NHLRA's Weblog

Smoking in Restaurants

Recently, the New Hampshire Lodging and Restaurant Association’s (NHLRA) current stance on a proposed state-wide smoking ban in restaurants and lounges was called into question by one of our members.  We welcome the opportunity to outline for you what the NHLRA’s current position is and how our position on it was reached.

During the last legislative session the NHLRA neither supported, nor opposed, legislation that proposed a smoking ban.  We recognized that this ban would again be one of the more important issues for our membership in the 2007 legislative session and the Board of Directors set about reviewing our non-position in at a series of public policy forums, to which all NHLRA members were invited.

During these sessions it became clear to us that the association needed to rethink its position on the smoking ban, and in the deliberations that followed, the Board of Directors came to the conclusion that an even more important issue is at stake here – the right of individual business owners to choose how to run their businesses.

In re-examining our position on this issue, the NHLRA Board of Directors came to the realization that historically the NHLRA has firmly and strongly protected the rights of individual business owners, and that this underlying principle is the foundation of our mission and purpose. That is why the association’s position is in opposition to a state-mandated ban on smoking in restaurants and lounges.

Smoking is an important public health issue. The NHLRA Board of Directors understands this, and it weighed greatly in the board’s decision making process. We fully understand the health aspects of the smoking issue, and fully support the right of individual business owners to choose to operate their properties as smoke-free establishments.

It is the long-standing practice of the NHLRA that the Board establishes policy for the association. We respect the right of all NHLRA members to free speech, just as much as the rights of our customers to choose where they will spend their money, and the rights of our employees to choose where they desire to work.

We hope that this letter clarifies why NHLRA has taken this position and, as always, we welcome your feedback and input.

Kevin Sullivan, Chairman of the Board

Michelline Dufort, President & CEO

Audits on the Rise

As reported in an article in the Nashua Telegraph recently, there may be further implications from the lack of growth in Meals and Rooms tax income for this year thus far.  The M&R tax collected is $3.5 million lower than budget forecasts.   The latest reports are that M &R collections for August are $22.6 million, which while down $1.1million below projections, but $400,000 ahead of last August.

Please note, an area of focus  being considered to offset the deficit is of concern to our industry; namely increased audits.   As reported in the Telegraph:

Aggressive auditing of business taxpayers and a one-time tax windfall from property and casualty insurers put the state in decent position to meet its revenue forecast this year, state officials said Tuesday.

“We should be OK for this year, but it’s the future that is cause for serious review,’’ said Sen. Lou D’Allesandro, Manchester Democrat, who chairs the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Indeed, there are warning signs as taxes and fees from gasoline, dining out, hunting and fishing are all off the pace, state agency heads reported.

D’Allesandro said decisions made by the Legislature and the Bush administration have reduced federal and state revenue by $225 million over the next two-year budget cycle that begins July 1.

“This will all make for a very interesting budget season,’’ D’Allesandro said.

State taxes and fees came within two-tenths of 1 percent of the Legislature’s $1.6 billion estimate for the year that ended June 30.

Revenue Commissioner Phil Blatsos said getting 13 new auditors on the job produced an annual increase of $15 million from the state’s two main business taxes on corporate profits and business activity.

"I think the day may come we run out of  areas of audit, but not in my lifetime," Blastos said.

Identity Security Breach

The Senate Judiciary Committee is considering legislation to address instances of identity theft.  As it pertains to our industry, an amendment presented to the Committee yesterday would require any business that maintains computerized data that includes personal information to notify and cooperate with the owner or licensee of the information of any breach of the security of the data immediately following discovery of a breach.  The bill is HB 1660.

Undocumented Immigrant Workers

The Senate passed a bill that seeks imposes stricter mandates on all employers and stricter penalties on those employers who hire illegal immigrants. 

SB 407 passed the Senate on a party line vote of 16-8.  It requires all employers to file a statement with the Labor Department declaring whether or not aliens are employed and to retain documentation to demonstrate compliance with existing employee protection laws.  The bill also makes employers responsible for compliance with the new law by contractors and subcontractors with respect to persons employed directly or indirectly on premises that they own, manage or control.  With respect to enforcement, SB 407 allows surprise inspections of businesses by state officials and authorizes penalties of up to $2,500 per day for employers who have hired illegal immigrants.  SB 407 may face a tougher challenge in the House, which has passed a bill to create a study committee on immigration issues but killed several bills with specific proposals to address the problem.  For example, the House killed a bill that would have required employers to review and verify the validity of employee documentation, to pay medical costs and the cost of transportation to the country of origin for an illegal immigrant employed and then injured on the job, and to pay civil penalties of $500 to $5,000 for violations of the law related to employment of immigrants.  The House also killed two bills that would have prohibited employers and social service agencies from providing services to illegal immigrants, one of which would have imposed criminal penalties for such support.

Association Health Plans

Good news on the federal level came this week.  The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved Small Business Health Plan (SBHP) legislation (formerly known as Association Health Plans) by a party-line vote of 11-9!   New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg was one of the 11 supporters. The successful vote was the first Senate vote ever to occur in the challenging 12-year history of the issue.   This victory is a direct result of years of hard work and dedication from the industry and our grassroots.   Our allies in the Senate have confirmed for us the great advocacy job our industry played in this victory.  Although we still have some work ahead of us, we’re very pleased with the progress being made as we try to develop more affordable health care options for employers and their employees.  It is unclear when SBHP legislation will receive consideration by the full Senate, but we are optimistic for a vote in the near future.    Similar legislation has already passed the House.

Minimum Pay For Employees Called Into Work

Tuesday, March 21, the House will vote on HB 1138, which would increase from 2 hours to 3 hours the minimum time an employee called into work must be paid.  A closely divided House Labor Committee has voted 8-7 to recommend passage.  Proponents claim increased costs of travel to and from work warrant the 1 hour increase in minimum pay.  This will be a hotly debated bill. 

Certification of Food Protection Managers

The Senate Executive Departments & Administration Committee has voted to recommend killing SB 235, which would require food service licensees to assign at least one full-time employee to be certified in food protection management.  The full Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill this Wednesday, March 22.  This issue has come up over the past several legislative sessions and has consistently been rejected.  Legislators have expressed a hesitancy to mandate certification.

Mandatory Tip Charges

On a voice vote the House killed HB 1564, which would have prohibited mandatory tip charges for parties of fewer than 8 people.  NHLRA opposed the bill as unnecessary government regulation that would have hurt the tipped employees, not the business owner.

H-2B Workers

On the federal level, New Hampshire’s two Congressmen and two Senators introduced bipartisan companion legislation that would extend by three years the temporary H-2B relief that Congress approved in May of 2005.  As you might recall, the 2005 law, among other things, provided an exemption from the 66,000 annual H-2B cap for workers that have participated in the H-2B program during the three preceding years.  However, this relief was temporary and is set to expire October 1, 2006.  The legislation introduced this week simply extends the relief by an additional three years.  After much discussion with our allies on Capitol Hill, the consensus was that a multi-year extension was more politically viable than a permanent solution.

Food Safety in Restaurants

Wednesday, February 8, 2006 the Senate EDA Committee will hold a hearing at 1:00 on SB235 which would require foodservice Licensees to have at least 1 certified food protection manager on staff.