NH Senate Passes $15.5B Budget, Negotiations Ahead

The New Hampshire Senate passed a $15.5 billion, two-year state budget that restores funding for mental health services, Medicaid reimbursement rates, and agencies such as the Office of the Child Advocate, while maintaining some reductions like eliminating 60 Department of Corrections positions and reducing university system funding. The Senate plan spends about $200 million more than the House version but is still below Governor Kelly Ayotte’s initial proposal. Contentious points include the expansion of education freedom accounts, the absence of new affordable housing funds, and a new Medicaid premium requirement for some recipients, which Democrats argue unfairly burdens low-income residents. Republicans defend the budget as fiscally responsible and attentive to taxpayer concerns. Democrats criticize it for not adequately addressing housing, child care, and health care costs. Negotiations between the Senate and House are set to resolve ongoing disagreements over spending priorities.