Martha Fuller Clark
For State Senate
Issues
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* Jobs * Health Care * Education * Retirement *
* Environment * Budget * Energy *Make Education a Priority
The state Supreme Court in the Londonderry School District SAU 12, et al. v. State of New Hampshire case ruled that the state must pay the first and last dollar, meaning 100%, of the cost of an adequate education for every child in all New Hampshire schools, even those schools that don’t need state assistance.
The state does have a responsibility to guarantee that all our children have the opportunity for a quality education, but I do not believe that it is good policy to send the same base amount of education aid to every school district before we help the schools that really need it the most. Children in property rich communities have more opportunities than children in property poor communities and without the constitutional amendment such disparities will continue. That is why I have co-sponsored a Constitutional Amendment which would give the Legislature the ability to target aid to the communities, schools and students that need it the most. The amendment I support would say that the state Legislature “shall have the authority and responsibility to reasonably define the content of an adequate public education” and distribute state money for public education “in the manner that it reasonably determines to alleviate local disparities.”
The amendment would allow us to direct more aid to communities with greater needs. It would reverse the court’s decision that prevents us from creating an education plan that equalizes educational opportunities for all children regardless of where they live. The amendment would also make it possible to eliminate any future threat of creating donor communities to fund education.
Without a constitutional amendment, we will not be making the best use of state education dollars; we will continue to divide our state between property wealthy communities and less property rich towns and cities; and the state will have no opportunity to consider the individual property owner’s ability to pay within each community.
For all the above reasons, I stand with Governor Lynch in believing that we must Adopt A constitutional amendment if we are to meet the state’s educational obligation to our children without the ever-increasing burden of a statewide property tax.
"The best investment we can make is in quality education for our students." - Sen. Martha Fuller Clark
Health Care
I will continue to defend and protect the health and safety of New Hampshire women by fighting for their right to access the full range of reproductive health care options. I also believe that we must redouble our efforts to expand affordable, accessible health care to everyone in our state, particularly our children.
The national health care plan, approved earlier this year by Congress and signed by President Obama, will now for the first time make health care affordable and accessible for all American. Unfortunately, it will take three years before national health care is fully implemented. In the interim, I will continue to advocate for accessible and affordable health care of all New Hampshire citizens. I will also work to hold New Hampshire based health insurance providers accountable for rate increases which must make health insurance coverage unaffordable for businesses or working families.
Energy and Environment
New Hampshire’s economy, environment, and quality of life are directly linked to our need for energy and our ability to become more energy efficient and independent. As Chair of the state Senate Energy, Environment and Economic Development Committee, I will continue to promote those policies and programs which will protect our natural environment, move the state forward in reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and create incentives for business growth and job creation centered around energy independence.
We must reduce the environmental damage caused from climate changes by continuing to reduce the rates of greenhouse gas emissions. That is why three years ago I co-sponsored the regional greenhouse gas initiative (RGGI), a CO2 emissions cap and trade program that now generates revenue for New Hampshire as companies pay for the right to exceed their carbon dioxide limits. The program has the potential of saving millions of dollars in higher energy costs for rate payers by 2018. Currently, a portion of revenue generated through this program is used to finance public and private energy efficiency, energy conservation, and energy conversion programs.
As a result of legislation I sponsored last year, the Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Energy Board was created and has been meeting monthly for the past eight months, setting new directions for the state with regard to energy efficiency http://puc.nh.gov/EESE.htm. During this same time frame, the Governor’s Task Force on Climate Change, on which I also sit, came up with a series of more than 50 energy saving initiatives which need to be implemented if we are to meet the Governor’s challenge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 25% in 2020. The final report was presented to the Governor in May, and a copy of it is available on the Department of Environmental Services website. I would encourage you to read it and would welcome your comments.
Memorial Bridge and Sarah Mildred Long Bridge
We need to move forward on the reconstruction of the Memorial Bridge connecting Portsmouth with Kittery Maine and repair or replacement of the Sarah Mildred Long Bridge. We cannot wait any longer. We must begin replacing these bridge repairs now before it is unsafe to use them and creates a traffic nightmare for both states.
With the support of Governor Lynch, Executive Councilor Bev Hollingworth, and New Hampshire Transportation Commissioner George Campbell, I sponsored an amendment to the 2010 Highway Transportation bill to authorize the Department of Transportation (DOT) to secure $45 million in highway bonds to begin replacement construction for the Memorial bridge. The Senate adopted my amendment, and the House also agreed to include the funds in the bill. Governor Lynch has signed the bill into law.
In May, I met with Maine DOT Commissioner David Cole prior to a meeting of the Maine-NH Connections Study Committee. We agreed that this is a two-state project and both Maine and New Hampshire will work together to submit a joint application for a federal highway grant of $20 to $30 million. This new money, combined with existing highway funds already set aside for this project, should give us the funds needed to build a replacement for the existing Memorial Bridge.
Other initiatives I sponsored or cosponsored include:
- Permitting utilities to establish loan programs for owners of residential and business properties who want to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
- Allowing municipalities to establish energy efficiency and clean energy districts in order to promote energy conservation and efficiency and clean energy improvements to residential, commercial, industrial, and other buildings and facilities in their communities.
- Requiring buildings or structures constructed or renovated using state funding to adhere to certain energy efficiency and building standards.
