CONCORD, N.H. — The Democratic-led New Hampshire Senate passed a paid family medical leave bill Thursday, further setting up a showdown with a competing plan promoted by Republican Gov. Chris Sununu.
The plan approved by the Senate along party lines offers up to 12 weeks of paid leave for state and non-government employees for the birth, adoption or fostering of a child, a serious illness not related to employment or the serious illness of a spouse or certain other relatives. It would require businesses to provide insurance or send 0.5 percent of employees’ weekly wages to the state.
Sununu and Vermont Gov. Phil Scott recently introduced a voluntary program in which both states would cover the cost of up to six weeks of leave.
Sununu, who released draft language of related legislation Thursday as part of his budget proposal, argues the Democratic proposal amounts to an income tax.
In the Senate, supporters of the bill argued the state hasn’t done enough to attract young workers, and is at a disadvantage given that surrounding states offer such leave.
“One tool we have at our disposal to attract this younger workforce, these young people and families – hopefully my future grandchildren – is to make sure nobody has to choose between the job they need to live here and the family they love,” said Sen. Cindy Rosenwald, D-Nashua. “Paid family medical leave insurance can help us do that.”
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