POLITICS
 Lawmakers eye business bills in 2007
Smoking in restaurants and regulating contractors included By Shir Haberman
Published: December 2006
The voting machines used in the November elections may still be warm and the start of the 2007 New Hampshire legislative session is still about a month away, but already the Legislative Services Department at the Statehouse has received more than 250 requests from lawmakers to draft bills they would like considered during the upcoming session.
While a goodly number deal with defining what an adequate education is and several are seeking to take the courts out of the education funding debate, there are already a number of business-related bills in process.
For example, state Sen. David Gottesman, D-Nashua, is bringing back legislation that would prohibit smoking in restaurants, cocktail lounges and certain enclosed public places. An attempt to prohibit this behavior passed the House and was accepted by the state’s Hospitality Association last session, but was killed in the Senate.
State Rep. Steve Vaillancourt, R-Manchester, is promoting a similar bill in the House.
The fallout from construction scams foisted on residents whose homes were damaged during this year’s floods and fierce storms has prompted both Rep. Ken Hawkins, R-Bedford, and Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester, to file proposed legislation that will better regulate residential building and remodeling contractors.
In fact, a number of proposed bills have the intent of better controlling those who work in certain industries. These include:
A bill that requires the licensure of property and casualty insurance appraisers, sponsored by Rep. Marshall Lee Quandt, R-Exeter
Legislation relative to the regulation and licensure of residential building inspectors, sponsored by Rep. Benjamin Baroody, D-Manchester.
A bill establishing a committee to study barbering and barbering training, sponsored by Rep. Marshall Lee Quandt, R-Exeter.
Legislation relative to the regulation of private investigators, sponsored by Rep. Jordan G. Ulery, R-Hudson.
A request for legislation relative to licensing of medical assistants, sponsored by Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, D-Manchester.
A bill establishing a board of somatic practitioners and the regulation of the practice of somatic therapy, sponsored by Rep. Benjamin Baroody, D-Manchester
Legislation relative to certification of architect business organizations, sponsored by D’Allesandro.
A bill regulating barbers, also sponsored by D’Allesandro.
Legislation looking at the authority of nurse practitioners, sponsored by Rep. Duncan Chaplin, R-Strafford.
There are also a number of bills scheduled to come up in this session dealing with the insurance industry.
Gottesman hopes to establish an external review for disability insurance, Quandt wants to enact penalties for insurance adjusters, appraisers or companies that purposefully understate the value of an insurance claim, and Rep. Howard Dickinson, R-Center Conway, wants to allow purchasing alliances for health insurance.
There are two bills in the works to fund relief for the state’s dairy farmers; one sponsored by Rep. David Babson, R-Ossippee, and the other by Rep. James Phinizy, R/D-Actworth.
In response to numerous concerns over how professional licensing boards and commissions operate, Rep. Timothy Robertson, D-Keene, is proposing legislation that would limit the number of members of that profession on a licensing board to only half the membership of the board.
What personal and business information should be public is the subject of two proposed bills this session.
Rep. Mary Beth Walz, D-Bow, wants to limit the reporting of public record information to consumer credit reporting agencies, and Dickinson wants to limit access to certain business information.
Rep. Roger Wells is seeking to have pharmacies notify consumers when prescriptions need to be renewed, Rep. W. Packy Campbell, R-Farmington, wants to require oil suppliers to use a percentage of biodiesel fuel in home heating oil, and Rep. William Chase, a Democrat from Westmoreland, wants to see the creation of a broadband development authority.
The range of legislation ranges from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Rep. Catherine Mulholland, D-Grafton, is pursuing legislation that would allow municipalities to offer property tax incentives to entice businesses, while Rep. Derek Owen, a Democrat from Hopkinton, has his mind set on legislation that would allow the establishment of an industrial hemp special program fund in the state.
And this is just the tip of the 2007 legislative agenda iceberg. In the coming months we will keep you informed of proposed legislation that could impact your business and the status of attempts to increase existing state business taxes that will surely come out of the ongoing debate over educational funding.
Shir Haberman is the managing editor for news at the Portsmouth Herald. He can be reached at shaberman@seacoastonline.com
|
