SENATE STREAMLINES FUNDING MECHANISM FOR LCHIP

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                         Wednesday, May 13, 2008 Contact: Senator Martha Fuller Clark

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SENATE STREAMLINES FUNDING MECHANISM FOR LCHIP

CONCORD – The Senate voted today to clarify how registries of deeds will collect a surcharge on certain documents to benefit the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program. The program provides grants to local communities for land conservation and historic preservation.

The decision to establish a surcharge on certain documents filed with county registries passed last year. Lawmakers worked with the county registers this year to clarify the procedures before the surcharge goes into effect on July 1. Legislative wording to implement the procedures was added today as an amendment to House Bill 1579.

“Through compromise and negotiation, agreement has been reached with all of the registers of deeds to limit this to four documents,” said Senator Martha Fuller Clark (D-Portsmouth). “With further input from the registers and the state Department of Revenue Administration, we have been able to work out the smoothest and most efficient way to administer the surcharge.”

The legislation approved today provides for a $25 per document surcharge that would apply only to the filing of a deed, a mortgage, a mortgage release or a plan. The surcharge is expected to generate $4.5 million to $5.1 million next year for the Land and Community Heritage Investment Program.

Funding for the conservation and preservation program has swung widely since LCHIP was first created by the Legislature.  It received $12 million in the two-year budget cycle for 2002-2003. That dropped to $1.5 million for 2004-2005 and went up only slightly to $2 million in the last budget cycle.

This biennium, the Legislature budgeted $6 million for the program in the first year but approved the document surcharge for implementation July 1, 2008 to provide an ongoing and sustainable source of funds for LCHIP for the future.