Paid family and medical leave bill struck down in Senate on party lines

A proposal to establish a state-run paid family and medical leave insurance program in New Hampshire died in the Senate Thursday, in an anticipated party-line vote that came after Gov. Chris Sununu raised concerns over its solvency.

After an 80-minute debate, the bill, House Bill 628, was pushed into interim study by the Senate, 14-10. The bill would have established a program, run by the Department of Employment Security, to create an insurance program for private sector employees that would provide up to six weeks of paid leave at 60 percent of pay, and allow those who didn’t want to participate to opt-out .

Proposed by Rep. Mary Gile, D-Concord, the proposal left the House with bipartisan support, clearing three floor votes earlier this year. But it faced tougher challenges in the Senate, after the state’s Department of Insurance and Department of Employment Security warned that they couldn’t guarantee long-term viability and Sununu expressed opposition.

On Thursday, Republican senators echoed those concerns, praising the motivation behind the bill but arguing the program is not ready to take off.

Read more: http://www.concordmonitor.com/New-Hampshire-family-leave-bill-struck-down-in-Senate-on-party-lines-17124640