With more than 100 new faces, New Hampshire legislators take oaths of office
December 13, 2010
CONCORD, New Hampshire: The New Hampshire Senate and House members who won election on November 2 were sworn into office on December 1.[1]
Legislators will be dealing with a roughly $600 million budget deficit, which is about 15 percent of the total state budget.[2]
The new Republican House speaker, William O'Brien, said the budget will be the session's top priority.[3]
Newly chosen Senate President Peter Bragdon said that while there is a strong GOP majority, there needs to be a fairness within the chamber's procedures. "We need to respect each others' different beliefs and convictions. But when the votes have been cast, if everybody had a fair shot, that's important," Bragdon said.[1]
Democratic governor John Lynch asked agencies to reduce budget requests by 5 percent. But when those proposals arrived at the governor's office, the requests totaled to be an average increase of 15 percent.[2]
Republicans gained a significant stronghold in each chamber of the New Hampshire Legislature, as the GOP now has a super majority in the House and Senate.
| New Hampshire State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 14 | 5 | |
| Republican Party | 10 | 19 | |
| Total | 24 | 24 | |
| New Hampshire House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 216 | 102 | |
| Republican Party | 174 | 298 | |
| Vacancy | 10 | - | |
| Total | 400 | 400 | |
See also
| ||
| Propositions • | Recall | • Law |
- New Hampshire State Senate elections, 2010
- New Hampshire House of Representatives elections, 2010
- State legislative elections results, 2010
References
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