Last session, Governor Sununu set a record-breaking number of vetoes with 53. He warned legislators that this session he was not afraid to continue that streak of vetoing bills that he was not supportive of. Last week the Governor once again vetoed a bill concerning a mandatory Family Medical Leave Insurance program for New Hampshire.
The paid family leave bill would give workers up to 12 weeks off to take care of a sick family member or themselves following the birth or adoption of a child. The mandatory program would be funded by a payroll deduction from workers’ paychecks, which Governor Sununu has said amounts to an income tax. He vetoed a nearly identical bill on similar grounds last year. His 2020 veto message of HB 712 can be found here:
https://www.governor.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt336/files/2020-07/hb712-veto-message.pdf
Many state trade associations reached out to the Governor to urge his veto of this bill.
See an example of a letter from NHADA, the Business & Industry Association of NH and others to the Governor, here.
The legislature will reconvene at some point in the fall to consider all of the Governors vetoes and have the opportunity to overturn them however neither Chamber in the has the 2/3rds majority vote (the House & Senate are both Democratically controlled) to easily overturn a veto. As we saw last session veto overrides were almost entirely unsuccessful with the same current legislature.
for questions on this or any other legislative matter contact me at dbennett@nhada.com or (800)-852-3372.