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As businesses operating across New Hampshire, we are deeply concerned about the direction of the proposed state budget and what it signals for our shared economic future. Our businesses and our workers face real struggles, from the dire shortage of housing to the utter lack of affordable child care, and now an uncertain economic outlook due to the constant action and conversations around tariffs. We need investments in key areas to make sure New Hampshire businesses can grow so that our people, our communities, and our state can thrive. We know, because of a lack of revenue, the House felt it necessary to make deep cuts in this budget, but many of these cuts lacked a long-term perspective and will starve the state of revenue in the long run.

Our ability to compete, grow, and create jobs is already strained by uncertainty, tight labor markets, and rising costs. We cannot afford a state budget that undermines the very foundations of our economy depend on: a stable workforce, thriving communities, and strong infrastructure. As employers committed to both profitability and corporate responsibility, we urge you – state lawmakers – to reverse course and reinvest in the building blocks of a healthy economy.

The proposed budget makes deep cuts to services and systems that directly impact our workforce and local economies, creating a negative feedback loop. If enacted, these cuts will not only make New Hampshire less affordable for working families—they will make it harder for businesses to hire, retain, and support employees.

We urge you to reverse course on the cuts being made in the following areas that are essential to New Hampshire’s economic success:

Affordable Housing Is a Business Imperative

Housing costs are now one of the biggest barriers to employee recruitment and retention. New Hampshire’s ongoing housing crisis is not just a social problem—it’s an economic one. Without access to affordable, stable housing, businesses cannot grow. We need bold investments in workforce housing to sustain and expand our labor pool, not cuts to housing programs while also making it harder to build housing through the elimination of the Housing Appeals Board.

Child Care & Public Education Fuel Workforce Participation

More than 15,000 New Hampshire residents are sidelined from the workforce due to unaffordable or unavailable child care. Cuts to child care and public education directly limit our ability to hire and retain working parents. Strong public schools are also critical to preparing the next generation of workers, and underfunding them is short-sighted. Investment in these systems is not charity—it’s smart economic policy.

Energy Policy Must Lower Costs and Drive Innovation

New Hampshire’s energy prices are among the highest in the country. Diversifying our energy mix with renewables and reducing demand with efficiency efforts is not about ideology—it’s about cost control, job creation, and energy independence. Forward-looking energy policies can make our businesses more competitive and keep more energy dollars circulating locally.

Inclusion and Belonging Are Competitive Advantages

Workplaces that value diversity, inclusion and belonging are more innovative, resilient, and successful. But our efforts to create inclusive environments are undermined when state policy fosters division, limits access to care, or sends a message that some workers—and their families—are less welcome here. The state must partner with the private sector in building a climate where all employees and their families feel safe and valued.

We urge state leaders to reject austerity and choose prosperity. New Hampshire’s budget should reflect our shared economic priorities: growth, opportunity, and community well-being. We cannot grow our businesses in communities that are underfunded and unraveling. What we need is a bold commitment to the people, infrastructure, and values that power our economy.

As business leaders, we are ready to partner with the state to build a New Hampshire where businesses and families can thrive—together.

Sincerely,

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