The NH Progressive Newsletter is a weekly sampling of NH political news, commentary and analysis. If you don't want to receive the newsletter, email me at mark@markfernald.com. If you know people who would like to receive it, please forward it to them and have them contact me to get on the list. Mark Fernald

The AARP is looking for stories of seniors who are paying an outlandish percentage of income in property tax (over 20%), or who have been forced to sell their homes. If you have a story you would like to share, or know someone with such a story, please email it to me and I'll forward it to the appropriate person at AARP (or I'll get you the AARP contact info if you prefer).

Greetings!

Several weeks ago, I wrote that some pressure was being put on State Senators to vote against their principles. In my last newsletter, I wrote that the senators involved assured me there had been a misunderstanding. HOWEVER, some of you in the NH House have accused Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley of being the 'hammer' enforcing party unity. I want to assure you all that (a) I wasn't writing about Ray Buckley, (b) the senators involved assure me all is well in their caucus (described as 'awesome'), and (c) although Ray and I have not always agreed, I have always known him to be a man on honor, who would not stoop to such tactics. So enough on this subject, let's plan for the next legislative year.

In this issue:

Item 1: The budget for the next two years was passed on the last day of the legislative session. Republicans slammed it as big spending, but it really is a case of catch-up after many lean years of Republican budget writing.

Item 2: Revenue for the last two-year budget came in WAY above estimate. You will recall that the Republican budget writers two years ago said that Gov. Lynch was making wildly optimistic revenue estimates to justify his budget. In their budget, they low-balled revenue. Turns out the Governor was entirely in the right on this one.

Item 3: A recap of the legislative year. What a difference an election makes!

Item 4: Speaker of the House Terie Norelli reflects on the accomplishments of the session.

Item 5: The Union Leader opines that we've gone too far to the right. I say hogwash, but I include this so you can be ready for the arguments from the right wing that will crescendo about this time next year.

Item 6: The legislature adopts a definition of adequate education. Next year, the tough job of costing it out.

Item 7: The Governor vetoed a bill that would make any defendant in a civil lawsuit, when there is more than one defendant, liable for all damages. Under current law, defendants are liable in proportion to their fault among all defendants. The Governor rightly pointed out that it is unfair to pin all liability for damages on someone who, for example, may only be 5% responsible for a traffic accident

Item 8: NH has a program for vaccinating children that is being considered by other states. The state requires all health insurance companies to contribute to a state pool. Federal funds are also put into the pool, which is used to provide free vaccines for all children in the state. The result is near-universal vaccination at reduced cost.

Item 9: Governor Lynch signs the bill to repeal parental notification when a minor wants an abortion. While it is true the law on the books is unconstitutional, there are other reasons for repeal. First, it is not the place for government to try to force parents and children to talk in situations where communication is strained. The result instead might well be an illegal abortion, or hiding the pregnancy until later when options are more limited. Second, if the age of consent in NH is 18, why shouldn't a sixteen-year-old be able to seek an abortion?

Mark Fernald

1. Spending bill okayed; GOP slams size

House, Senate approve two-year budget

By LAUREN R. DORGAN

Monitor staff

June 28. 2007 8:00AM

The Legislature yesterday passed a $10.3 billion two-year budget that increases cigarette taxes and secures funding for LCHIP, bumps up motor vehicle registration fees and provides money to insure 10,000 children from low-income families.

Gov. John Lynch praised the House and Senate for passing what he called "a very responsible budget which meets the needs and priorities of the people of New Hampshire."

Meanwhile, Republicans denounced the size of the fee increases while saying budget-writers had overestimated revenue by $100 million. "The only thing that would be large enough to fill that hole would be an income tax," said House Minority Leader Mike Whalley, an Alton Republican. He claimed that subcommittees are already working on plans for an income or sales tax.

