An amended version of Senate Bill 180, which would designate Coos County as a distressed place-based economy, has been voted ought-to-pass by the House Committee on Executive Department and Administration. The amendment, however, would remove the requirement that state agency heads must consult with the Coos County Commission before making regulatory decisions that affect the county. It would also set a 20-year limit on the designation.
While the committee does not have the authority to actually amend the bill, it is recommending the changes. Meeting May 21, the committee voted 14-2 in favor of the amendment and 15-1 to recommend the amended bill ought to pass.
Rep. Peter Schmidt (D-Dover) said he voted no on both measures because he wants the record to reflect that the committee does not oppose the notification requirement.
“I want the record to reflect that we don’t oppose the idea. We just regard it as unenforceable,” Schmidt said.
State Sen. David Rochefort (R-Littleton) said the bill planned to go before the full House on June 5. It has already passed the state Senate. Rochefort is the prime sponsor of the bill with the support of much of the Coos County delegation.
“We are very close to getting this done, but we have a few more stops along the way,” he said.
The bill would have the state formally recognize Coos County as a distressed place-based economy. Rochefort said the goal is help Coos County compete for grants and economic development opportunities with other distressed parts of the country like rural Appalachia, West Virginia and Tennessee.
In earlier testimony, Rochefort described how Coos County has suffered from the loss of its paper companies, the shuttering of the Balsams Grand Resort, and the bankruptcy of Isaacson Structural Steel and Burgess BioPower. The designation as a distressed-based economy, he said, should help economic development officials attract businesses by helping with infrastructure needs.
The other component of the bill seeks to compel state agencies to consult with the Coos County Commission when implementing large projects that have a countywide impact. But some agencies expressed concern that the county would have to be consulted on routine items like driveway openings and wetland permits.
Rochefort said the goal is to give the county more say in the consideration of such projects, or at least, it compels the state agencies to communicate. He said Coos County is frequently forgotten in Concord.
— BARBARA TETREAULT, BERLIN SUN
