that addresses bullying through the use of electronic devices including but not limited to “telephones, cellular phones, computers, pagers, electronic mail, instant messaging, text messaging and web sites.” The enhanced anti-bullying legislation also requires school districts to educate staff and volunteers so they can recognize and address bullying. The Department of Education will be
available to assist local schools and will prepare an annual report of substantiated reports of bullying or cyber-bullying for the legislature.
Economy and Employment
SS HB 1 (June 2010) balanced the state budget and repealed the LLC tax. This special session legislation addressed an estimated $295 million shortfall for the biennium and included $270 million in budget cuts and adjustments. The plan also protected cities and towns from losing $15 million in revenues from meals and rooms and state retirement contributions as proposed in earlier budget plans and it restored $2.7 million in child care subsidies to help working parents keep their jobs. As promised by House and Senate leaders, the budget bill also repealed the extension of the interest and dividends tax to limited liability companies going forward. As a result of this financial stewardship, and despite difficult decisions, the State was able to end the fiscal year with a $25 million surplus.
SB 159 improved broadband technology planning and development in the state. The position of director of broadband planning was created and funded to permanently work within the state Department of Resources and Economic Development. The director’s responsibilities include developing a state telecommunications plan to bring broadband service throughout the state and to seek grants and investigate partnerships with the public and private sectors to advance that goal. Position was originally paid for with stimulus money and early efforts resulted in a recent award of $44.5 million in federal grant funds. These funds will allow broadband service to be deployed in rural and underserved areas to enhance small business activity, job creation, remote learning opportunities and telemedicine.
SB 40 protects workers & communities with advance notice of impending plant closings and layoffs. The WARN Act requires companies with 75 or more full-time workers to give 60 days notice to their workers and to the state of an impending layoff or closure. Bill means state officials can address problems in our state courts if a business closes abruptly without paying workers what they are owed. Similar federal version of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act lacks enforcement provisions, which made a state version necessary.
SB 501, known as NH Working, providing for work-sharing benefits paid to employees under a work-sharing plan approved by the department of employment security and making changes to eligibility and funding for certain training grants. It allows existing businesses to scale back their operations without laying off workers. Companies and
their workers could agree to reduced hours in place of layoffs and the state would make up part of the lost wages through unemployment benefits. This would reduce demand on the unemployment fund, allow employers to keep their best people and enable workers to maintain existing employment benefits such as health insurance. The legislation also calls for the Department of Employment Security to develop a system to assess the skills of unemployed workers and help them get skills or certifications that would make it easier for them to find work. A third component was launched and did not require legislative action. It allows newly hired workers to continue on unemployment for up to six weeks of on-the-job training. At that time, the employer is able to decide if the worker had the skills needed to continue as a full-fledged employee.
Justice
The Justice Reinvestment Act, SB 500, grew out of recommendations endorsed by the Justice Reinvestment Leadership Team, a special committee that includes the state Attorney General, Chief Justice, corrections officials and leading lawmakers including Senate President Larsen. The team worked with researchers from the Council of State Government’s Justice Center, who analyzed data from the state’s prisons and jails to identify the reasons behind rising costs. They found, that while New Hampshire’s crime rate has remained low and stable, the number of people behind bars has grown. This was largely a function of parolees and probationers failing to meet conditions that require them to seek treatment for substance abuse or mental illness. The law positions the state to redirect a portion of the funds currently spent for incarceration to improve supervision in the community as well as provide more community-based treatment for substance abuse and mental health. Plans also call for varied sanctions to respond quickly and firmly to parolees or probationers who violate any of the terms of their release. The legislation also will enhance public safety by ensuring that anyone leaving prison will be subject to at least nine months of post-release supervision.
The below information is from 2008:
Commerce
As a member of the House Commerce Committee, I have been especially proud of two things we have accomplished in the past two years with our new Democratic Majority.
- We helped working men and women by raising the minimum wage, which had not been raised for 10 years.
- We helped fight the predatory lenders who profit from trapping
Health care
The House Commerce Committee, upon which I serve, recommended passage of several bills that expanded access to health care, including:
- Requiring coverage for dependent children up to the age of 26;
- Providing early childhood intervention therapy services.
I am proud that we have expanded healthcare coverage to over 10,000 more children in
Education
The Legislature finally began to meet its constitutional duties by defining an adequate education (including kindergarten) as required by the state Supreme Court. We also determined the cost of that education.
Individual liberties
We expanded civil rights protections by prohibiting
Environment
We took steps to protect and preserve our quality of life by finally providing funding for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, banning the burning of toxic construction and demolition debris, and requiring the state to rely on renewable energy sources for at least a quarter of its energy needs by 2025.