But Democratic leaders said that's not true. They said that unlike years past, they included everything in the budget, rather than relying on follow-up appropriations to fund essential services cut from the budget. The budget is 11 percent bigger than the current one, and in a number touted by many Republicans, contains a 17 percent increase in general fund spending.

"This time we've done it honestly and upfront, before the eyes of the people of New Hampshire," said Majority Floor Leader Dan Eaton, a Stoddard Democrat.

In the House, much of the debate centered on a plan to shift responsibility for long-term care of poor elders to county governments.

Supporters of the plan pointed out that, in return, the state will now pick up the entire bill for other social services - including those for children and for some seniors - that previously had been split between the counties and the state. They said that with the new arrangement, both the state and the counties will save millions in administrative fees.

Critics said the plan would push the costs of caring for the state's rapidly aging population onto the counties and, in turn, onto the property taxpayers.

"The headline tomorrow may be that we passed a wonderful budget, and I certainly admire the work they did in this budget," said Rep. Paul McEachern, a Portsmouth Democrat. "But the headline next year and the year after that will be: We socked it to the property taxpayers."

But Concord Democrat John DeJoie pointed to key provisions made to soften the impact of the change: The plan doesn't start until 2008; the counties are "held harmless" for two years for any increase in costs; and the entire plan sunsets after five years.

In his talks with county commissioners, DeJoie said, everyone agrees that the current system is flawed.

"It isn't working," he said. "We can do better."

The two bills that comprise the budget both passed the Senate 16-8, mostly on party lines. On the other side, House Bill 1 passed the House 211-145 and House Bill 2 - which contained the hotly debated nursing home provisions - passed 199-155.

Public schools get almost $100 million more in state funding under an interim plan that guarantees every school district at least a 5 percent increase from what it got this year. The University of New Hampshire receives $35 million for improvements. The state board of education is restricted from certifying additional charter schools while three now in existence will get $800,000 to help them stay open.

Smokers will pay 28 cents more per pack July 1 -- bringing the total state tax to $1.08. Registering a car will cost $6 more. Filing some civil court documents will cost $25 more, as will registering deeds.

The budget was passed on a busy - and sweltering - final legislative day, with the House and Senate meeting to pass final versions of all bills.

With the mercury hitting 95 in Concord, it felt almost as warm inside the un-air-conditioned House chambers, and a good deal more humid. House staff passed out sweaty water bottles - some of which were poured out over heads, not into mouths - and ice packs. While Speaker Terie Norelli allowed men to take off their coats, a few stalwarts, including Eaton and Whalley, left theirs on all day long.

In response to a call to wear hats on the last day, various legislators and staffers donned Mickey Mouse ears, a tricornered Revolutionary hat and a Viking helmet. Manchester Republican Irene Messier sported a straw hat wrapped in a in a Reagan-Bush '84 bumper sticker.

And it was a day of song in the House, with at least four musical acts taking to the House floor. In the morning, Broadway star Carol Channing joined with Republicans Fran Wendelboe and Susan Emerson in a rendition of "Hello, Governor" (to the tune of "Hello, Dolly.") Their musical act, repeated around the State House, included kicks and some showy finger-crossing from Wendelboe when they got to the line about wishing Lynch "another term."

In what may be a new definition of rapid response in New Hampshire politics, the Republican Party last night released a YouTube video in an e-mail proclaiming "Lynch Budget Breaks the Bank." The video features Republican legislative leaders denouncing the budget. Party Chairman Fergus Cullen said it was filmed yesterday and posted about 5 p.m.

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2. NH ends fiscal '07 with extra $85m

Tuesday, Jul. 3, 2007

CONCORD The state ended its fiscal year June 30 with nearly $85 million more than the now-expired budget projected.

Last month, House and Senate members anticipated the extra revenue and included it in the $10.3 billion spending plan they adopted last week for the next two fiscal years. Fiscal 2008 began on July 1. Gov. John Lynch signed the new budget bill into law on Friday.

