Seacoast Veterans Conference

Attending the Seacoast Veterans Conference in Portsmouth at the Pease Air National Guard Base-Building 149. This is for all Veterans from 8AM - 4 PM. Bring your DD-214 to enroll in the VA.
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House Speaker Commends Legislation by Congressman Bass to Protect Dignity of Military Funerals

House Speaker Commends Legislation by Congressman Bass to Protect Dignity of Military Funerals 

CONCORD – House Speaker William O'Brien today offered the following statement after the announcement that Congressman Charlie Bass will be introducing legislation to preserve the dignity of military funerals from disruption.  New Hampshire has a similar law (RSA 644:2-b) that prohibits protesting at such funerals.
 
"The fallen sons and daughters of New Hampshire deserve the respect of a grateful state and nation.  The men and women are heroes and we make sure that they get the appropriate dignity they have earned through their sacrifice.  I commend Congressman Bass for moving forward on this bill to offer this protection nationally.  I sincerely hope this legislation becomes law and we can ensure that all military funerals in the United States get the reverence they receive in the Granite State," said O'Brien.


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SB 78 relative to motor vehicle registration fees

SB78 which has an amendment for the 5 cent deduction in gas tax passed, 201Y 108N , the bill was passed as amended 208Y 98N. The NH Advantage is alive and well!!!
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SB 91 fire suppression sprinklers

SB 91 relative to automatic fire suppression sprinklers passed 223Y - 91N which ensures that cities and towns can not mandate homeowners to put in sprinkler systems.
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SB 157 Passes

SB 157 relative to the division of weights and measures and fees for licensing weighing devices and the definition of service technician passes 234Y-92N
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House in Session

SB 57 relative to regulation of title loan lenders passed 180Y - 171N. SB 157 authorizing retail vehicle dealers to act as agents of the division of motor vehicles for vehicle registration and title applications passed 176 Y - 166N
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Congratulations to my son Joey and his Fiancée Krystal on their engagement last night!

Joey is a Sergeant in the Marines, stationed at Quantico Virginia with HMX 1.

Welcome to the Family Krystal Crownover!

Bench Dedication to Rep Mike Whalley in Reps Hall

Mike Whalley was my Minority Leader for my 1st term and he was a Mentor to all, no matter what party you were affiliated with. When Mike got sick during my 1st term he did not miss a beat and when he passed away, we all felt his lost. RIP Mike Whalley!!!
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Senate voting on Flag Bill

HB 132, Adopting and implementing the United States flag code passed by voice vote which e ensures there is a procedure in place to ensure Veterans that were killed in the line of duty, so the Flag can be displayed at half mast properly and where no association can put restrictions on a person who wish's to fly the American Flag.
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University of New England visit in Bidderford Maine

I am very proud of my son Edward a Senior at UNE, who tonight received the Department of Business and Communications Outstanding Student in Communications. Great Job Eddie, who is a 2007 Londonderry High School Graduate.
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Tea Party Rally in Concord NH

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Speaker Obrien Speaks to a large rally

The Speaker said as long as we are in the Majority we will ensure there is no State Sales/Broad Base tax here in NH. We passed a budget that fixes the states deficit.
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PROTECT THE VETERANS MEMORIAL AT CANNON MOUNTAIN

Fellow Veterans, HB 33 passed the House of Representatives and now it faces changes in the senate, contact the Republican Senators (see link below) and tell them to not let the Democrat Senator Merrill change HB 33, AN ACT relative to the care of memorials in Franconia Notch state park (Cannon Mountain).

Tell them this Veterans monument must be protected!

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/senate/senatemembers.asp

HB 33 – AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE

15Mar2011… 0563h

2011 SESSION

11-0050

04/03

HOUSE BILL 33

AN ACT relative to the care of memorials in Franconia Notch state park.

SPONSORS: Rep. Swinford, Belk 5; Rep. Baldasaro, Rock 3; Rep. K. Roberts, Ches 3

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

AMENDED ANALYSIS

This bill establishes the standards of care for memorials and memorial sites in the Franconia Notch state park.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

15Mar2011… 0563h

11-0050

04/03

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven

AN ACT relative to the care of memorials in Franconia Notch state park.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 New Section; Expansion of State Park System; Franconia Notch Forest Reservation and Memorial Park. Amend RSA 216-A by inserting after section 6-a the following new section:

216-A:6-b Franconia Notch Forest Reservation and Memorial Park.

I. The war memorials on the eastern shore of Profile Lake shall be undisturbed and maintained in a proper manner for viewing and visiting by veterans as defined in RSA 21:50 and the general public. Appropriate signage and recognition of the war memorial and the entire Franconia forest reserve, as dedicated to the men and women who have served our country in times of conflict shall be placed at the entrances to Franconia Notch state park as well as directional signs to the memorial site. Veterans groups may aid the division of parks and recreation in enhancing and maintaining the park, through programs such as the Adopt-a-Park program and by other means. Veterans, active duty members of the armed forces, and members of their immediate family accompanying them shall pay no fee to hike or bicycle the trails of the park.

