In the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, we set the table for you with our Green Eggs and Ham breakfast, now it’s time for cross-over and with that, a half time show.  Let’s face it, everyone has been working (and watching) hard and could use a cocktail.  Whether you’re a lawmaker, state agency employee, advocate, or Granite Stater passionate about conservation issues, please join us in April for a celebration.

We promise to have a great crowd, healthy camaraderie and a good time.

Special Guest: Commissioner Jeff Rose, our new leader of the NH Department of Resources and Economic Development

Cash Bar. Drink Specials. Just a walk from the statehouse. Parking garage adjacent to True Brew.

Please, RSVP to Susie here.

Raiding user fees to balance the budget creates a new class of taxpayer, does little to remedy our financial woes, and we all lose

Concord, NH — March 21, 2013 — We’re in the thick of budget season again in New Hampshire, and as in years past, the Governor and Legislature face tough choices. Whether it’s health care, social services, or the environment, only one issue really matters right now, to pretty much everyone at the State House, and that’s finding money to balance the General Fund.

The struggle to balance the budget is nothing new, but unfortunately, neither is the solution: once again, the Governor and our legislators plan to dip into dedicated funds to balance the books. It’s hardly a winning strategy.

Dedicated funds are those fees paid by users, or participants in certain activities, and are ‘dedicated,’ because they’re designed to fund or cover costs associated with those activities.  In state government, there are hundreds of such fees, established over time to fund specific purposes.

Case in point: the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).   Since 2007, New Hampshire citizens have paid a $25 fee on mortgage transactions to fund land and historic conservation. You assume the money actually goes to conservation…but it doesn’t. Over the last five years, almost two-thirds of LCHIP fees have been “swept” into the state’s General Fund to help balance the budget (in FY2012 and FY2013, all of the monies went to this budget balancing act). So while fee-payers are told they’re supporting a conservation account, they are in fact supporting general government operations, making the LCHIP fee, in reality, a mortgage tax.

Governor Hassan has proposed fully funding LCHIP in the second year of her budget, yet legislative budget writers are preparing to once again dip into LCHIP’s dedicated fund, taking half the money in the second year of the budget for the General Fund.

And the Governor’s budget proposal goes one step further.  Buried in House Bill 2 is a provision authorizing the Governor, without legislative oversight, to use “an amount of dedicated funds for transfer to the general fund, sufficient to cover the budget shortfall.” This broadly-worded provision would allow the Governor to use millions of dollars in dedicated user fees — collected for purposes ranging from transportation improvements and environmental protection to energy development and public safety — to fill the hole everyone knows exists in the current year’s budget. And all without public hearings, legislative oversight, or any input from Granite Staters paying these dedicated fees.

We understand the state is having a difficult time balancing its operating budget, but when citizens pay a fee for one specific purpose, let’s use it for that purpose or at least be given the courtesy of being told why it can’t be used for that purpose. If the budget situation demands redirecting those fees, say so, out in the open, through a public process instead of through a provision buried in the depths of a budget bill.  And while LCHIP is just one example among hundreds of dedicated funds, it is one whose impact is felt across the Granite State.   If there are no funds to protect our land and community heritage, we need to know that; if NH residents are getting slapped with a new mortgage tax, we need to know that too, and hold our elected officials accountable.

Susie Hackler, Executive Director, Conservation NH

Rick Russman, Former Republican State Senator, Kingston

Contact: 603-228-1970

CNH is pleased to announce the addition of two new board members, Steve Blackmer and Mandy Merrill.

Steve is a veteran in the environmental field and Mandy Merrill, a former State Senator, is one of the founding members of CNH and we’re happy to have her back.

Welcome Steve and Mandy!

Check out the Governor’s remarks at:
http://youtu.be/aP0uE6SB5J4

Thank you, Governor Hassan for joining us!

