New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus Comments
on House Commerce Committee Recommending
Defeat of Paid Medical Leave Bill HB 628
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
January 31, 2018
Concord – The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus (NHHFC) today commended the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee for recommending HB 628 as Inexpedient to Legislate. The bill would have created a 0.5% tax on income, paid by the employer, to fund paid family and medical leave, unless the employee opted out of the program and tax upon being hired.
“President Reagan sagely pointed out that ‘If you can find it in the yellow pages, government shouldn’t be doing it.” While the Internet is making phone books obsolete, the wisdom remains – government should not be interfering where the private sector has a competitive, robust market. The House Commerce Committee acted prudently regarding HB 628.” stated Rep. Jeanine Notter, R-Merrimack
“The Insurance Department made clear that HB 628 would destroy the insurance market, which offers individuals and employers the ability to develop and customize plans that best meets consumers’ needs, and would replace it with a one-size-fits-all program that the Department of Employment Security says would be insolvent and potentially cost state taxpayers enormously. We applaud the Commerce Committee for recommending this bill die, because it is unnecessary and inappropriate intrusion with the free market” stated Rep. James Spillane, R-Deerfield
“As a small business owner, the last thing I need is one more piece of government interference between my employees and me. This legislation would replace an ongoing dialogue between business owners and their employees about how staff wants to structure compensation and benefits with a hard-to-administer tax that employees would have to decide upon employment whether they would take or not, and then not be given the chance to change their minds. By killing this, these types of insurance products go back to being part of an ongoing discussion between employers and employees, which is exactly what it should continue to be, to give everyone the best ability to make their own decisions,” added Rep. JR Hoell, R-Dunbarton
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The New Hampshire House Freedom Caucus is a grassroots organization consisting of legislators and private citizens, who believe in personal liberty and the traditional conservative “Yankee” values that made New Hampshire a great place to live.