Democratic state Rep. David Campbell said the plan would be a way to keep the state's promise for building aid while allowing for enough state-backed debt to finance its own public work projects.
"This is a way to get us through the next biennium," Campbell said Thursday after he and Rep. Candace Bouchard, D-Concord, chairwoman of the House Public Works and Highways Committee, offered the proposal to the Senate Capital Budget Committee.
"This allows the discussion to take place in the state Senate, where it belongs," Campbell said.
As proposed, it would dedicate one-half of 1 percent from the room and meals tax to pay for bonds covering the state's share of school construction projects.
"It would be up to the Senate to decide if it should raise the tax or use one-half of 1 percent of the existing tax," Campbell said.
First of all, the state already dedicates a portion of the Rooms and Meals Tax to revenue sharing. Gov. Lynch's budget proposed ending it, but the House budget restored it.
Secondly, Rooms and Meals revenue are already being spent. Dedicating them to a specific program does nothing to actually solve the problem. It just takes money from other spending.
Finally, if the Building Aid Program is such a high priority for Campbell and the Public Works Committee, they could have included more than $0 for it in the budget. They decide to punt, and let the State Senate figure out how to pay for a program that will almost certainly be added back into the House budget.
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