RAYMOND – As we welcome in the New Year, and all our New Year’s resolutions, will the State House resolve to truly work to serve the people of our great state?
Three years ago, when the Democrats took control of the State Legislature, they boasted of returning transparency to our state government, but in reality it was secret midnight meetings, and no public hearings, that slipped their legislation through. Hopefully, we will start the 2010 Session in a different light. Seeing how many of their actions have not met the approval of the citizens, maybe we can now work in a bi-partisan way, debating over tax and fee repeals, and budget cutbacks. We really need to correct the errors of the past, and move forward serving the best interest of small business and our citizens.
The two top items we must address this year are: finding ways to create jobs, not just short term jobs, but real jobs, and balancing our state budget, which could be well over $100 million in the red by the end of this fiscal year. Then there’s also the $110 million JUA medical malpractice fund money still pending in the NH Supreme Court- that could add to the deficit.
I already have my copies of about 500 House Bills that I have started reading over and I understand there is almost that many coming from the Senate side. They are a gambit of: proposed constitutional amendments, repeals, income tax, sales tax, gambling, environmental issues, and a lot of personal interest items such as “no smoking on Hampton Beach State Park beach”. Now that’s a real winner. How would they ever be able to enforce it? They are also bring back the leasing of Cannon Mountain ski operations, which seems to come up every term. It will be an interesting session.
This first week of the session we will be debating the new “no guns in the State House” ruling and then take up the 2009 retained bills. It is interesting to note that of the 70 bills on the Consent Calendar, bills a committee thinks will pass on the floor without debate, as recommended by the committee, 47 are recommended as “Inexpedient to Legislate” (ITL)(kill), while only 13 are recommended for passage (OTP or OPT-A). The remaining 10 are recommended for “Refer for interim study” (RIS).
On the “Regular Calendar” by contrast, out of 53 total, 31 are recommended for OTP/OTP-A, 10 for ITL, and 12 for RIS. I believe as the committees were working on these retained bills over the summer and fall, the public cry was heard, thus so many are recommended to be killed. Also, a total of 22 were recommended for further study by the committee it’s assigned to. Any Legislator can pull a bill off the Consent Calendar and have it debated on the floor. It will be interesting to see how many are pulled off. Many times, the sponsor pulls their bill, just to have it debated on the floor. Unless we have a long session day, I don’t think we will get through this calendar on Wednesday. Some of these bills will get a long debate.
I received a letter from the American Cancer Society asking that I provide information on their recommendation for breast cancer screening and to stress the importance of breast cancer awareness and early detection for all women aged 40 and older.
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 40 to 49, with more than 4,000 deaths expected in this age group, this year. Breast cancer screening saves lives and too few Americans are currently being screened. Ensuring coverage for all cancer screening tests is an integral part of access to early detection and effective treatment, and the ACS would not want to jeopardize the availability of these services for the people of New Hampshire.
The ACS regularly reviews the latest scientific evidence and publishes cancer screening guidelines for patients and health care providers. Based on those reviews, the Society recommends annual screening using mammography for average-risk women beginning at the age 40 and routine clinical breast exams beginning at age 20. Women who are at high risk should talk with their physicians about an optimal screening plan.
Since 1990, deaths from breast cancer have declined, and the total impact in lives saved over these last 19 years has been significant, and cannot be ignored. Early detection and better treatments are responsible for that improvement. Have you had a check up lately?
(Editor’s Note: NH State Representative Mike Kappler can be reached at l.mikekappler@comcast.net)
