NH Business: Key results in NH legislature for economy and businesses: Housing, childcare, energy, and data

BUSINESS. I’M FRED KOCHER. HERE’S OUR MENU FOR THE NEXT FEW MINUTES. LEGISLATION ON THESE ITEMS AT THE STATEHOUSE IN CONCORD THAT SURVIVED THE LAST FIVE AND A HALF MONTHS OF DEBATE AND VOTES, LEGISLATION THAT’S IMPORTANT TO THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ECONOMY AND TO NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY HOUSING AND CHILD CARE, WHICH ARE CURRENTLY A BREAK ON THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ECONOMY. MOVING FORWARD. SO WITH ME TO WALK THROUGH THIS LIST WITH MORE DETAIL, IS THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, MICHAEL SKELTON. WELCOME, MIKE. NICE TO HAVE YOU. THANKS, FRED. LET’S, UH, START WITH HOUSING. IF THERE’S ONE ITEM ON THIS LIST THAT IS A BREAK ON THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ECONOMY, RIGHT NOW, AS YOU KNOW, IT’S HOUSING. UM, ONE BILL YOU FOLLOWED UPDATES. MANUFACTURED HOUSING LAWS. THE OTHER ALLOWS PROPERTY OWNERS TO BUILD ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS. WHAT HAPPENED? WELL, IT WAS A BIT OF A MIXED BAG ON HOUSING THIS SESSION. WE TOOK SOME STEPS FORWARD. AS YOU MENTIONED, MANUFACTURED HOUSING ALSO A BILL THAT WOULD NARROW THE DEFINITION OF A BUTTER SHOULD HELP THE ABILITY TO ADD MORE HOUSING SUPPLY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. BUT THERE WERE SEVERAL KEY BILLS ON HOUSING THAT ULTIMATELY DID NOT MOVE FORWARD. AND IT’S A LITTLE DISAPPOINTING THAT EVEN THOUGH THERE’S ACKNOWLEDGMENT AMONG LEGISLATORS THAT HOUSING IS A BIG ISSUE THAT’S IMPACTING OUR ECONOMY, THERE’S A LOT MORE TO BE DONE ALONGSIDE HOUSING AS A BRAKE ON THE ECONOMY, AS CHILD CARE, AS YOU KNOW, WITH COST, THAT THE PARENTS OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS JUST CANNOT AFFORD. HAS THE BILL ON SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FAMILIES IN NEED. DID THAT PASS? YES. AND THERE’S BEEN SOME SMALL STEPS FORWARD. A REALLY ENCOURAGING SIGN IS THE CREATION OF A SPECIAL COMMITTEE IN THE HOUSE TO LOOK AT CHILD CARE. AND THERE’S SOME BIPARTISAN COOPERATION HAPPENING THERE. BUT THERE’S A LONG WAY TO GO. AND THIS IS A HUGE ISSUE, AS YOU MENTIONED, IMPACTS OUR WORKFORCE DEEPLY. AND I THINK WE’RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPACTFUL SOLUTIONS THAT ARE GOING TO HAVE A SUSTAINABLE IMPACT ON THE CHILD CARE INDUSTRY, ENERGY, ENERGY, INCLUDING THE ONE THAT CREATES A NEW PROCEDURE TO REGULATE THE SITING OF ENERGY FACILITIES, WHICH HAS BEEN SLOW. YES. YEAH. AND THIS I THINK THIS IS A BIG WIN FOR THE NEW HAMPSHIRE ECONOMY AND SOMETHING THAT THE BIA AND MANY OTHERS HAVE BEEN WORKING ON FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, SPEEDING UP THE PROCESS BY WHICH NEW ENERGY PROJECTS GET PERMITTED. AND BUILT. THAT’S GOING TO HELP US LOWER ENERGY COSTS. DATA PRIVACY. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WAS A VERY BIG ITEM FOR YOU. YOU SAID THE VALUE AND IMPACT OF THIS ISSUE TO NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESSES IS HUGE, THAT THEY OUGHT TO PAY ATTENTION. ABSOLUTELY. WHAT HAPPENED SO WE’VE PASSED A COMPREHENSIVE DATA PRIVACY LAW IN NEW HAMPSHIRE IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN INDUSTRY AND THE LEGISLATURE, FINDING A SENSIBLE SOLUTION, SENSIBLE REGULATIONS THAT WORK FOR CUSTOMERS AND PROTECTING THEIR PRIVACY, AS WELL AS BUSINESS. WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS WORKS AND BUSINESSES ARE ABLE TO ADOPT IT EFFECTIVELY. LANDFILL THE BILLS TO ADDRESS OUT OF STATE TRASH. THE LANDFILL PERMITS. BOTH OF THOSE DID NOT PASS. AND WE HAVE A PROBLEM BECAUSE SOME OF THESE LANDFILLS ARE FILLING UP. SURE. YEAH. SO SLID WASTE IS A HIDDEN COST WITHIN THE COST OF DOING BUSINESS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. AND IT IMPACTS EVERY CITIZEN. THERE’S BEEN A LOT OF FOCUS ON THIS ISSUE. I THINK THE LEGISLATURE IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT IT, BUT WE NEED SENSIBLE REGULATION SO THAT WE CAN CONTINUE TO MANAGE OUR SOLID WASTE IN A IN A THOUGHTFUL WAY. HIGHER EDUCATION. THE ALIGNMENT BETWEEN THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM AND THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM ALIGNMENT, NOT MERGER. AS MY GUEST LAST WEEK MADE CLEAR. YES, ABSOLUTELY. CAREER PATHWAYS ARE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. I THINK OUR COLLEGE COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM AND OUR UNIVERSITY SYSTEM ARE EXCELLENT PARTNERS TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY, SO IT’S POSITIVE THAT WE’RE CONTINUING TO LOOK AT HOW CAN WE STRENGTHEN THE PIPELINE BETWEEN EDUCATION AND BUSINESS, ATTRACT AND RETAIN MORE YOUNG PEOPLE, MORE STUDENTS AND MOVE THEM RIGHT INTO THE WORKFORCE WHEN THEY GRADUATE? SO I THINK THIS IS A POSITIVE STEP FORWARD. MIKE SKELTON, PRESIDENT OF THE BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION OF NEW HAMPSHIRE, THANK YOU. IF YOU MISSED PART OF THIS BRIEFING ON WHAT’S HAPPENING AT THE LEGISLATURE THIS SESSION, ESPECIALLY FOR THE ECONOMY AND FOR BUSINESSES, YOU CAN GO TO