NH’s Business: Top business issues in NH legislature

MORE COOL WEATHER FRIDAY AND THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. WELCOME TO NEW HAMPSHIRE’S BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. IN THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, THREE BUSINESS ISSUES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE LEGISLATURE. A DIP IN MANUFACTURING, EMPLOYMENT AND OUR AGING NEW HAMPSHIRE WORKFORCE. AND SHOULD BUSINESSES FOOT THE STATE’S BILLS. WITH ME IN THE STUDIO IS MICHAEL SHELTON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. WELCOME. NICE TO HAVE YOU HERE. THANKS, FRED. IT’S THE LATEST OF THESE THREE ISSUES. WHAT IS THE LATEST? YOU ARE LASER FOCUSED ON THESE ISSUES, MICHAEL, IN THE LEGISLATURE AND THE CHILD CARE TAX CREDIT FOR BUSINESSES INVESTING IN CHILD CARE FACILITIES, HOUSING, ELIMINATION OF HOUSING CHAMPIONS PROGRAM, WHICH HAS BEEN PROPOSED, AND ENERGY INVESTMENTS FOR ON SITE, OFF GRID ENERGY SOURCES. LET’S START WITH CHILD CARE. YEAH, I THINK IT’S SETTING UP TO BE A REALLY SIGNIFICANT YEAR FOR CHILD CARE REFORM AT THE STATE HOUSE. THE CHILD CARE EMPLOYER TAX CREDIT BILL HAS RECEIVED STRONG SUPPORT IN BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE, AND WE THINK IT’S GOING TO BE HEADING TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK IN A MATTER OF WEEKS. SIMILARLY, THERE’S ALSO A BILL TO REFORM THE REGULATORY AND ZONING THAT IMPACTS CHILD CARE FACILITIES, PARTICULARLY AT HOME CHILD CARE FACILITIES OR CHILD CARE FACILITIES THAT ARE BEING DEVELOPED IN COMMERCIAL AREAS, RIGHT. THAT IS ALSO ENJOYING SUPPORT BOTH THE HOUSE AND THE SENATE, AND WE THINK IS ALSO GOING TO BE HEADING TO THE GOVERNOR SOON. SO PUT TOGETHER, THAT’S A REALLY SIGNIFICANT YEAR OF PROGRESS. NOW, THIS HOUSING CHAMPIONS PROGRAM ON HOUSING SIDE THAT HAS, I THINK, BEEN SUCCESSFUL. YES. BUT NOW IN THE HOUSE, THERE WAS A BILL TO ELIMINATE IT. WHAT’S HAPPENING TO THAT? WELL, THERE WAS A BILL TO REPEAL THE PROGRAM THAT PASSED THE HOUSE. IT’S BEEN IN THE SENATE. OUR UNDERSTANDING IS, IS THAT THERE IS STRONG SUPPORT FOR MAINTAINING THE PROGRAM IN THE SENATE, AND THAT BILL IS NOT GOING TO GO ANYWHERE. AS YOU SAID, THE HOUSING CHAMPIONS PROGRAM, I THINK, HAS PROVEN ITS WORTH ITS ENGAGING LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND DEVELOPING A GAME PLAN FOR HOW TO DEVELOP MORE HOUSING. AND IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE, FRANKLY, SHOULD BE LOOKING AT HOW TO EXPAND IN UPCOMING BUDGET CYCLES. ENERGY NOW INVESTMENTS IN ON SITE ENERGY SOURCES SUCH AS SMALL NUCLEAR REACTORS, OFF GRID. I UNDERSTAND, AND THIS IS ONE OF YOUR MAJOR TOPICS. SURE. YEAH. WE NEED AN ALL OF THE ABOVE SOLUTION TO LOWERING ENERGY COSTS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. THERE’S A PUSH AT THE STATE LEVEL TO LOOK AT NUCLEAR SMALL MODULAR NUCLEAR REACTORS AS A NEW OPPORTUNITY. THAT’S STILL A FEW YEARS OUT, BUT THE STATE IS STARTING TO PUT IN PLACE THE REGULATORY FRAMEWORK IT NEEDS TO SUPPORT THAT. THE OTHER AREA OF FOCUS IS INDUSTRIAL NET METERING FOR SOLAR DEVELOPMENT. THAT BILL HAS