NH Senate Democrats Pass Paid Family Leave; Veto Expected
On a party line vote, Senate Democrats passed a paid family medical leave bill Thursday despite a near certain veto by Gov. Chris Sununu.
The measure, House Bill 712, is similar to a proposal Sununu vetoed last year.
Under the plan, workers would be able to take up to 12 weeks off to take care of a sick family member or themselves following the birth or adoption of a child.
Republican say the funding mechanism for the program--a 0.5 percent payroll deduction--amounts to an income tax.
But Sen. Martha Fuller Clark, a Democrat, told colleagues that the income tax label is inaccurate because the money would provide individuals a direct benefit, rather than go into state coffers. Companies would also have the option of paying for the program themselves, or sharing the cost with workers as a benefit.
“Calling this an income tax has been a way from the very beginning to kill legislation that we should be putting in place to help all of our workers,” said Fuller Clark.
Republicans are backing a voluntary program that would allow workers to opt in, but Democrats say that would exclude the lower-income workers who would need the program the most.
https://www.nhpr.org/post/senate-democrats-pass-paid-family-leave-veto-expected#stream/0