Join a diverse group of Granite Staters – public officials, advocates, business leaders, and the general public, to discuss some of the environmental and energy priorities that lawmakers will be facing in the upcoming session and beyond. What can we agree on? What issues continue to divide us? How can we find common ground?

At the start of this new legislative session, and with a new Governor at the helm, we must renew our commitment to work across party lines to find smart energy and environmental solutions in common. The theme of this year’s breakfast is: Forging an Innovative Course: NH’s Green Advantage.

As always, this event is free and made possible by the generous support of our environmental partners, businesses, and individuals. Chef Trish will once again whip up a fabulous breakfast menu made with local ingredients.

This year’s RAFFLE is the best ever:

One night for two at the AMC Highland Center Lodge, Bretton Woods (inclds. mea

A kayak from Eastern Mountain Sports

One ton of wood pellets from New England Wood Pellet

Tickets are $5 each or an arm’s length for $20. Bring some cash to the event to buy your winning ticket!

CONCORD, NH – January 17, 2013 – It’s an annual tradition for dozens of politicos, business leaders and environmental advocates, an event that’s become THE place to be seen — and be green.

The Conservation NH Voter Center’s Green Eggs and New Hampshire Legislative Policy Breakfast provides an opportunity to fuel up and learn what the environmental community has on its plate besides eggs and all the fixings.

It’s a meet-and-greet for new and returning legislators, a chance for the business community to get its post-election political fix, and the place to preview the environmental and energy issues lawmakers will be facing in the upcoming session and beyond.

“What can we agree on? What issues continue to divide us? How can we find common ground?” asks CNH Executive Director Susie Hackler.

“We spent the fall meeting with candidates and endorsing some of them for election and re-election, so this event is a chance to see the fruits of those labors, so to speak,” says Hackler. CNH endorsed 18 candidates, with 16 winning their races.

“We’re proud of our winning streak, but it’s time to stop talking about who’s in and who’s out. We’ve got to focus on strategies, and that means working across party lines to tackle the critical issues facing New Hampshire.”

The theme of this year’s breakfast is “Forging an Innovative Course: NH’s Green Advantage.” Among the speakers will be Governor Maggie Hassan, House Speaker Terie Norelli and Senate President Peter Bragdon.

Susie Hackler will present the 2013 environmental priorities for the conservation community. Richard Ober, President and CEO of New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, will deliver the keynote address, entitled, “People and Place.”

For more information or to register for this free event on January 30th, please visit www.conservationnh.org

We are pleased to welcome to the State Senate:
Jeff Woodburn
David Watters
David Pierce
Andrew Hosmer

And, welcome back:
Nancy Stiles
Bob Odell
Jeanie Forrester
Molly Kelly
Peg Gilmour
Bette Lasky
Sylvia Larsen
Martha Fuller Clark

Welcome to the Executive Council:
Colin Van Ostern
Chris Pappas

And, welcome back:
Ray Burton
Debora Pignatelli

We also look forward to working with the fresh faces in the house many of whom are excellent on our issues with a particular welcome to our former board members David Borden and Rebecca Brown. It is clear that there are also excellent opportunities ahead with our governor elect Maggie Hassan.

We look forward to working with the legislature in the upcoming session and make sure to save the date for our annual Green Eggs and New Ham-shire Breakfast on January 30, 2013 (Grappone Center in Concord).

To earn an endorsement, candidates complete a detailed questionnaire.  This questionnaire requires candidates to articulate their positions on many of the top environmental and conservation issues facing New Hampshire.

Those candidates that demonstrate clear environmental principles on our issues, are then invited for an in-person meeting with Conservation NH board and staff members.  In these interviews, we evaluate candidates’ environmental views as well as their viability as a candidate.

