Pease bill to remove local control effectively killed
CONCORD – A bill that would’ve taken away local control of appointments to the Pease Development Authority’s board of directors was effectively killed on Wednesday.
House Bill 1513 sought to remove the power of leaders in Portsmouth, Newington, and Greenland to appoint board members and give it to the New Hampshire governor and Executive Council.
“As we all hear on the floor of the House and throughout New Hampshire that local control is very important to us,” said Rep. Dennis Malloy, DGreenland, who testified against the bill. “We’ve built the state on that premise. And this is one of those opportunities to live up to that premise.”
The New Hampshire House’s Resources, Recreation and Development Committee voted unanimously to deem the bill “inexpedient to legislate,” which means it is not recommended to pass. The bill will next go to the House floor for a full vote, where it likely will be killed.
Why was House Bill 1513 proposed?
HB 1513, sponsored by Rep. Mark McConkey, R-Freedom, would have changed how the board of directors of the Pease development authority is appointed.
“The Pease Development Authority is of course, you know, dedicated to the people and economy of New Hampshire. It’s no single town,” McConkey said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, a town was leaning on representation from their town to think first for their town as opposed to what’s best for the authority.”
Under McConkey’s bill, instead of one member being appointed by the mayor and city council of Portsmouth, they would have been appointed by the governor and Executive Council,
and the appointee would have to be from Portsmouth. The same shifting of appointing power would have been done for a position currently appointed by the Newington Board of Selectmen, and another board position appointed jointly by the Newington and Greenland select boards.
McConkey raised concerns over some members of the board only wanting to make decisions for their town, not the entire state.
“Localities should be involved in the conversation, but they should be part of of the higher cause, which is the economic development of the entire state,” said McConkey. “There have been issues to my understanding to the other way.”
Arguments against Pease bill
Six people testified against the bill. No one besides the bill sponsor testified for it.
Steve Duprey, chair of the Pease Development Authority, was appointed by the Gov. Chris Sununu in 2022. He said there have been a couple of issues where the local appointed representative “was directed by the municipal governing authority on how they want to vote on an issue.”
However, he recommended they kill this bill and instead come up with another one to solve the issue.
“If you decide to get rid of this bill, which I would recommend, that we come back with another bill that simply makes it clear that no appointing authority, whether it’s the governor, it’s the town of Newington, it’s the Strafford County appointee, shall direct any member on how to vote,” he said.
Malloy and others brought up how the Pease Development Authority uniquely affects neighboring towns, citing traffic on Route 33.
“For our perspective on this, Greenland is a town that contains one of the major arteries that feeds Pease. And there are thousands of of people every day, twice a day that drive up and down (Route) 33 through our town and we support that. We are in complete support of all the developments Pease has brought to the area, and we want to help that,” said Malloy. “It’s been important for us to be in the room and at that table with some degree of authority.”
Newington town administrator Martha Roy brought a letter from the Newington selectmen, who are all in opposition to the bill.
“There’s a serious concern about what happens and what is allowed to be developed right over the aquifers that service the town of Newington,” said Roy, referencing a PFAS contamination that came from the firefighting foam at the Pease Development Authority area.
A few residents of the affected communities spoke, emphasizing the importance of community empowerment and local voice at Pease.
In an interview a day earlier, Portsmouth Mayor Deaglan McEachern called the bill a “crazy” and “ridiculous” attempt to take away local control.
What is the Pease Development Authority?
The Pease Development Authority develops, manages and maintains the Portsmouth International Airport at Pease, New Hampshire Port Authority, Skyhaven Airport, Pease Golf Course and Pease Tradeport, among other entities in New Hampshire, according to its website. Pease International Tradeport is home to more than 250 businesses with thousands of employees and is located in Portsmouth and Newington.
There are seven members of the board of directors that manage the PDA.
One is appointed by the governor and Executive Council, one by the mayor and City Council of Portsmouth, one by the select board of Newington, one by the president of the state Senate, one by the speaker of the House of Representatives, one jointly by the select boards of Greenland and Newington, and one by majority vote of the legislative delegation of Strafford County.