Some of the biggest revenue boosts came in the interest and dividends tax, which at $108 million for the year was 47 percent better than projected, and business taxes, which came in at $601 million, $77.5 million, or nearly 15 percent ahead of the plan.

Falling far short of expectations was the real estate transfer tax, which was $40 million short of projections, off by 22 percent. The state tax on rooms and meals was about 5 percent shy of expectations, off nearly 10 million at $208 million for the year.

Total revenue for fiscal year 2007 was $2.28 billion, compared to $2.20 billion in the budget plan.

For the month of June, business taxes were slightly ahead of plan, while meals and rooms, tobacco taxes, liquor and lottery sales and real estate taxes all fell short. The month still managed to come in ahead of plan by $17.8 million, at $218 million.

The report is unaudited and reports revenue as a raw figure, not balanced off against state spending. An audited financial statement for the year is supposed to be finished by fall.

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Published: July 01, 2007 12:00 am

3. Session ends with almost 400 new laws, discord

By Rebecca Correa , Staff writer

Eagle-Tribune

The first Democratic-controlled Legislature in more than a century passed hundreds of new laws, but the session that ended last week left some Republicans with bruised feelings and may have set the stage for more partisan conflict in the next session.

About one-third of the 1,150 bills proposed by lawmakers were passed and have been signed or will be signed by the governor.

From civil unions to a gradual increase in the state's minimum wage, Democratic lawmakers said the bills they approved will change things for the better for New Hampshire families and the state itself.

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-Exeter, said her party accomplished almost everything it wanted during the first session since 1874 in which Democrats had majority status in both the House and Senate.

"We set the tone relatively early on when we passed the smoking ban and minimum wage bills, which are very important to the average citizen in New Hampshire," she said.

Local Republicans said only a handful of the bills that will become law are beneficial to families. They said others will actually hurt families in the future.

First-term Rep. Frank Emiro, R-Londonderry, said some votes taken several months ago still "irk" him - including the vote to repeal the parental notification law, which required that a parent or guardian be notified if an abortion was to be done on a child under 18.

"I came here very open-minded, but I think everyone who is a parent understands that the best interest is always on the child's behalf," he said. "Now a child or a minor can go have surgery or an abortion and (parents) don't know what that surgery was for, even though they're paying for it with their own health care."

Aside from the social changes, the session also brought serious financial changes to the Granite State.

Sen. Mike Downing, R-Salem, said he voted against the two-year, $10.3 billion state budget that was passed just two days before the session ended because "the spending is really going to be outrageous."

"How they raise the money is going to be beyond me," he said.

Fergus Cullen, chairman of the state Republican Party, said state spending will go up 17 percent, something that should be difficult for any legislator to justify.

Hassan said it's all part of planning for the future.

She said about $20 million was set aside for the state's rainy day fund and an additional $8.7 million for the welfare reserve fund.

"These are the things if the economy does go sour, you want to have enough in the reserve funds to buffer for those who need the help," she said. "It's something we didn't have in the past."

Both parties agree there will be two key issues when the next session begins: funding the state's retirement system and funding the definition of an adequate education agreed upon last month.

Ray Buckley, chairman of the state Democratic Party, expects fight on both issues from Republicans.

"They were much more confrontational than they needed to be this session," he said. "I haven't seen any evidence that it will change and they will be working together. I think they'll be in election mode at that point, instead of concentrating on bipartisanship."

Cullen disagreed with that analysis but said the Democrats' "weak and ineffective" leadership this session does give Republicans some campaign ammunition.

"I would never trade a bad policy outcome for (a campaign issue)," Cullen said. "But it is true that the inability of the left to control its impulses gives us something to work with."

