Whether this is your first State Budget cycle or your fifteenth, this session will be a helpful primer or refresher for attendees to gain a foundational understanding of the process and timeline as we begin today’s conference.

NHFPI Staff will recap some key policy changes during the 2024-25 State Budget and look ahead to the 2026-27 State Budget environment. This session will discuss some of the possible headwinds the state faces as policymakers build the next State Budget.

10:30 AM  —  Morning Breakout Session 1: NH DHHS Priorities for 2025 & Beyond

The NH Department of Health and Human Services has released its Roadmap 2024-2025, outlining initiatives and goals to advance key priorities for the upcoming fiscal year and beyond. NH DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver will discuss those priorities and participate in a discussion with NHFPI Executive Director Gene Martin before taking questions from attendees.

Funding for public education is the state’s second-largest program and relies on funding from both the state and local levels. To help attendees understand the fiscal foundations of these key policies, NH Dept. of Education School Finance Bureau Administrator Mark Manganiello will explain how public K-12 education is funded. NHFPI Research Director Phil Sletten will discuss state funding for post-secondary education.

NHFPI staff will provide attendees with an overview of key demographic and economic trends facing the Granite State using newly published analysis from our second edition of New Hampshire Policy Points. Attendees will gain insights into residents regarding population changes, income and economic security, and jobs and the economy.

NH Housing Manager of Community Engagement & Education Sarah Wrightsman will discuss the state’s lack of rental and for-sale housing inventory and what multi-prong approaches can be taken to alleviate the housing crisis. She will outline current housing costs, why 60,000 new units are needed by 2030, how housing investments are currently being used, and what insights stakeholders can learn from recent research on the NH housing market.

NHFPI Senior Policy Analyst Nicole Heller will discuss how the Early Care and Education system is funded in NH and the ongoing challenges of an unsustainable business model, highlighting the opportunity cost of lost economic activity to the economy. UNH Research Assistant Professor Jess Carson will also join the presentation to share her insights from the Carsey School of Public Policy’s analyses in the Granite Guide to Early Childhood.

NHFPI Staff will provide analysis explaining how the State Budget pays for public services through the collection of both tax and non-tax revenue. Attendees will also receive a preview of NHFPI’s new research as the new State Budget is being built.

Federal funding makes up nearly one-third of the NH State Budget. Attendees will learn how the federal budget interacts with the State Budget in various policy areas such as health, child care/education, housing, and transportation.