Issues

Promoting jobs and economic opportunity

New Hampshire has a spending problem. Our state government is spending too much, which has led to more taxes, and has stifled the growth of business in this state. We need to make government affordable by identifying and eliminating wasteful spending, thereby reducing the tax burden on New Hampshire businesses and families and providing for new jobs and economic growth. To do this, I believe we should:

Perform an audit of all state departments to determine which programs and employees are wasteful, unconstitutional, excessive or unnecessary, and eliminate them.
Pass strong laws to require zero-based budgeting, under which state department heads would build each budget from zero. This would make the state justify every expense, and would remove the practice of using the previous budget cycle as a spending baseline.
New Hampshire currently has the worst business tax rates in the country, which is causing businesses to flee the state. We must reduce the Business Enterprise Tax and the Business Profits Tax to attract new businesses and jobs back to our state.
Enact a spending cap that forces the legislature to spend only what money is available and cut other spending using a prioritized list.
Privatize each state office, service and function that can possibly be privatized.
Return any savings to the people of New Hampshire by further tax cuts or repeal of existing taxes. Repeal all tax and fee increases passed by the Democrats over the past six years that have grown government, such as the gas tax and car registration fees.
Pass a state constitutional amendment to prohibit a state income tax or state sales tax.

Second Amendment

I am a strong supporter of the right to keep and bear arms. I signed onto the national NRA Amicus brief in defense of gun rights in the Supreme court case McDonald v. The City of Chicago, which upheld the individual right to bear arms. I also supported legislation exempting NH made firearms from onerous federal regulation. I am myself a concealed carry permit holder, and do all I can to support the gun owning community.

Fixing health care in New Hampshire

Both the federal and state governments have interfered in health care for too long, which has led to excessive costs of both health care and health insurance. We must make health care accessible and affordable again by removing barriers to competition, costly mandates, and needless regulations as well as reducing medical liability. To do this, I believe we should:

Pass legislation to invalidate the unconstitutional requirements of Obamacare in New Hampshire.
Eliminate government mandates on insurance companies and allow the people decide what level of coverage they want.
Enable insurers to provide catastrophic-only coverage, wherein a person could choose to pay for routine care out of pocket and get coverage only when it is truly needed.
Allow New Hampshire residents to buy insurance policies written in other states and allow insurance companies in other states to sell their plans in New Hampshire.
Allow New Hampshire residents to create health insurance pools so they can receive the same discounts as large companies.
Limit claims on medical malpractice.

Medical Marijuana

I was proud to vote in Favor of HB648 which passed the House by a large margin. I also voted to override Governor Lynch’s veto of the bill which carried in the House, but failed in the Senate. I believe that we must be as compassionate as possible as a society, and allowing cancer patients and other sick folks the dignity of a life with as little pain as possible, and with as much of an appetite as possible, is the moral thing to do. When a doctor and a patient decide that a natural plant is a safer and more cost effective alternative to a $4,000 prescription, how dare the government stand in their way! This issue is at the absolute core of the doctor-patient relationship, and if one is consistent in wanting the government out of this realm, the only logical conclusion is to support the medicinal use of marijuana. This is a STATE ISSUE, as the Federal Government has no authority under the Constitution to regulate in this area of policy. We will continue to move forward on the issue.

Empowering parents and local communities

Over the past several years, the state has taken more and more power away from parents and local communities. This must stop. Parents and communities are best equipped to evaluate and address the needs of children. To return the power to the parents and communities, I believe we should:

Repeal legislation that restricts or controls homeschooling or private education.
Institute tax credits or school vouchers, which will introduce competition in education, give more choice to families who cannot afford private school tuition, and ensure that families who choose home or private school do not pay twice for their children’s education.
Restore ultimate control over primary and secondary public school curriculum decisions to elected local school boards.
Reinstate parental notification laws regarding abortion and ensure that no school is allowed to assist a child under 18 in getting an abortion.
Require public schools to inform parents when questionable material will be presented in schools, and allow parents to withdraw their children from such activities.