Elizabeth Preston

I am writing to urge you to vote against HB1002. It would deprive towns in NH of their current right to manage their own property taxes with regard to solar panels. This is a bad idea for this reason alone--towns should have the freedom to regulate local taxes for the best interest of their own citizens as a matter of both fairness and efficiency. Moreover, the proposed bill will result in hardship for precisely those citizens who can least afford it, namely, those on the lower end of the income ladder and those on fixed incomes. Solar installations provide a long-term hedge against rising energy prices. Forcing towns to negate this advantage for their citizens by raising property taxes is counterproductive.