Christopher Sununu

Broad-based income tax
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Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014

Should NH add an income tax on earned income?

"I support property taxes over a sales or income tax."

Broad-based sales tax
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Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2014

Should NH add a broad-based sales tax?

"I support property taxes over a sales or income tax."

Stricter gun laws
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Citizens Count Issue Survey, 2016

Should NH pass stricter gun control laws?

"I oppose stricter gun control laws."

Minimum wage increase
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Other, 2016

"I am open to a responsible increase in the federal minimum wage, provided there is a strong economic and moral case for it. I am opposed to establishing a state minimum wage."

Extending renewable energy portfolio standard
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Candidate's Website, 2020

Gov. Sununu vetoed SB 124, a bill which would have revised the required minimum percentages of renewable energy in the Renewable Portfolio Standard, particularly to extend goals from 2025 to 2040. In his veto message he wrote, "This bill would counterproductively increase electricity rates while we are working to rebuild our economy. New Hampshire ratepayers are already burdened with some of the highest energy bills in the nation. This makes it hard both for businesses to expand and for residents on fixed incomes to pay their bills each month."

Mail-in voting
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Candidate's Website, 2020

Gov. Sununu vetoed HB 1672, which would have allowed no-excuse absentee voting for all. In his veto message he wrote, "The State of New Hampshire has ensured that our upcoming elections will be secure and our voters safe in these trying times. We have made it clear that any eligible voter who wishes to vote absentee because of the pandemic may do so. ... New Hampshire's voting system works very well and we consistently have some of the highest voter participation in the country. The proponents of House Bill 1672 seek to take advantage of a global pandemic to fundamentally and permanently weaken New Hampshire's electoral system. They have put forward a partisan wish list of unreasonable and unnecessary provisions, some of which have already been vetoed and sustained last year. New Hampshire takes pride in our traditions of strong civic engagement and fair, transparent, and secure elections. Our Democratic Secretary of State, who has served our state faithfully for over 40 years, opposes this radical, partisan piece of legislation and so do I."

Phasing out Interest and Dividends tax
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Other, 2022

Gov. Sununu introduced the phase-out of the Interest and Dividends tax as part of his 2021 budget proposal.

In his budget address he said, "And one final big item to close out this Budget Address, you've heard me talk a lot about it. And we're here today to really act on it. And that's tax cuts for everyone. Whether you are a small business just starting out, a family of four looking to enjoy a meal out, or are retired and enjoying life in the Granite State, we're providing equitable, across-the-board tax relief for the people of our State. ... This budget cuts the Interest and Dividends Tax and it begins to phase it out entirely over the next five years."

Encourage local zoning changes for housing development
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Other, 2022

Gov. Sununu supported SB 400, a 2022 bill that included various incentives and requirements to ease zoning barriers at the local level.

Gov. Sununu also supported the creation of a $5 million grant program to "provide resources to cities and towns to update or expand pro-housing planning and zoning regulations."

"Education Freedom Account" program
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Other, 2022

Gov. Sununu signed the Education Freedom Account program into state law as part of the 2021 state budget bill. Prior to that, at a February 2021 press conference, Sununu described the Education Freedom Account program as follows:

"In terms of the education freedom accounts that are being proposed, again those would provide the opportunity for folks to take a portion of the funding that follows the -- that should be following the child and use it how they want to use it, to direct the funding to the best path of education for their children, whether it be an issue around COVID, school closures, just a more integrated programming, maybe more focused programming to the skillset and I should say the learning style of their child. It could be a variety of reasons why people might choose to use the State's funding for their child as they wish, instead of being forced into just a one-lane system.

"And obviously that legislation is designed to simply provide opportunity. That's it. It's just about saying, as a family, as a parent, as a child, you have some choice now. You have some say in the pathway."

Repeal ban on abortion after 24 weeks
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Other, 2022

Testifying in favor of HB 1609, Gov. Sununu wrote, "I am pro-choice, but also like most Granite Staters - and Americans - I support a limit on abortions performed in months 7, 8, and 9 of pregnancy."

Ban on teaching certain concepts related to race
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Other, 2022

When asked about this law at a June 2021 press conference, Gov. Sununu said, "What it says is Teachers can't discriminate. That's it. A Teacher cannot teach things that inherently discriminate against their students in the classroom.

"It's actually very clear language. I think Senator Bradley did a very good job saying, look, we have Discrimination Laws that are on the books. We're going to strengthen and enhance those. And it's something back in March, that's exactly where I thought it should go. We have things on the books.

:Didn't have a whole lot of accountability attached to it for parents or folks that had concerns with that, but we've kind of strengthen. And I mean all those sentences in that Bill say is you're not going to discriminate against a student, or teach something that's discriminatory, simply based on their skin color, or their gender, or sexual identity. I mean, it doesn't just include race. It includes all these different things. Doesn't say this could be taught and that can't be taught. It says, don't discriminate. And that's exactly where we should be."

Marijuana legalization with state-run stores
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Other, 2022

When asked about a bill that would allow legal marijuana sales through state-run cannabis stores, similar to liquor stores, Gov. Sununu said, "I always said now is not the time. We had the tip of this spear of the opioid epidemic and our system was not working. I rebuilt the entire system, called the Doorway. We are the only state in the country that has not seen opioid deaths increase. The only one. The system is working. I do not know if we are there to legalize drugs. I am not fully committal on it. I like the system, the bill proposed. If you are going to do it, that is the way we are going to do it."

Public school funding through local property taxes
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Other, 2022

At a NHPR and New Hampshire Bulletin debate in October, Sununu said, "Do we need to re-look at and evaluate the school funding formula? Yes. I'm 100% on board with that. I mean the legislature really has to take it up. We can do commissions or study committees. I created a group about three or four years ago that kind of did the initial work on this, then COVID hit, and I think it got put on the back burner, but absolutely. We have a larger surplus in the Education Trust Fund, not the state surplus, the general funds, but the Education Trust Fund has a larger surplus than ever before. We have less kids going into school, about less than about one and a half percent decline in actual enrollment per year. So the net dollars going into the system are less and that results in a surplus. More dollars per child in my administration than in any previous administration. But it's, we still have this surplus. So there's an opportunity there to reinvest those funds or find a more equitable formula."

Business tax decrease
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Other, 2022

At a NHPR and New Hampshire Bulletin debate in October Sununu said, "So the Democrats said you can't keep cutting taxes across the state, right? Yeah. We need the income tax. You can't keep cut - and they said we're gonna bankrupt our programs. Meanwhile, we have a bigger surplus than ever before so by doing that, but cutting taxes, by being more business friendly, again, more businesses are flooding into New Hampshire in the Northeast than anywhere else." When pressed on if he wanted to cut business taxes in the next state budget, Sununu said, "If the legislature wants to do that, I'd look at that. Sure. Yeah."

Business tax credit for student loan repayment
No Response