Kelly Ayotte on April 16, 2025. (Photo: Andrew Sylvia)
GOFFSTOWN, N.H.- New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte provided an overview of her first few months in office on Wednesday morning at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College as part of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s annual State of the State event.
Ayotte focused on recent budget deliberations in Concord, hoping that the State Senate can reverse a variety of cuts from her initial budget such as a $50 million reduction from the New Hampshire University System, $42 million in cuts from Medicaid disbursements, $46 million from the Department of Health and Human Services, and the elimination of the State Arts Council, Human Rights Commission and Office of Child Advocate among others.
While she said that she had reduced $125 million from the previous biennial budget in her proposal, she saw investment in crucial areas as a priority to ensure the economic well-being of the state. She also added that her economic advisors disputed revenue projections from leaders in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, indicating that the Senate could feasibly reverse many of the House’s cuts while attempting to minimize tax and regulation increases.
“I don’t want a budget that has rosy revenue estimates that we can’t meet,” she said.
In addition to her hopes for collaboration with the State Senate in the near future, Ayotte noted that she is happy to work with neighboring states as well as federal officials, but she wouldn’t guarantee collaboration if she felt that doing so would not benefit the Granite State, using regional energy initiatives as an example.
Regarding energy costs, she said that the state needs an “All of the Above” approach that would include renewable energy, new technologies such as experimental small modular nuclear reactors and other potential carbon-neutral energy costs that increase the state’s energy independence.
In addition to working with out-of-state partners, she said she would do and is doing what she can to help non-profit organizations within the state navigate ongoing uncertainty with federal funding streams and also asked those in attendance to reach out to her office whenever possible if she can help them make the state a better place, especially regarding Manchester business owners and residents.
“I would be happy to do whatever I can to sit at the table to make sure we all succeed together,” she said.
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