Bruce Berke, Sheehan Phinney Capitol Group

The pomp and circumstance in honor of our new Governor is now in the rear view mirror and the question now before the political class in Concord is....how long will the honeymoon mood last for first term Governor Maggie Hassan?

Based upon Governor Hassan's legislative experience (three terms in the State Senate), it is expected that she will have a strong working relationship with her former colleagues. In fact, Senate Majority Leader and a leading Republican, Jeb Bradley, calls her "my good friend." 

So while there are still strong feelings of bi-partisanship under the dome in Concord, most observers and participants are in a wait-and-see mode until Governor Hassan delivers her budget address in mid-February. That checkpoint in any governor's term is always a significant indicator as it will show where Governor Hassan's priorities are and where she stands as it relates to any revenue increases as well as revenue estimates for the next biennium.

Of specific interest in the halls of the State House are a few pending revenue enhancements and whether they will be accounted for in the Governor's budget proposal. There is one tax increase proposal that we learned this week that will not be a part of Governor Hassan's budget and that is the beer tax. On Wednesday, she clearly stated that if such an increase reached her desk, she would veto the measure.

First and easiest on the list is the tobacco tax. After being decreased by 10 cents in 2011, this is a tax that will go back up by at least that amount and perhaps more. For every penny increase in the tax rate, the state can likely count on about $1.4m so the minimum 10 cent increase will net the budget approximately $28m over the two year period.

Next and not so easy is the issue of expanded gambling.  Governor Hassan campaigned that she could support one licensed destination resort in the state. New Hampshire has proven to be a tough nut for the out-of-state gambling interests to crack over the last 20 years. As such, will we see Governor Hassan include any potential revenue from expanded gambling in her proposed budget? There are two schools of thought that run counter to one another. The traditional and conservative approach is, do not count on revenues to support your spending priorities that are not even authorized by law today. The second is, challenge the legislature by saying these spending priorities are important to all of us and therefore state that if the legislature does not want to support them through expanded gambling, then find another way to fund them. This approach is more confrontational than just trying pass gambling and then adding back the programs into the budget. We will find out in less than a month which path Governor Hassan decides to pursue.

And finally for this week, there is the looming debate over the gas tax and increased vehicle registration fees. The chair of the House Public Works Committee announced this week that he will be pushing for a gas tax increase of four cents per year for the next three years to pay for our highway infrastructure and the I-93 expansion between Manchester and the Commonwealth to our south. Senate Finance Chair Chuck Morse has been a supporter of bonding that and other highway projects.  We will see which methodology wins out in June.

Prior to that debate's formative step in February, the legislature is and will be holding public hearings on a myriad of bills. Most of this past week was spent on briefings and presentations from state agencies and different interest groups to help orient new members of the legislature and to also bring everyone up to speed on the current state of affairs on the state's finances and general operations. Issues are just heating up in Concord despite the mercury going down in support of all our outdoor winter enthusiasts!