In this forum, I’ve written extensively about the concerns we have in New Hampshire regarding affordable housing, support for young families and health care. During this session, we’ve made some progress by working together with the Republican majority. In fact, business leaders have consistently told the legislature that health care and housing are higher priorities than cutting the business taxes.
Policymakers added $25 million to the Affordable Housing Fund, which provides grants and low-interest loans for building or acquiring housing affordable to Granite Staters with low or moderate incomes.
The legislature contributed $10 million to the InvestNH Fund, which finances grants to developers and municipalities to support housing construction.
The Housing Champions Designation and Grant Program and provides $5.25 million in funding to incentivize municipalities to make certain land use and zoning changes, water and sewer upgrades, and policies to support walkability and transportation infrastructure. There is also a $10 million appropriation for housing shelter programs.
The state budget expanded access to childcare, particularly through enhanced eligibility for childcare scholarships. This expanded eligibility means that a family of two adults with one child and an income of up to $86,000 could receive some form of assistance.
Childcare providers will also receive higher reimbursements for enrolling scholarship students, adding more funding for staff. The state budget also makes a $15 million investment in childcare worker recruitment and retention.
The state budget includes $134.2 million in state funds for boosting reimbursement rates for Medicaid, which will be federally matched. Enhanced rates will help medical providers fund higher compensation for workers aiding recruitment. It also extends expanded Medicaid coverage for adults with low incomes which is important for workforce support.
We’ll see how the second year of this session develops. However, with a NH House that is nearly evenly divided, I’m encouraged that we will find new and innovative ways to cooperate that benefits working families and business in New Hampshire.
Source: NH Fiscal Policy Institute