II. In addition, no activity or lease in the state park system shall result in any disturbance of a burial site, memorial, or designated historic site, nor shall any lease provisions cause such sites to be restricted to the general public. Fees may be charged for the use of amenities, improvements, amusements, and special events. Nothing in this section shall prevent the division of parks and recreation or the department of resources and economic development, or any other state agency from exercising full supervisory and managerial responsibilities relative to the area known as the Franconia Notch state park and its surroundings.

III. The director of the division of parks and recreation may solicit, accept, and expend any gifts, grants, and donations for the purpose of maintaining the war memorials in accordance with this section.

2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/legislation/2011/HB0033.html

Attending ribbon cutting for the new Elliot Hospital Ambulatory Center at Rivers Edge. Manchester NH

SB 102 Establishing a Commission to study the effects of service-conected post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury suffered in the line of duty by members of the Armed Forces and Veterans

Last Thursday, SB 102 passed in my committee by a vote of 12-0 which was a bi-partisan vote. I spoke today on the floor to the House of representatives to ensure that the State Reps are well aware that this commission started in 2008, where the committee did not complete the report and asked for a extension by Rep Ray Gagnon from Claremont, who did a great job. Senator Carson and I put a bill in to extend the Commission to another year to complete the work. After passage last year the Democrat Leadership dropped the ball and failed to assign anyone to Chair the commission and then after my many complaints Former Speaker Norrelli assigned Rep Roberts from Keene but it was to late to get it done. I had talked with Sen Carson about putting the bill back in, so we can pick up the ball to finish this Commission on PTSD-TBI once in for all, so we can identify and document lessons learned on how we did not take care of all Veterans of past wars, so we are prepared to take care of all NH Veterans who have PTSD/TBI today.

The bill passed 347Y - 1N and will be sent to the Governor for signature. We will start putting the Commission together to move as a Team to complete this Commission to identify the issues here in NH.

Rep AL Baldasaro
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House in Session, today is Tartan Day

9 AM Republican Caucus and at 10 AM the House of Representative's will be in session for a short time today. To start the day of is the celebration of Tartan Day.
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Rep. AL Baldasaro, the Guest Speaker for the Vietnam Veterans of America, North Central Chapter 907's 8th Annual Memorial Ride

Chairman of the State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs Committee, State Representative AL Baldasaro, a Retired US Marine, Desert Storm Veteran is to be the Guest Speaker for the Vietnam Veterans of America, North Central Chapter 907's 8th Annual Memorial Ride to the Cathedral Of The Pines Service on May 29th in Rindge New Hampshire.

The Vietnam Veterans of America, North Central Chapter 907 will arrive at The Cathedral about 11:15 AM, then the Service starts at 11:30 AM.

When the service comes to a close the ride will head back to the Gardner, MA Fish and Gun to join in on the BBQ festivities.

Vietnam Veterans of America, North Central Chapter 907 WEB Site

http://vietnamveterans907.com/index.php

See flyer at http://vietnamveterans907.com/pdfs/2011%20Bike%20Run%20Flyer.pdf

Senate Holds Hearing On Right-To-Work Bill www.wmur.com

CONCORD, NH -- A crowd gathered for a hearing Tuesday on a bill that would allow workers in union workplaces to opt out of paying dues. Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

‎"We're here on this bill for the freedom for the right to say, 'No, I don't want to pay dues. I don't want to be part of a union," said Rep. Al Baldasaro, R-Londonderry.

Representative Baldasaro has to make the tough decisions

Letter to the Editor of Londonderry NH April 3, 2011

Once again, the Governor takes no responsibility with the NH Deficit
rising to almost 900 million because he feels that the Tax Payers should be paying more taxes to keep up with his spending habits. In his budget he wanted to down shift cost, make our School District & Town pay out more money towards Retirement benefits and cut education funding along with cutting building aid payments with catastrophic aid to
Londonderry.

Just Google his past speech's on his Budget address/spending which forced us to make so many tough decisions to balance the budget to protect the wallets of the Tax payers to keep NH out of bankruptcy. Is our House budget perfect? I doubt it, but I can tell you that Londonderry schools will not lose money and stay level funding for the next two years where we should get our catastrophic aid because we put more money there so it don't come from the Londonderry Tax Payers.

If you read on the the Londonderrynh site, you would think that we are screwing the taxpayers by some of the poster's comments. But if you read between the lines of their comments, you would see that the House position on the Budget is to make tough decisions to fix the NH deficit. Per this site, it sounds more like a Bluenh.com site which is the Democrat way of keep paying for all the Social Programs, keep taking from the Tax Payer and let the fraud continue but that is Freedom of Speech from the use of their fake names.

Kathy Wagner is the one who stated the "Senate is the adults here", let us see how they balance the budget and how they put back items and shift monies to the Tax Payers. Some Senators usual have a bleeding heart and don't mind letting the Unions run wild on the Tax Payers but not me and many of our Representatives who voted on not a perfect budget, but a balanced one that forces the state to live within our means. Can you keep running your home on borrowed money? After awhile, the payments will come do and you either pay it or cut in other areas so you can feed the family and keep a roof over your head.

