Sylvia Larsen for NH Senate

February 12, 2010
Cross Posted from the Senate President's Blog

That’s what has been on my mind this week. I held several informal meetings with groups to explore ways we can work together to add jobs and help the unemployed.

In legislation, I’m proposing a plan to fast track some renewable energy projects that would add jobs. I submit an amendment to a bill this week that would allow any electric utility owing payment to the state’s renewable energy fund to retain a portion of those funds if it can show the money would be used to create jobs through an immediate investment in renewable energy.

I met with officials from Public Service of New Hampshire who, among other things, have plans to install solar panels at municipal landfills and can do so promptly if we pass this amendment.

It is a proposal worth exploring if it would add jobs more quickly. In these times, adding jobs really has to be our number one priority.

Toward that end, I met with representatives from the state Parks division, the Department of Employment Security, AmeriCorps, the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, the Workforce Opportunity Council and the Student Conservation Association to see if we can create jobs and improve our state parks as outlined in the newly developed 10-year state parks plan. Click here to look at that.

We are exploring what federal or other resources might be available to hire young people or get some of our construction workers back to work to improve our parks. I also asked our Employment Security Commissioner to explore whether the state could continue to offer unemployment benefits to workers in the construction trades who are willing to use their skills to make our state parks a better place and train younger people.

Also focusing on jobs, I met this week with the director of the Human Resources State Council of New Hampshire to explore ways our human resources professionals can work with the state to help unemployed workers get information and advice about potential job openings, training, resume building and job hunting skills.

Some members of this group have already volunteered their services in this area and we explored ways to build other alliances and programs.

The idea behind all these efforts is to create links between our state agencies and the people in our community with special skills and talents to see if we can spark those synergies that lead to new jobs and better prospects for people who are unemployed.

We need to be creative and leave no stone unturned as we work to get New Hampshire’s people back to work and our economy back on track.