Legislative Updates by Rep. Maureen Mooney

Merrimack NH

12 October, 2021

12:52 PM

Description

Greetings! There is so much happening at any given moment in the New Hampshire state legislature. This legislative year has had its ups and downs combined with twists (like meeting drive-in style, and on AstroTurf inside the Bedford Sportsplex). Nevertheless, bills have passed, failed, been retained and some are now law. Here are some highlights of interest to Merrimack: - Removal of exit 10 Merrimack tolls: The budget (HB 2) passed this year was signed into law by the Governor and includes the removal of the toll booths at Exit 10 in Merrimack by 2022. See sections 389-390 on page 174 here: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=1080&txtFormat=pdf&v=current - Clarifying that forgiveness of PPP loans is not taxable: This bill clarifies income from the forgiven Paycheck Protection Program loans as not taxable. This bill was signed into law by the Governor and became effective law on June 10, 2021. See text of SB 3 here: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=1078&txtFormat=pdf&v=current; Press Release on SB 3 here: https://www.governor.nh.gov/news-and-media/100-million-tax-relief-governor-chris-sununu-signs-sb-3-law. - Six-year statute of limitations on civil actions relative to damage caused by perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances: This bill has passed both the House and Senate and was signed by the Governor in July of 2021. The bill provides a six-year (instead of the three-year) statute of limitations to civilly sue for PFAS damages with an effective date of September 21, 2021. See full text of HB 236 here: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=77&txtFormat=pdf&v=current - Education Freedom Accounts: The Education Freedom Accounts (a/k/a "EFA") passed in the budget (HB 2) and were signed into law by the Governor on June 25, 2021 with the effective date of 60 days after passage. EFA grants can be spent on education including tuition, tutoring, online classes and more. They are available for New Hampshire resident school children with household income levels not exceeding 300% of the federal poverty guidelines. See pages 182-191 here: http://gencourt.state.nh.us/bill_status/billText.aspx?sy=2021&id=1080&txtFormat=pdf&v=current A great resource that includes the application form for a grant is here: https://nh.scholarshipfund.org/apply/nh-education-freedom-accounts/ - Community Happening: McDonalds is serving free breakfast meals (during breakfast hours) as a special thank you to educators, administrators and school staff from October 11-15, 2021. It is a "Thank You Meal!" Rep. Maureen Mooney is in her fourth term as a NH State Representative serving Merrimack. Her website is: www.votemooney.com and Facebook page is: https://www.facebook.com/maureenmooneynh.