Grossi: Will the Government Close Down

I recently wrote an opinion piece after the New Hampshire House passed a budget proposal, but before the budget had moved to the Senate. I stated I was a registered Independent and that the Republican state legislature was being controlled by the Free Staters. I spoke about how the House budget impacted the poor and the middle class in NH, and that because the House was controlled by the Free Staters, this budget was a means to their ends…dismantling of government, public education, healthcare, and more in the state of New Hampshire.

Now the budget (HB1 and HB2) has gone through the Senate and been amended, and it will now proceed to a vote this Thursday, June 26, 2025. I am not in support of a budget which causes people in the Granite State Advantage Healthcare Program (Medicaid) to pay monthly premiums when in this population the approximate annual income for a family of three is $23,233. Some things have been restored to the budget, like the Renewable Energy Fund, but there are still several things still present in the budget that hurt the NH citizen.

Governor Ayotte is advocating against the current budget and has threatened to veto it because she wants to allocate approximately $300 million to enhance pensions for 1500 first responders affected by a 2011 pension-benefit change. This is obviously important to the Governor, though there are many other reasons to veto this budget on behalf of NH citizens. If the Governor vetoes the budget, the budget will move to a Continuing Resolution (CR) process.

From the beginning, the Free Staters, led by Majority Leader Jason Osborne and Representative Dan McGuire on the House Budget Committee (both Free Staters) aimed for a $1 billion budget cut. They wanted massive cuts to state government funding and services. The real moderate Republicans did not want these kinds of cuts. Governor Ayotte appears to have been trying to speak to those moderate Republicans to kill the budget before it gets to her desk. However, here we are. A budget, if passed on Thursday, will be vetoed, and then moved to the CR process. We don’t know how long this CR process will last. If the budget moves to a CR process and there is no feasible path to a compromise, then New Hampshire could be stuck with a CR for a long time, and a permanent CR would likely cut the budget by $1.5 billion over the biennium. This aligns perfectly with the Free Staters’ initial desire. This is the Free Staters’ dream! If the CR process causes a government shutdown, then concerns about specific budget cuts in HB1 and HB2, including a $10 million cut to Manchester schools, may be short-sighted given the potential $34 million cut to Manchester schools that could result in a CR with 90% funding. The Free Staters will have won their big budget cuts. However, they will not be blamed since it will have been the Governor who vetoed the bill that did not provide money to the 1500 responders.

The Free Staters have put everyone up against a wall: the legislators, the Governor, and the citizens. Where do we go from here? Are moderate Republicans brave enough to work across the aisle with the Democrats, or are they still afraid that the Free Staters will primary them out of their seats? Are Democrats willing to collaborate with those moderate Republicans and compromise? This is an opportunity for those elected officials in the legislature to stand up to the Free Staters and overcome the control the Free Staters have had throughout this 2025 session. It is time for a budget that works for NH citizens. It is not time for a Free Stater victory.