Governor Lynch Proposes Budget Plan

Governor John Lynch told a joint session of lawmakers that his budget was "honest and balanced".

But to get his spending plan to that point, he proposed increasing the state's cigarette tax by 28 cents per pack.
nh has never dedicated the revenue we need, to responsibly grow state aid to education year to year. that is why this budget dedicates the revenue from the tobacco tax increase to the education trust fund.

The increase would raise 87 million dollars.

Lynch says that is the only significant tax increase needed to keep the budget in balance.
this budget is helped by a growing economy. the revenue estimates in this budget are prudent and realistic, reflecting that revenue will be higher than first estimated last fall.

Lynch also would eliminate over 150 jobs that are currently unfilled.

He said his budget leaves room to invest in high priority programs.

LCHIP, or the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program was severely cut in the last budget.

But Lynch announced he's recommending 10 million dollars for its revival over the next two years.
nhs land and community investment program helps protect the natural and historic landmarks that make nh special. bringing together state, private and local resources, lchip is also a wonderful example of what we can accomplish working together.

Lynch said he had to make spending cuts where sensible.

But he didn't say much about specific cuts, offering only that he'd reduced the agencies' request by 70 million dollars.

The Governor said he thought it was important to make spending choices that helped people improve their lives.

In that vein, Lynch stressed the importance of higher education for young people.

The Governor promised them the state's college system would hold the line on costs.
with this budget the university system has committed to keeping tuition increases low. and the community technical college system has committed to no tuition increases during the next two years.

As he's promised before, Governor Lynch repeated his intention to do away with the statewide property tax as a way to fund public schools.

Lynch said the tobacco tax hike would more than compensate for funding lost from this source.

On health issues, he promised to aid senior citizens, by funding meals on wheels, wheelchair vans, and home health aides.

And the Governor would spend more money to add 6,000 more children to the state run healthcare program for children, called "Healthy Kids".
children with access to quality healthcare do better in school, and they do better later in life. as a state, we've recognized that investing in children's health insurance is not only the right thing to do, its the smart thing to do.

Governor Lynch's proposal is just the opening salvo of what promises to be a long budget process in the legislature.

That process starts immediately in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers get their first chance to carefully review the plan.