To the many Londonderry Residents who sent me a letter that they do not like some of the cuts but understand we have no choice and supported us, I thank you. Hopefully when the Senate gets their turn, they don't cave into all the Special Interest Groups/State Union raises, upping the benefits with less money paying from the employees that takes almost 50 million out of the budget in this budget cycle (Biannual).

So when you hear that the Senate will fix this short fall, believe me I will wait patiently on how they are the "big Adults" here per Kathy Wagner. All I can say is beware of the messenger who could be a Democrat crying that we are cutting everything or the RINO (Republican in Name Only) that twist the actual truth as to what is happening that effects Londonderry and our State.

If I don't believe in something, I don't vote for it, no matter what Leadership says, check my record and at the end of the day I sleep like a baby knowing I did the right thing to better NH. I stand by my vote on the Evergreen clause, to stop the state union raises that we cannot afford in a very bad economy. Especially where we will force the State Commissioner's to live within their means and they are the ones who will make the tough decisions on how to spend your tax dollars to keep programs going.

I have posted some other articles for your review to see for yourself and not just my opinion. See http://www.concordmonitor.com/article/240340/255-layoffs-included-in-lynch-budget, or look at how we are trying to stop future raising of taxes with a constitutional amendment that the Democrats hated and try to stop us at http://newhampshire.watchdog.org/8279/nh-house-calls-for-supermajorities-to-raise-taxes/

If you have read postings on this site, you will see some are stating that I do not answer e-mails. I assure you that I try to e-mail back as many as I can in a timely manner but do to the 100's of e-mail I get a day on controversial issues is impossible. It has put me behind on answering them but I will get to them. The person named Bryan on the Londonderrynh site complaining about not receiving an answer to his email is confusing because I did a search on all the e-mails I have left to answer and their names are not there. Judy asked them to resend the email to me and I have not seen it yet. So I question the integrity of the Anonymousness posters on that site.

Please bear with us on the budget process, as we just completed the 2nd stage of a 4 stage process and depending on what the Senate does, we will come together in the 4th stage during a Committee of Conference to finalize the budget. There will be one final vote which will happen by the Senate & the House of Representatives on what comes out of the committee and then the final budget goes to the governor for his signature.

I am trying my best to earn that $100.00 a year I get for doing this job, which in my opinion is, trying to keep NH the best state to live in with smaller government and less spending where we live within our means. I know anything we Conservatives do opens us up for false attacks, since Democrats will do the opposite of us or the Londonderrynh sites Journalist letters don't give the whole truth on the Legislation that has been passed. So don't believe me just read back at the titles and you will see what I am talking about and then read the actual bills.

I am proud of my vote, to get parents involved with the Education Plan by requiring their approval before their child can quit school. The bill required them to work with the Superintendent. I hope I don't shock the many Democrats on the Londonderrynh site but the age limit to quit school is still 18, but they keep that quiet because their title was fun reading/hearing all the twisted statements concerning the school age drop out law.

I want to touch on Kathy Wagner's comments concerning the PTSD Article in the Newspaper. I have no clue why the Londonderry Times did not talk about the other Sponsors but I can tell you that I am the only Chairman who has pushed for answers on the PTSD/TBI Committee last year asking why it was not held and went to the Senator to ask her to put it back in since the Democrats failed to do anything to finalize the Commission. I can tell you that the Former Speaker did not tell the truth when she stated we never went to her because after I talked to her she passed the buck to Rep Kris Roberts from Keene and he said it was too late to do anything. My Committee has held two hearings on the Veterans needs in the state by bringing in the VA Hospital Director, the Homeless Veterans Program director and many others to get a handle on the issues and keep the lines of communications open since January.

I have stopped posting on the Londonderrynh site recently as I had too much going on and I had better things to do than debate the Anonymous posters attacks on me, who I believe many of them are the same person, but I have been known to be wrong once or twice and I do not hesitate in admitting it.

As my sister-in-Law, a Londonderry Resident said it best to me, "you did not run for office to be loved, you ran to make a difference in people's lives." Many of the complainers on the Londonderrynh site who are against my votes, probably did not vote for me anyways and I can't make everyone happy.

If you have any questions on why I voted a certain way, please go to http://www.baldasaro.com/ and send me a e-mail through the comments section.

Thank You

AL Baldasaro

State Representative

Granite Grok- Al Has one gear "Forward"

GrokTV Event - NH State Representative Al Baldasaro

"God love him - former Marine, transmission only operates in one direction (forward) and always in motion.  A "prior Marine", he's still operating as if he never left the Corp or his oath.  I don't know Al well, other than I know who he is (and I think he may know who I am - maybe).  No matter - the endearing quality to Al, in my Conservative eyes, is that he never stops and never counts the odds.  A politician that just presses forward and if that takes him into a "lion's den" so be it.  Unlike many politicians who pick and choose or think "high road only", he is ALWAYS willing to engage with those on "the other side".  

Well, there were plenty of opportunities for "engagement" and during one of my forays in and out of the House Chamber, I found Al ... Read More

http://granitegrok.com/blog/2011/04/groktv_event_nh_state_representative_al.html
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