Passing the Buck on the JUA

In her Capital Beat column in the Concord Monitor, Lauren Dorgan sees legislative supporters of the controversial raid on the Joint Underwriting Association passing the buck to the AG's office:

Democratic Majority Floor Leader Dan Eaton, who worked on the budget, said that the budget, for now, is out of the Legislature's hands. He, too, reminded us of who backed the idea.

"The proposal to use JUA money was researched in depth at the attorney general's office at the request of the governor, and the attorney general felt that the state was on very solid footing," he said. "And I would have to yield to the legal expertise of the attorney general in that area."

New taxes hit the dirt

The Concord Monitor's Ray Duckler profiles local campground owner Bob Bradley who will now have to collect a 9% tax on his bare ground:

He doesn't want the rooms-and-meals tax extending to campgrounds. And he doesn't like the way it was done, either, saying it was pushed through under the cover of darkness. He smells a cat burglar sneaking into the House - and Senate - while many slept.

But at least Bradley has a sense of humor about it. For now.

"So now on that piece of dirt, you went from zero to 9 percent," said Bradley, 61, who's made camping an integral part of his life. "That's a new tax, to use my dirt. You bring your room, you bring your meals, and then we tax you."

Bradley says he never saw the new tax coming:

But camping had never been part of the equation. Then the WMUR reporter announced the amendment, well after 11 p.m., when, no doubt, many in the camping community slept. Bradley, though, was awake, involved in his own personal nightmare.

"I said to my wife, 'Mother of God,' " Bradley said. "I was just completely blindsided, shocked. I immediately sent e-mails to our president, vice president, secretary, treasurer and executive director so they would see them first thing in the morning in case they weren't watching the news."

One of the lawmakers up late that night was Rep. Dan Eaton, the majority floor leader and a Democrat from Stoddard. He backed the amendment and tells a different story. He says everything was on the table, and everybody should have been prepared.

"I'm not sure I think there is complete lack of notice," Eaton said. "I think that had been open for discussion for several days."

The DRA Commissioner floats 11 new tax ideas on Monday, and you end up with a 9% tax increase on Thursday. Plenty of notice, according to Rep. Eaton.

Budget unreality: Spending without looking

The Union Leader editorial page looks at how the House and Senate set budget priorities, and is not impressed:

Last Thursday, the Senate Finance Committee passed a budget that could be balanced only with the addition of new revenues. Its members also increased taxes and fees, but replaced the revenue generated by the House's not-yet-existent new taxes with revenue generated by not-yet-existent slot-machine casinos.

Each of these budgets is based upon the Dan Eaton Principle. During the House budget debate, Republicans objected to the leadership's plan to pass a spending bill first, then go for the tax hikes needed to pay for it. They said, reasonably, that the state should budget like families do, by first determining how much money is available, then deciding how to allocate it. House Majority Leader Eaton rebuffed the criticisim with an aphorism: "It makes sense to know how much you're spending before you decide how much money to raise."