Legislative scorecard

Approved

r Civil unions

r Smoking banned in bars and restaurants

r Definition of an adequate education to include kindergarten

r Minimum wage raised from $5.15 to $6.50 an hour

r Parental notification law for abortion repealed

r Student dropout age raised from 16 to 18

r Restored $12 million funding for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program

r Retirement buyback system overturned

r Developmental disabilities wait list to be eliminated in three years

r HIV/AIDS program funding of $1 million

r Lead levels the state investigates were lowered

r New Hampshire Medal of Honor created

r State park system to receive $6 million

Defeated

r Constitutional amendment to fund education

r Mandatory seat-belt use for all drivers and passengers

r Extend last call at bars and restaurants until 2 a.m.

r Federal Real ID act

r Balloons prohibited from being released into air

r Offer alternative motto of "scenic" on license plates

r Trans-fat ban in restaurant and other prepared food

r Decriminalize the use of marijuana

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4. Legislature did much to improve state

Session addressed host of old problems

By Terie Norelli

For the Monitor

June 30. 2007 8:00AM

As we end the legislative year, it's a good time to reflect on the many important issues the New Hampshire House of Representatives has addressed.

Groundbreaking work in five critical areas sets apart this Legislature from its predecessors. It has made monumental gains in promoting economic development, protecting the environment, strengthening health care, improving education, and ensuring open government.

Economic development

The Legislature passed a research and development tax credit to ensure higher paying jobs and long-term business investment and also created a job training program which will provide assistance to New Hampshire workers. The passage of the Renewable Energy Act will provide incentives to diversify our energy supply and bring stability to energy prices, which will help businesses across the state. It will also expand the renewable energy industry, creating jobs. This is good for business, good for the environment and good for our energy independence.

We also increased the minimum wage for the first time in nine years with strong bipartisan support. According to a University of New Hampshire study, a significant portion of the state's more than 30,000 workers who earn less than $7.25 per hour are parents or older workers, and 60 percent of full-time low-wage workers are women.

Health care

The House took significant steps in addressing some of the critical health care issues we face. It adopted the New Hampshire Cancer Plan, which will expand prevention, early detection, and treatment of cancer. We passed a smoking ban in restaurants and bars to protect all of us, but especially food service workers, from the serious harm of secondhand smoke.

We strengthened the state's efforts in prevention, early intervention and treatment of drug and alcohol abuse. This investment will reduce the tremendous long-term societal expenses associated with substance abuse.

The Legislature protected our most vulnerable citizens. For the first time, the state will eliminate the developmental disabilities waiting list. Starting in January, seniors who need Medicaid nursing home care will have more timely access to home care alternatives. Home care is less expensive than nursing home care, so this is a win-win result for the state and the seniors who prefer to remain at home.

Environmental protection

The Legislature made significant strides in protecting the environment.

By fully funding the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program, we will preserve critical natural resources and protect our communities' quality of life.

We passed a permanent ban on the burning of toxic construction and demolition debris, ensuring that other states can no longer send their toxic demolition waste to New Hampshire to be burned.

The Legislature also strengthened the protection of our shorelines, thereby preserving the natural beauty and habitat of our waterways, and securing tourism.

Improving education

The Legislature increased the dropout age from 16 to 18 years old and funded dropout prevention programs and alternative learning programs. We strengthened postsecondary education by providing increased funding for the University of New Hampshire System and the New Hampshire Community Technical College System.

The Legislature passed a definition of an adequate education which sets out the education to which every child in public school is entitled under our state constitution, while respecting the local school districts primary role in providing that education. The Legislature will next work to determine the cost of that education and a responsible plan to fund it. Beginning in the September 2008, every child will be entitled to public kindergarten.

Accountable government

The House has been committed to increasing open and transparent government by making itself more available to the public by holding hearings on key issues, such as the budget and defining adequacy, at locations across the state. Audio footage of many committee hearings and video coverage of the House sessions are now available on the web, and chairs of committees were also held to stricter ethics policies.

Finally, the House has committed to truth-in-budgeting, so the public can know the full cost of state government. This is done by eliminating long-standing legislative tricks used to hide the true cost.

I look forward to working with representatives from both parties and the citizens of the state next year so that the House can pass other important legislation that reflects our state's values while it continues to operate in an open and transparent way.

