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As Gov. Chris Sununu moves to undo the state’s overly burdensome occupational licensing regime, legislators are trying to add more licenses. On Wednesday, March 22, the House voted 210-166 to require a state license for the practice of music therapy. Why? Health insurance. Supporters said New Hampshire needs to license music therapists to ensure that […]
At Reason.com, Jacob Grier noticed that Massachusetts’ ban on flavored tobacco products has, predictably, created a black market in flavored cigarettes. The smuggling is so prevalent that law enforcement is running out of places to store seized products. The Massachusetts Department of Revenue reports conducting more than 300 seizures in FY 2022, compared to 170 […]
A surefire way to suppress already low levels of youth employment is to raise the cost of employing younger workers. Some proposals in the Legislature would do that, in the name of helping these same workers. One proposal, House Bill 125, would make it illegal to employ 16-and 17-year-olds after 9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and after […]
“Healthy market competition is fundamental to a well-functioning U.S. economy. Basic economic theory demonstrates that when firms have to compete for customers, it leads to lower prices, higher quality goods and services, greater variety, and more innovation.” — Heather Boushey and Helen Knudsen, “The Importance of Competition for the American Economy,” The White House, July […]
The January, 2023, draft of the state’s Capital Corridor commuter rail study contains nothing that commuter rail boosters should like. The financial analysis, prepared for the state Department of Transportation by AECOM Technical Services Inc. of Manchester, envisions a nearly $800 million railroad serving fewer than 100 Manchester commuters per trip, at an operating cost […]
As legislators consider more proposals to expand Medicaid eligibility or services to specific populations, they ought to consider that Medicaid is both like and unlike the universe. Like the universe, Medicaid is expanding faster than it should be. Unlike the universe, there’s no scientific possibility of Medicaid expanding forever. (Maybe the universe can’t either.) Two bills […]
In the midst of an acute labor shortage that has pushed wages to new highs, a few legislators have opted to introduce another bill to raise New Hampshire’s minimum wage. House Bill 57 would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025, then tie it to the inflation rate, ensuring regular, automatic increases. […]
In 2019, the state created a Housing Appeals Board to offer a speedier resolution to land use disputes between property owners and local boards. Though the cases that have gone to the board have been resolved quickly, a large backlog of cases remains in Superior Court. Richard Head, government relations coordinator for the state judicial […]
When considering commuter rail in New Hampshire, here’s thought experiment that offers a great place to start. Should the Massachusetts Bay Colony have built commuter rail in Revolutionary-era Boston? Assuming the technology had been available, would this have made any sense? We can get to an answer by looking at the primary obstacle to building […]
“In many cases rent control appears to be the most efficient technique presently known to destroy a city—except for bombing.” — Swedish economist Assar Lindbeck New Hampshire renters have endured steadily rising prices for many years. Their frustration has reached the point that some lawmakers and activists are advocating a policy once unthinkable in the […]