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Concord, N.H. - As Chris Sununu prepares to give his second budget address, it’s worth taking a look back to 2017, the last time Sununu tried to pass a budget. Despite holding Republican majorities in the Executive Council, State Senate, and State House, Sununu’s first effort ultimately failed to pass through the State House, marking “the first time the House has failed to pass a budget in decades,” according to NHPR. State Republicans ultimately blamed Sununu for the budget’s failure, faulting his hands-off and uncommunicative governing style. Then-Speaker Shawn Jasper admitted he and Sununu had gone weeks without talking during budget negotiations and Sununu was accused of being lazy. He further demonstrated his disinterest in governing when he traveled to DC right before his budget was set to go up for a vote for the second time. Before Sununu’s second budget address, this time with Democrats in control of the Executive Council, State Senate, and State House, NHDP Chair Ray Buckley issued the following statement: “Passing a budget when your party has complete control of the government should be easy, but things are never quite so simple for Chris Sununu whose lazy, hands-off, and dysfunctional brand of governing resulted in a disastrous and failed budgetary process. And as Sununu prepares for his second budget address, its abundantly clear he hasn’t learned from his mistakes. “Voters elected Democratic majorities to the State House, State Senate, and Executive Council because they wanted legislators who will actually put in the work to give all Granite Staters the opportunity to succeed. New Hampshire has seen what the budget process looks like when Sununu’s in charge, this time around it’s time for him to take a back seat so the grown-ups can get things done.”
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