(Terie Norelli, a Democrat from Portsmouth, is speaker of the New Hampshire House.)

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5. Tilting left: NH under a new majority

Friday, Jul. 6, 2007

How much damage can an out-of-control Legislature do in six months? Let us count the ways.

Last fall disgruntled New Hampshire voters put Democrats in charge of state government for the first time in more than a century. In the first six months of this year voters were reminded why they hadn't done that since U.S. Grant was President.

This new majority in Concord grew state spending by 17.5 percent over last year and raised a host of taxes and fees to cover the cost. And still the budget spends more than it takes in.

On social issues, the new gang decided it was wise to allow civil unions in New Hampshire, recognize same-sex marriages registered out-of-state, and not require parents to be notified if their minor daughters are about to get an abortion.

They made it easier for college students, who lean heavily Democratic, to vote by essentially telling them that they don't really have to be N.H. residents to vote, they just have to hang out here.

They expanded subsidized health insurance to "children" up to 26 years old and, by mandating that NH Healthy Kids manage the state's SCHIP program, forbade the state from seeking cost savings in the operation of this service.

They did the bidding of the teachers' unions and placed a two-year moratorium on the state's creation of any new charter schools.

They imposed more regulations on private businesses, increasing the minimum wage and banning smoking in bars and restaurants.

And speaking of the smoking ban, it was one of several measures to curtail individual freedoms and expand the nanny state. Fortunately, the seat belt mandate, and the banning of balloon releases and the serving of foods containing trans fats did not make it into law.

All of this in only six months, with more to come in the next session. With such successes, the activists on the far left, to whom the state's Democratic leaders answer, will be emboldened to attempt even broader confiscations of wealth and dictates of behavior next time around.

It's time to ask yourself, is this what you voted for when you filled out your ballot last fall?

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6. Lynch signs bill defining adequate education in NH

By NORMA LOVE

The Associated Press

Saturday, Jun. 30, 2007

CONCORD New Hampshire will be responsible to pay for more than the three Rs under a new law defining a constitutionally adequate education but taxpayers won't get the bill for months.

Gov. John Lynch signed the law yesterday, the first step in the state's effort to answer a court ruling that it define its responsibility for education and pay for it.

"With this new law, we are fulfilling our responsibility to define an adequate education," said Lynch. "The broad educational opportunities outlined in this law will ensure our children have the skills and knowledge they need to compete in today's world."

Lynch noted that the definition includes kindergarten -- not currently mandated in New Hampshire.

The next step facing lawmakers is to put a price to the broadly worded definition, then craft a new aid distribution system. Lawmakers have insisted for months they won't wait to do that.

"We have a plan to move forward and take the next steps of costing and measuring this adequate education," said Sen. Molly Kelly.

Lynch would like to target aid to the neediest towns, but a constitutional amendment he needed to allow that died in the House this year. Senate Democrats tried to revive the amendment, but lacked the votes to pass it and decided to wait until January to try again. Lynch says he hasn't given up on putting an amendment before voters in November 2008.

By then, lawmakers should have determined the cost of their definition and could be faced with the choice of raising taxes to fund it or amend the constitution to allow the state the leeway to decide on a different aid amount and selectively distribute it.

The state Supreme Court set a July 1 deadline for the state to come up with a definition simple enough to determine its cost. In repeated rulings, the court has insisted the state has a duty to define adequacy, determine its cost, fund it and hold local schools accountable to provide it.

Now that lawmakers have decided a definition, they must start figuring its cost. The definition is general policy and does not deal with what the policy would cost.

Democrats and Republicans have differed over how to define adequacy.

Republicans argued lawmakers should first know how much the definition would cost the state in the form of school aid. Democrats said the definition should come first; otherwise, the Legislature would be tempted to tailor it to fit an inadequate budget.

Republicans also argued the definition was unclear, taking particular aim at kindergarten since the definition doesn't specify whether schools must offer a half day or full day program.

