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BEA seeks new planning division to fold housing and broadband programs into one unit; highlights Housing Champions, BEAD funding
Summary
The Department of Business and Economic Affairs presented a budget that formalizes a Division of Planning and Community Development to consolidate planning, housing and broadband efforts; officials described Housing Champions, InvestNH awards, and the larger BEAD broadband funding stream that will continue through 2032.
Kathy Frederiksen, BEA director of finance, and Commissioner Taylor Caswell told the Finance – Division I committee they are proposing to convert the current Office of Planning and Development into a formal Division of Planning and Community Development so the agency can centralize municipal-facing work on housing and broadband.
Why it matters: BEA said the consolidation will improve coordination among programs that interact heavily with municipalities, including the Housing Champions initiative and federally funded broadband deployment grants.
Division proposal and staffing
Frederiksen said BEA totals roughly 78 positions in its request and that the proposed change moves existing housing and broadband work into the new division rather than creating an entirely new bureaucracy. "We are looking to make it the Division of Planning and Community Development formally in this budget cycle," she said, adding the change is mainly organizational and aimed at operational efficiency.
Housing and infrastructure programs
BEA described multiple ARPA and federal initiatives that have expanded the agency——s role in housing. The Housing Champions program was cited as a new municipal designation that allows localities to apply for infrastructure funds (an initial $5,000,000 pot was announced for award to Housing Champions communities). BEA officials said the program combines planning, permitting assistance and incentives to marry municipal infrastructure projects with housing development.
Frederiksen and Caswell also outlined InvestNH and State Invest programs (transcript cited approximately $10,000,000 for a State Invest program and $5,250,000 for Housing Champions programming in prior allocations) and referenced an IIJA/BED (BEAD) broadband allocation that BEA said will remain available through 2032 (the commissioner said about $196,000,000 remains under IIJA/BEAD programs). Caswell described BEAD as a separate federal funding pot—distinct from ARPA—and said the state expects continued execution on broadband grants and buildout over several years.
Welcome centers and tourism
Frederiksen reviewed BEA——s role in travel and tourism, which receives a statutorily directed share of meals-and-rooms tax (RSA cited) and operates the state welcome centers. She noted 2019 transfers moved some of the welcome-center funding from the highway fund to general fund support and that BEA now manages welcome-center operations alongside travel-marketing responsibilities.
Budget composition
Frederiksen said BEA——s FY26 request is roughly 49% general fund and 46% federal funds, reflecting the agency——s heavy role implementing federal programs. She said the proposal includes modest prioritized needs and corrections to reflect prior-year spending patterns; if certain prioritized items are not funded, BEA said they would remain on a needs list.
Ending
Commissioner Caswell told the panel he would provide additional detail on broadband and program rollouts on request: BEAD and ARPA funds, he said, are distinct and both are central to BEA——s forward plan for infrastructure and housing support.
