NH Gov. Sununu delivers final State of the State address

• Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu gave his final State of the State address Thursday.
• “Over these last seven years, New Hampshire has stood out as a beacon of success and a safe haven for freedom and opportunity,” Sununu instructed lawmakers. “We have all put in the hard work, and this has always been a true team effort.”
• Sununu, first elected in 2016, introduced final 12 months that he wouldn’t run for re-election to a fifth time period in workplace.

Republican Gov. Chris Sununu delivered his final state-of-the-state address Thursday, urging lawmakers to proceed on the path of fiscal prudence and restricted authorities that he stated has made New Hampshire “a beacon of success.”

“Continued success is not inevitable. We must continually challenge ourselves, putting individuals before the system, to strive to be better stewards of taxpayer dollars and more accountable to the people of the state,” he stated. “Over these last seven years, New Hampshire has stood out as a beacon of success and a safe haven for freedom and opportunity. We have all put in the hard work, and this has always been a true team effort.”

Sununu, who is barely the second governor in New Hampshire historical past to serve 4 phrases, has just below a 12 months left in the nook workplace. After flirting with working for U.S. Senate and president, he introduced in July that he wouldn’t search one other time period as governor, although he joked about that call Thursday.

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“The filing period to run again isn’t until June, so you never know!” he stated, earlier than rapidly including, “Just kidding!”

Republican New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu waves in the leadup to his final State of the State address on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Concord, New Hampshire. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The son of a former governor, Sununu was the youngest prime govt in the nation when he took workplace in 2017 at age 42. Now 49, he has seen management of the Legislature flip from Republican to Democrat and again once more, with a near-even cut up in the 400-member House throughout his fourth time period. At occasions he’s had a rocky relationship with members of his personal social gathering due to the rising affect of libertarian-leaning members bent on severely limiting state authorities. But he gave lawmakers credit score Thursday for what he deemed one of the state’s biggest achievements throughout that point: the bipartisan funds that sailed by means of the Legislature final 12 months.

“It didn’t come with any gimmicks or any promises. It was achieved with a lot of hard work,” he stated.

Senate Minority Donna Soucy, a Democrat from Manchester, stated she was happy to listen to that reward, whereas noting one subject Sununu didn’t carry up.

“I think it was most notable that the governor’s greatest accomplishment was the Legislature’s accomplishment,” she stated. “The one thing I thought was an omission on his part was the fact that he’s the first governor in New Hampshire’s history to sign an abortion ban. Clearly it must be something he’s not very proud of.”

Sununu signed a state funds in 2021 that included a ban on abortion after 24 weeks of being pregnant, saying the different would have been a veto that will have shut down state authorities throughout the coronavirus pandemic. The present Legislature is contemplating no less than half a dozen payments geared toward both additional proscribing the process or enshrining abortion rights in state regulation.

His speech Thursday lasted lower than half an hour, barely 4 minutes for every year in workplace. He highlighted investments in reasonably priced housing, training and psychological well being, utilizing the latter as a springboard to dialogue of the state’s opioid disaster. Sununu described profitable packages that join these combating dependancy with providers and recovery-friendly workplaces.

Sununu then segued into his current plan to hitch different states in sending National Guard troopers to Texas to manage unlawful crossings on the U.S.-Mexico border.

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“The fentanyl supply over America’s southern border is increasing daily,” stated Sununu, who will ask the Legislature’s fiscal committee for $850,000 on Friday to ship 15 Guard members to Texas. “This is not a Texas problem. This is a national crisis, and New Hampshire has the chance to provide specialized support, follow the laws of the land and keep our citizens safe.”