The definition mandates kindergarten, which means schools would have to offer it, but parents would not be required to enroll their children since the compulsory school age is 6.

New Hampshire is the only state without universal kindergarten -- though all but 13 districts provide it voluntarily, according to the state Department of Education. Two more districts plan to offer it in the fall, further expanding its availability.

The definition leaves open the possibility of providing full-day kindergarten in the future by stripping out a reference in the House-passed bill to "half day" sessions. House and Senate negotiators pointed out that the state standards the bill uses as a reference only mention a half-day program.

The law also sets up an oversight committee involving House and Senate members charged with costing out the definition, and reporting its findings and recommendations by Feb. 1, 2008.

The committee will develop and propose criteria for identifying schools with enhanced needs, and identify and propose any resources those schools may need. It will also review transition assistance for school districts that do not provide public kindergarten in order to enable those school districts to do so.

The definition includes subject areas, such as math and reading, without tying them to the hours taught or other specific cost components.

Besides kindergarten, the definition includes the following subject areas: English/language arts and reading, mathematics, science, social studies, arts, world languages, health education, physical education, technology and information and communication technologies.

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7. Lynch vetoes bill altering damages in civil lawsuits

By TOM FAHEY

State House Bureau Chief

Tuesday, Jul. 3, 2007

CONCORD Gov. John Lynch yesterday vetoed a bill that would have changed the way damages are assessed against defendants in civil lawsuits.

The bill, HB 143, had pitted trial lawyers against insurers, manufacturers, municipalities and the state Attorney General's Office.

Current law requires damages to be apportioned among defendants, based on their level of responsibility for injuries or damages.

The bill would have allowed juries to assess damages against any defendants remaining in a lawsuit, as long as they had "substantial" fault in the case.

Lynch said in announcing his veto, "I cannot support this change in the law because it is unfair for a defendant with a low degree of fault to have to pay a disproportionately large share of the damages." He noted that the Attorney General's Office said the state would incur higher litigation costs if the bill were to become law.

Lynch said the bill upset a delicate balance in New Hampshire's comparative fault system. He described current law as "a hybrid system that works to balance the interests of injured plaintiffs with those of defendants bearing relatively low percentages of fault for causing damages." The governor met with supporters and opponents of the bill last week as he studied whether it should become law.

Lynch said yesterday the idea of reshaping the state laws on damages is worth pursuing, but has to be done with dialogue between both sides in the debate over HB 143 "There may be steps that we can take to better ensure that injured victims are fully compensated under the law. I remain open to considering improvements to our existing statutory system of comparative fault, apportionment of liability and contribution laws," Lynch said.

Sen. David Gottesman, D-Nashua, a lawyer who led the fight to pass the bill in the Senate, said he was disappointed with the veto.

"I have always fought for and will continue to fight for the rights of consumers, which was the reason for the passage of this legislation," he said.

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8. N.H. vaccine plan could be a model

Other states are considering new ways to immunize kids

By Margot Sanger-Katz

Monitor staff

July 02. 2007 8:00AM

For public health officials, childhood vaccinations are among the most important disease prevention tools in their arsenal. But the recent introduction of new and expensive vaccines, including this year's human papillomavirus vaccine, Gardasil, have stretched many state budgets, forcing them to rethink how they provide immunizations to children.

But not in New Hampshire. Here, an unusual law that requires insurance companies to pool resources with state and federal funding sources has tempered the effects of a growing vaccine bill. It has also enabled New Hampshire to continue providing every federally recommended immunization to the state's children for free.

Now, several states have begun eyeing New Hampshire's approach to see if a similar program might solve their vaccine budget woes.

"What New Hampshire has done is one of the most creative approaches that has been allowed by the Vaccines for Children Program," said Dr. Louis Cooper, an emeritus professor of pediatrics at Columbia University. "It's a fabulous use of the system because, as best it can, it spreads the cost across the whole spectrum."

