Revision: March 8, 2016, midnight
\t \t\tSB 368-FN-A - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2738
\t10/03
SENATE BILL\t368-FN-A
AN ACT\tmaking a capital appropriation for department of environmental services monitoring equipment.
SPONSORS:\tSen. Watters, Dist 4; Sen. Stiles, Dist 24; Sen. Boutin, Dist 16; Sen. Fuller Clark, Dist 21; Rep. Schroadter, Rock. 17
COMMITTEE:\tCapital Budget
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ANALYSIS
\tThis bill adds a capital appropriation to the department of environmental services for a comprehensive monitoring program for the Piscataqua region estuaries to projects authorized in the capital budget.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2738
\t10/03
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\tmaking a capital appropriation for department of environmental services monitoring equipment.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 2015 Capital Budget; Appropriation Amended; Department of Environmental Services; Comprehensive Monitoring Program. Amend 2015, 220:18 to read as follows:
\t220:18 Lapse of Prior Capital Balance; Capital Appropriation; Department of Administrative Services; Hampton District Court Land Purchase; Department of Environmental Services; Comprehensive Monitoring Program.
\t\tI. The sum of $600,000 from the unencumbered balances of the appropriations made to the department of administrative services in 2011, 253:1, II, B, 1, extended by 2013, 195:47, 7 for Hugh Gallen OPS-FACP replacement; in 2013, 195:1, II, B, 1 for records and archives new roof; and in 2011, 253:1, II, D, 2, extended by 2013, 195:47, 16 for statewide energy efficiency improvements, shall lapse on June 30, 2015.
\t\tII. The sum of [$600,000] $340,000 is hereby appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2015 to the department of administrative services for the purchase of 2.7 acres of land currently owned by the department of transportation in the town of Hampton, New Hampshire. Said land shall be used for the construction of a new Hampton District Court. Said funds shall not lapse until June 30, 2017.
\t\tII-a. The sum of $260,000 is hereby appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2015 to the department of environmental services for a comprehensive monitoring program for the Piscataqua region estuaries. Said funds shall not lapse until June 30, 2017.
\t\tIII. To provide funds for the [appropriation] appropriations made in paragraph II and paragraph II-a, the state treasurer is hereby authorized to borrow upon the credit of the state not exceeding the sum of $600,000 and for said purpose may issue bonds and notes in the name of and on behalf of the state of New Hampshire in accordance with RSA 6-A. Payments of principal and interest on the bonds and notes shall be made from the general fund of the state.
\t\tIV. All contracts and projects and plans and specifications therefor for the projects authorized in this section shall be awarded in accordance with the provisions of RSA 21-I.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2738
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/23/15
SB 368-FN-A- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\tmaking a capital appropriation for department of environmental services monitoring equipment.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Environmental Services states this bill, as introduced, will have an indeterminable fiscal impact on local expenditures in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state, county or local revenue or on state or county expenditures.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill would move an existing capital appropriation from the Department of Administrative Services to the Department of Environmental Services without increasing or decreasing total appropriations.
The Department of Environmental Services states this bill would provide capital funds in the amount of $260,000 to fill gaps in the State’s ability to generate and analyze scientific data in the Great Bay and Hampton Harbor in order to better understand water quality trends and support local and state decision making. The Department summarized planned use of the appropriation as follows:
Item | Amount |
Maintain current water quality monitoring programs in the estuary | $10,000 |
Expand water quality monitoring to cover additional areas of the Great Bay Estuary | $75,000 |
Replace old infrastructure and data sondes used for water quality monitoring | $45,000 |
Add pH Sensor to Great Bay buoy – along with increased analysis time from contractor in order to better understand ocean acidification | $20,000 |
Add surface sensors and additional grab sampling to for existing stations in order to understand issues related to nutrients, dissolved oxygen, hydrodynamics, and stratification | $90,000 |
Collect ortho-rectified and ground truthed imagery to map eelgrass in the estuary | $10,000 |
Upgrade internet-based database and web presence for monitoring data | $10,000 |
Total | $260,000 |
The Department states there would be no impact on county expenditures or revenue since county governments are not involved in water quality monitoring. The Department also states local governments in the seacoast region may experience a reduction in expenditures, but the degree of that potential reduction is indeterminable since the Environmental Protection Agency’s monitoring requirements are yet to be established.