The state closed its books this fiscal year with a $130 million surplus, according to unaudited figures released by Gov. Maggie Hassan’s office.
Roughly $40 million will go into the state’s rainy day fund, boosting the total balance to roughly $90 million. The remaining surplus will be rolled into the next state budget, which will be crafted this winter by the state’s new governor and Legislature.
“With this surplus,” Hassan said in a statement, “we will continue strengthening our rainy day fund and can bring it to its highest level in recorded history, maintaining our commitment to fiscal responsibility and the state’s long-term financial outlook.”
The 2016 fiscal year ended June 30. The budget plan accounted for just a $33 million surplus, but state business taxes came in strong, roughly 14 percent higher than expected and 16 percent above last year’s returns, according to an unaudited report.
Senate President Chuck Morse accused Hassan, a Democrat, of trying to “take credit for the Legislature’s budget, which she vetoed.”
“We should not forget that her politically motivated veto unnecessarily delayed increased funding to address the heroin epidemic and other critical areas, such as the developmental disabilities wait list,” he said in a statement.
Hassan vetoed the $11.3 billion state budget in 2015, citing concern with a set of business tax cuts she said could blow a hole in future budgets. She ultimately signed the spending plan in September after Republicans agreed to give state workers a raise and tie the tax cuts to a revenue trigger.
Hassan released agency budget requests Monday that include more funding for school building aid, adding 22 state troopers and continuing funding for the statewide implementation of Operation Granite Hammer, grants that fund law enforcement efforts to crack down on drug dealers.
Hassan is not seeking another term, and instead is challenging Republican Kelly Ayotte for her U.S. Senate seat.