The Vaccines for Children program was designed to boost the number of children getting needed immunizations by giving free vaccines to children least likely to be vaccinated: those with Medicaid and no health insurance. Under the plan, the federal government negotiates a price discount with vaccine makers and places a bulk order. States, using mostly money from federal grants, can buy vaccines from that contract to give to those children. The states can also order more discounted doses for other populations, but they can't get federal money to pay for them.

Most states use the federal contract for the children covered by the plan: those who qualify for state health insurance because of their parents' income or those who have no insurance coverage. But a small number, including New Hampshire, buy enough vaccine doses to cover every child in the state.

In 1994, when the law passed, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that children get five vaccines. If those vaccines were purchased on the federal contract, with the discount, they cost $155 per child. In 2006, the number of vaccines had risen to 13, with the total cost at more than $900 for a boy and nearly $1,200 for a girl.

Those rising costs have challenged many state's models for vaccine distribution. For states like New Hampshire, that buy vaccines for every child, higher prices have meant a larger state budget commitment. Ten states have reduced the number of children they cover in recent years, according to research from Harvard Medical School.

For states that don't buy vaccine for insured children, the burden of higher costs has fallen on individual doctors, who must buy vaccines in advance and bill insurance companies after they've been given. With the more expensive vaccines, that system requires doctors to make significant upfront investments in vaccines and saddles them with the risk if they can't use all the doses they buy.

"God forbid if you lose some or if your refrigerators shuts off - then you lose a huge amount of money," said Dr. Michael Severson, a Minnesota pediatrician who serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics's immunization task force. He and his colleagues are trying to develop strategies to reduce the risks for individual physicians."

In March, the American Academy of Pediatrics joined with the American Medical Association, government regulators, health insurers and pharmaceutical companies to talk about possible solutions to the problem.

New Hampshire has avoided many of these difficulties through a law it passed in 2002. The New Hampshire law requires insurance companies to pay a fee to the state, proportional to the cost of a child's vaccines and the number of children covered by their plan. Those contributions pay for vaccines for insured children, while federal and some state money cover vaccines for the rest. Vaccine doses are given to doctors for free, and doctors give them to their patients, also for free.

New Hampshire did universal purchasing of vaccines before the law was passed, but legislators felt that insurers weren't paying their fair share, said Rep. Fran Wendelboe of New Hampton, who sponsored the bill. In states without universal access, health insurers pay the retail cost of vaccines given to children they cover.

"We felt that they were perhaps not participating the way they should," she said.

But, according to Mary Ann Cooney, the state's public health director, insurers haven't much objected to the law, because it's enabled them to pay less for vaccines than they did before.

"They saw it as a win-win," Cooney said. "They knew they were buying these vaccines anyway for their own patients, and they were able to get it at our cost. . . . It actually saves them money in the long run."

North Carolina used to have a universal vaccine program like New Hampshire's, but the cost of a few recent vaccines was too expensive. Now the state has downgraded to a system where most vaccines are universal but a few pricey ones are only free for children in the Vaccines for Children program.

Public health officials there have reached out to Cooney and others at the New Hampshire state health department, and the North Carolina legislature recently considered a bill to require health insurers to pay into the state program.

Andrea Held, who works on the vaccine program in North Carolina said she was hopeful that the legislature would pass the bill.

"Unfortunately, we're not able to cover all vaccines because we keep getting more of them and they keep getting more expensive," she said.

Health officials in Vermont have also been examining the New Hampshire way as part of a comprehensive study on improving vaccination rates. A report, published in January, recommended a universal purchasing pool with contributions from private health insurance.

Vermont provides universal vaccine coverage but has not added Gardasil to its list of recommended vaccines because the cost is too high.

"The funding is not keeping up with the number of new vaccines that have become available, so we're needing to essentially come up with new sources of funding to keep up with our program," said Sue Barry, Vermont's immunization program manager.

