State Senate Op-Ed: Ricciardi Wins 'Rookie Of The Year'

Press release from the NH State Senate:

July 9, 2021

It’s hard to believe that Sen. Denise Ricciardi has only been serving at the State House for six months. In that short time, she’s already achieved some major legislative victories.

Denise brought a wealth of public service experience to the job, so we shouldn’t be surprised that she hit the ground running. When she was sworn in, she said her top priority was protecting the property taxpayers in her district, and she hasn’t stopped fighting for them.

Denise was tireless in her drive to increase municipal revenue sharing from the Meals and Rooms Tax. Over the years, the state has used more money than promised for state expenses, leaving less to share with cities and towns. She brought in a bill to restore revenue sharing, and it won unanimous support from the New Hampshire Senate.

That legislation has now become part of the state budget. Because of Sen. Ricciardi’s efforts, we will share $188 million in Meals and Rooms Tax revenue with cities and towns, an increase of $50.5 million over the last budget, and for the first time protect that revenue sharing with a dedicated fund. That’s a promise kept from a first-year Senator.

We also increase funding for county nursing homes by $29.1 million, providing relief on the county portion of your property tax bill. And this budget refunds $100 million directly to homeowners and businesses through a cut in the statewide property tax.

As a member of the Senate Education Committee, Denise also tackled two tough challenges, improving education for every student, and providing education funding for districts most in need.

She was key to crafting Education Savings Accounts. This new program will empower low-income New Hampshire families who need more choices for their children’s education. School choice helps students who need options to fulfill their educational opportunities. By modeling the eligibility and accountability provisions after New Hampshire’s successful Education Tax Credit program, Denise ensured that the mechanics of the new EFA program would work just as well.

By expanding school choice, we can not only provide new paths for students who need them, but create a boost of innovation in New Hampshire’s education system.

The pandemic also created a possible problem for education funding. Because both school enrollments and participation in the Free and Reduced Lunch program were down last fall, our state’s school funding formula would have shortchanged school districts of $67 million in state aid next year. We made sure that wouldn’t happen. This budget fixes the formula and protects local taxpayers.

This budget also provides $30 million in building aid for new school construction projects, and $35 million under the Relief Funding Plan targeted to school districts with the most pressing fiscal need. Overall, this budget increases education funding by $102 million over current law for a total of $2.2 billion.

In addition to fighting for lowering property taxes, Sen. Ricciardi recognizes lowering burdens on New Hampshire employers is key to economic success. This budget cuts taxes on New Hampshire employers, reducing the Business Profits Tax and Business Enterprise Tax, and increasing the threshold for filing the BET to $250,000. That will provide immediate relief to New Hampshire’s small businesses and help create more high paying jobs for our friends and neighbors.

We also phase out the Interest and Dividends Tax on savings and retirement income, helping our seniors. We protect Main Street businesses who received loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program from an unexpected tax bill and lower the Meals and Rooms Tax for the first time in decades to give a boost to our travel and tourism industry.

That’s an impressive string of accomplishments for her first six months on the job. We can’t wait to see what Sen. Denise Ricciardi has in mind next year.

Sen. Chuck Morse (R-Salem) is Senate President. Sen. Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro) is Senate Majority Leader.

This press release was produced by the NH State Senate. The views expressed here are the author's own.