State Senator Denise Ricciardi briefs Mont Vernon on local funding, pharmacy pricing bill and concerns about local control

Senator Denise Ricciardi gave a legislative update to the Mont Vernon Board of Selectmen on June 22, outlining how recent state actions could affect the town’s budget and local authority. She said the town’s estimated 2026 Highway Block Grant is $96,885 and that Mont Vernon’s estimated Adequate Education and SWEPT funding is $2,115,231.

Ricciardi reviewed SB 99, which changed how meals-and-rooms revenue is distributed to municipalities, and described her support for state spending proposals including $25 million for affordable housing, $10 million for Invest NH and $5 million for a Municipal Housing Champions Pilot Program. She said those proposals aim to expand housing resources while noting she was critical of some statewide zoning measures she believes preempt local control.

On prescription pricing, Ricciardi recounted a constituent’s experience: a pharmacy quoted $275 for nine migraine pills; after asking about discounts and rebates the constituent obtained 12 pills for $25. Ricciardi said that experience helped prompt a bill intended to ensure patients get the best available price at the pharmacy; she said the measure passed both houses and is on the governor’s desk.

Ricciardi also described SB 614, which would permit multiple-caregiver providers—nonprofit and for-profit daycare, foster-placement and behavioral-health servicers—to form a self-insured risk-pool to limit liability and help keep providers open. She said another bill would require insurance carriers to respond to prior-authorizations for ordered tests within seven days, with an automatic approval if carriers do not respond.

Selectmen asked about HB 1815 and shifts in school funding after a New Hampshire Supreme Court ruling on adequacy funding. Ricciardi acknowledged the school funding challenge for small towns and said some elements of funding for educational choice should come from the state’s educational trust surplus rather than direct taxpayer funds. She said she has been a frequent defender of local municipal control in the Senate and offered to return to meet with the board to discuss drafting legislation for the next session.

The meeting gave town officials an opportunity to raise concerns about how rapid, statewide changes—particularly around zoning and Class VI road rules—could affect municipal responsibilities for safety and infrastructure.