Cooper, the Columbia professor, said an expansion of the New Hampshire model would be a step in the right direction. He'd like to see the country move toward a system where the government bought doses for every child.

But Rodewald, the CDC program director, said there could be downsides if every state switched to a system like New Hampshire's. The discounts the government negotiates with vaccine makers are voluntary. If more and more children were getting their vaccines from the contract, manufacturers might be less willing to cut their prices, he said. That would make it more expensive for the government to buy vaccines for poor and uninsured children.

"It's a model we tend to discourage," he said. "We're just worried that if this is something that becomes a trend - that pretty much everybody's vaccine is bought through the discounted price - then the discount will evaporate completely.

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9. NH repeals parental notice law

By NORMA LOVE

The Associated Press

Saturday, Jun. 30, 2007

CONCORD With his signature yesterday, Gov. John Lynch made New Hampshire the first state to repeal a law requiring parental notification for teenagers to get abortions.

The repeal took effect immediately.

"I strongly believe parents should be involved in these decisions, providing important support and guidance," said Lynch. "Unfortunately that is not possible in every case. The Supreme Court found this law unconstitutional because it fails to protect the health and safety of all women, which is why I am signing its repeal."

New Hampshire is the first state to repeal a parental notice law, according to Dawn Touzin of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, whose lawsuit had tied up the law in court.

As part of a comprehensive reform of abortion laws, Washington voters ripped a parental consent law that had not been enforced for 25 years from its books in 1991, she noted.

"The current Legislature clearly understands -- as we do -- that this law did nothing proactive or productive to prevent unintended pregnancies or prevent a health emergency," said Touzin. "It did nothing to support parents, educate teens or ensure health and safety. Instead, it sought to legislate family communication and insert politicians where doctors should be, creating roadblocks rather than resources. We can do better."

State Rep. Fran Wendelboe, who fought to keep the law on the books, criticized Lynch for "siding with the abortion lobby against parents' rights to be involved with their (daughters') medical care."

"It's unsafe for young teens to have a surgical procedure like that without an adult aware of the possibility of complications," she said.

Wendelboe said the law's supporters have not decided whether to introduce a new measure in January or wait until after the 2008 elections.

GOP Party Chairman Fergus Cullen said Lynch took a radical approach to a moderate law that could have been fixed.

"One can be pro-choice and still believe that parents have a right to know whether their minor daughter became pregnant," said Cullen. " Governor Lynch is saying that parents don't have a right to know their minor children became pregnant."

The 2003 New Hampshire law never was enforced because of Planned Parenthood's suit. It required abortion providers to notify at least one parent 48 hours or more before performing an abortion on a minor.

Forty-four states have parental notification laws. Nine, including New Hampshire's, were unenforceable, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of Planned Parenthood's challenge.

Repeal supporters said the issue was about an unconstitutional law, not abortion or parental rights.

"I deeply believe that as a state we must continue to work to reduce the need for abortions and to achieve greater parental involvement in these important decisions, in a manner consistent with our Constitution," Lynch said in a statement.

The law was challenged by Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, and a federal judge declared it unconstitutional in late 2003 because it lacks a provision to forgo notification in emergencies where the health of the mother is at stake.

The state appealed and the U.S. Supreme Court sent it back to the federal court in New Hampshire to determine if the law could be salvaged. U.S. District Judge Joseph DiClerico put the case on hold while the Legislature acted.

Earlier this week, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte said repealing the law would end the court challenge. She said she would file a notice with the court once Lynch signed the bill.

Amendments to the law that would have granted some form of health exception in emergencies failed in both the House and Senate.

Repeal opponents tried to pressure supporters to change their minds. They stressed that parents' rights are at stake.

Previously, the Legislature consistently voted for abortion rights before passing the law under then-Gov. Craig Benson, a Republican, and a Republican-controlled Legislature.

Democrats took charge in December, and abortion rights activists moved quickly

to strip the law from the books.