RECEIVED A UNANIMOUS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT IN THE SENATE, STILL RUNNING INTO PROBLEMS IN THE HOUSE. WE’RE NOT SURE IF IT’S GOING TO GET OVER THE FINISH LINE THIS YEAR, BUT IT WILL CERTAINLY BE BACK. YEAH. LET’S TAKE MANUFACTURING AND TAKE A LOOK AT THIS GRAPHIC. THIS SHOWS MANUFACTURING 71000 JOBS IN 2023, 67,400 JOBS IN 2025, AND 3600 JOB LOSS MANUFACTURING NEEDS WORKERS. YES IT DOES. YEAH. WE HAVE A WORKFORCE GAP IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. WE HAVE AN AGING WORKFORCE. SO WE ARE BOTH LOSING JOBS AND WORKERS IN THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR. AND OVERALL, AND THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO SUPPORT OUR MANUFACTURING SECTOR WITH GOOD, STRONG REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, LOWER ENERGY COSTS, AND ALSO A TALENT PIPELINE. WE ALSO HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF THE FACT THAT THE MANUFACTURING SECTOR IS FACING A LOT OF PRESSURES FEDERALLY AND NATIONALLY WITH TARIFFS, AND THAT IMPACTS THEIR COMPETITIVENESS AS WELL. SO MORE STABILITY AND CERTAINTY FOR OUR MANUFACTURING SECTOR IS CRITICAL. AND ONE OF THE ISSUES IS PROBABLY THE AGING WORKFORCE AND SOMETHING YOU HAVE SPOKEN AND WRITTEN ABOUT. AND LET’S LOOK AT THAT GRAPHIC. RESIDENTS 55 AND OLDER, THAT’S 27% OF OUR POPULATION. RESIDENTS 45 TO 49 PLUMMETED BETWEEN 2013 AND 2023. ALL AGE BRACKETS UNDER 24 HAVE DECLINED. AND THOSE ARE WRITINGS THAT YOU HAVE MADE. YES. YEAH. LISTEN, OUR ECONOMY IS DRIVEN BY PEOPLE. WE NEED TALENT AND WORKERS TO DRIVE THE GROWTH OF OUR ECONOMY. IT’S NO SECRET THAT WE’RE AN AGING WORKFORCE. AND THAT’S WHY ISSUES LIKE HOUSING AND CHILD CARE ARE CRITICAL, BECAUSE THAT’S GOING TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO COME HERE AND LIVE HERE AND PARTICIPATE IN OUR WORKFORCE. SO I THINK WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS ON THOSE ISSUES. IT’S GOING TO TAKE SOME TIME FOR IT TO SHOW UP, BUT WE HAVE TO BE CLEAR THAT THE NUMBERS, THE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE PRETTY DAUNTING, AND WE HAVE TO BE SERIOUS ABOUT THIS. AND JUST BRIEFLY, THERE IS AN IDEA FLOATING AROUND THE STATE HOUSE THAT THE STATE, THE BUSINESSES SHOULD SUPPORT THE STATE’S BILLS. THE IDEA OF GETTING RID OF THE PROPERTY TAX, AND THAT’S BEEN PROPOSED BY A STATE REP WHO’S ALSO A FORMER EXECUTIVE AT IBM. WHAT’S THAT ALL ABOUT? WELL, I THINK IT’S AN ASPIRATIONAL GOAL. I DON’T SEE US MOVING AWAY FROM PROPERTY TAXES ANYTIME SOON. BUT I WILL SAY, I THINK THE IDEA BEHIND HER SUGGESTION OF GROWING THE STATE’S ECONOMY SO THAT THERE ARE MORE BUSINESSES PAYING MORE BUSINESS TAXES, PROVIDING MORE RELIEF AND MORE RESOURCES TO THE STATE IS A GOOD IDEA. OVERALL GROWTH IS GOOD FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE, BOTH IN OUR ECONOMY AND OUR WORKFORCE. MICHAEL SHELTON, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. THANK YOU. THANKS, FRED. AND IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS BRIEFING ON A NUMBER OF ISSUES, THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY IS