2012 Endorsements

State Senate

Jeff Woodburn

Jeanie Forrester

David Watters

David Pierce

Andrew Hosmer

Bob Odell

Lee Nyquist

Molly Kelly

Peg Gilmour

Bette Lasky

Sylvia Larsen

Martha Fuller Clark

Nancy Stiles

Executive Council

Ray Burton

Colin Van Ostern

Chris Pappas

Bill Duncan

Debora Pignatelli

The setting will be at the glorious Dimond Hill Farm in Concord with outstanding views and a guaranteed fun group of harvest partiers.

With Chef Mike at the helm, from the Concord Cooperative Market, we will be serving a range of creatively inspired foods that spotlight local foods and local farms. There will be music, fun, and remarks will be kept to an absolute minimum!  Although, this year’s focus is obviously on the election and we have a lot to talk about including our endorsements and to celebrate our green leaders who plan to join us.

As with all Conservation NH events, our goal with the Harvest party is to bring together a diverse cross section of the state’s conservation, business and political community to network and support keeping the conservation of our natural resources a top priority for decision makers in New Hampshire.

Tickets are $50 per person and we are expecting a capacity crowd. We hope you will join us, as we enjoy New Hampshire’s bounty, reflect and celebrate Conservation New Hampshire’s successful year, and look forward to preserving the true New Hampshire advantage – our environment and quality of life.

Here are a few of the delectable samplings that will be served:

Vermont Pure sausage  and bratwurst with handmade saurkraut and onions

Local artisanal cheese and seasonal fruit board

New Hampshire-made all-natural pizzas with some wonderful toppings, thanks to Rustic Crust’s portable wood-fired oven!

Ultra-tasty apple crisp with ice cream

For more information, contact Susie Hackler by phone at (603) 228-1970 or by e-mail at shackler@conservationNH.org.

Click here to view the full invitation.

Thanks to the support of our generous sponsors:

ENH Power

SolarRay

Rustic Crust

Vermont Creamery

Hood

Charlie Niebling

Susan Arnold

Ken Colburn

Liz & Dennis Hager

Kirk & Judith Leoni

Rick Russman

Roger Stephenson

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150307175319262.350239.173569349261

Click here to view the embedded video.

Conservation NH convenes monthly roundtable meetings to discuss the top environmental priorities facing the state with advocates from all of the larger environmental groups in NH. In the spirit of this convening role, CNH invited each of the gubernatorial candidates into our meetings in July and August to facilitate a learning opportunity and exchange for both the candidates and the advocates. The format of the meeting included asking each candidate to give a summary of their campaign and to highlight their environmental / conservation priorities and then we went around the table and asked each advocate to ask a question about a priority issue of their choosing. Each meeting took just under one hour. Over the course of two days, CNH convened four meetings with the following candidates: Ovide Lamontagne, Maggie Hassan, Kevin Smith and Jackie Cilley (note, that all candidates for the governor’s seat were invited).

In addition to the gubernatorial candidate’s staffers, the following individuals and organizations were represented at these meetings:

Will Abbott, The Society for the Protection of NH Forests

Susan Arnold, Appalachian Mountain Club

Tom O’Brien, NH LAKES Association

Paul Nickerson, NH Audubon

Jim O’Brien, The Nature Conservancy

Tom Irwin, Conservation Law Foundation

Jim Rubens, Union of Concerned Scientists

Chris Wells, The Society for the Protection of NH Forests

Representative Suzanne Harvey

Jerry Curran, Chair, NH Sierra Club

Cindy Reid, NH Sierra Club

Liz Hager, Chair, Conservation NH

Betsy Janeway

Susan Hackler, Conservation NH

Alisha Real, Conservation NH

While there was not agreement on many issues including perspectives on human impacts on climate change and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, on a positive note, there was consensus around a positive green priority list from each candidate around:

• Creating a comprehensive energy plan for NH.
• Maintaining the dedicated fund for The NH Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP).
• Studying further the Northern Pass project.
• Evaluating the Site Evaluation Committee process.
• Studying further divestiture, Merrimack Station (ratepayer costs).
• Maintaining funding for the Federal Trails and Recreation Program.