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Supporters and opponents spar as committee hears bill to repeal state paid family and medical leave
Summary
Representative Lehi Turcotte asked the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee to repeal New Hampshire’s paid family and medical leave program, arguing the state’s taxpayer‑paid baseline for state employees turned a voluntary program into a taxpayer expense.
Representative Lehi Turcotte told the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee he introduced House Bill 517 to repeal New Hampshire’s paid family and medical leave program — the “FMLI” — arguing the program has not achieved its stated goals and places an unfair cost burden on taxpayers.
“This program has been up and running for three years,” Rep. Turcotte said. “About 10,500 state employees receive the coverage paid by taxpayers, and private employer uptake is very low. It’s time to end the taxpayer obligation.”
Turcotte presented enrollment figures and fiscal estimates to argue the program failed to attract private employers at scale and that state employees were placed on the taxpayer payroll for an unsustainable entitlement. He said participation numbers showed only a small fraction of New Hampshire workers have coverage through the voluntary program and cited implementation and advertising costs used to…
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