Tax and fee increases/YDC prison movement

By John Stephen

MANCHESTER, NH - John Stephen, Republican candidate for Governor, today offered the following statement on the passage of the Finance Committee amendment to Senate Bill 450. The House of Representatives passed the amendment 187-182 today. The legislation includes a number of tax and fee increases, as well as the relocation of the Goffstown Women's Prison to the Sununu Youth Center campus (YDC) in Manchester. Those children from YDC would then be moved to the Laconia State Prison grounds.

"This bill knocks New Hampshire's economy on its knees, at a time when our employers are struggling to get back on their feet. The absolute last thing we need is a bevy of tax and fee increases on our residents, our businesses and our local communities. This legislation is a job-killer that will leave the state poorly positioned to recover from the recession. Creating a death tax, downshifting more costs to our cities and towns and adding new business taxes at a time when we already have the highest business tax rate in the nation make no sense and undermine the New Hampshire Advantage. Governor Lynch should offer an immediate veto threat to this ill-conceived legislation."

"Furthermore, moving the Goffstown Women's Prison to YDC without a public hearing is an affront to the citizens of Manchester who were promised that this facility would not become a state prison. The legislature is making the same mistake they did during the LLC tax fiasco by not allowing the citizens to have their voices heard. The neighbors and employees of the YDC have spoken loudly that they do not want this prison.

"This bill also break faith with the residents of Laconia, who were promised that the prison there would be closed and reused to grow the local economy, not used for a juvenile detention center. This is a terrible idea that breaks the state's word with two separate communities, while it also moves the juveniles in YDC from an environment where they can receive rehabilitation to a prison. We are abandoning the state's focus on turning around the lives of these children in order to relocate the women's prison. This is an outrage."

"I will continue to work with the residents of Manchester to give them a chance to speak out against this poorly thought out idea. In addition, I will work with the Laconia community to give them an opportunity to voice their concerns with this legislation. There is no excuse for this shameful lack of public input."