Small Business
Getting to Know Mike
Dear Friend,

When I ran for State Representative my agenda
was to work on energy and environmental
issues, encourage small business, and protect
New Hampshire citizens from the predatory
practices of payday loan lenders.  

Over the past two years we have made great
strides in these areas, but there is much more
to do.   

I am running for State Senate, because our
district needs new, more responsive
leadership.

As a small business owner, I know the
challenges that owners face.  Working in and
around the developing renewable energy and
engineering fields, I understand what it takes to
develop and market new products.  

My experience as a small business owner in
the energy and science sectors and my
record as a State Representative
demonstrate that I can be the voice Senate
District 9 deserves.

During my time in the State House I have
authored and worked on critical pieces of
legislation for environment and the working
families of our state.  

I authored and was able push through
legislation expanding net metering; I also
sponsored a bill to allow residential customers
to a rebate for putting renewable energy
generation on their homes.  While I was
working on these bills and others to help
protect our state’s most precious resource, the
District 9 Senator continued to vote against bills
with broad bipartisan support that will protect
our environment and lower energy costs to rate
payers.  She was one of only 8 Senators to
vote against the Regional Green House Gas
Initiative.

In 1999, Senate Bill 99 passed on a voice vote.
This lifted the 2% per month (about 27% yearly)
interest rate cap on small loans. This allowed
the payday and title loan companies to move
into New Hampshire, and to charge interest
rates as high as 1000% per year. There is no
record of Senator Roberge objecting to this
bill. Considering that her husband was
banking commissioner for 24 years and
serving at that time, she should have known
better.  The bill I sponsored ended these
predatory practices for good!

Our State deserves forward thinking
Senators who will fight for what means most
to the working families of New Hampshire,
and our current Senator has failed to take up
that fight.

In the past two years, I worked hard and
accomplished more than many long-time
members of the House and Senate. I hope to
bring this same energy (no pun intended!) to
the New Hampshire Senate district 9,
representing Bedford, Merrimack, New Boston,
Mont Vernon, Lyndeborough, and Greenfield.
To bring responsive and progressive
leadership to Concord I need your help.  
Please write a check today for $1000, $250,
$100 or as much as you can afford to Friends
of Mike Kaelin.  

Or call to find out how you can help this
campaign by hosting a house party, putting up
a yard sign, or writing letters to the editor.

Thank you for your help!  Together we can bring
the voice of the people of District 9 to Concord!

Sincerely,

Representative Mike Kaelin
Mike working to build his house, he's not afraid
to get his hands dirty, in stucco as shown here,
as an engineer for his clients, or working for the
citizens of New Hampshire.
One of the primary values that the people of New
Hampshire hold is to work hard and pull your own
weight. I have shared those values throughout my
life starting with my father's farm in Kentucky. For
the last 25 years, I've worked in as an engineer and
am now a consultant with my own firm, Kaelin
Consulting.

Although I've spent most of my career with such
companies as Texas Instruments, Raytheon,
Honeywell Avionics, and Hughes Aircraft, and
appreciate their value and productivity, I am now
pleased to be a small business owner. More than
half of working Americans are employed by
businesses with less than 100 employees. This is
a vital sector of our economy and I am proud to be
part of it.

To Help Small Business...

In a state that’s heavily dependent on tourism, it’s
important that small businesses have clear rules
that are fairly enforced.

This year, I sponsored a bill, HB1242, that would
clarify the enforcement of a liquor law forbidding
employees “with or without compensation” from
drinking while working.. This conflicts with both
state and federal labor laws, and resulted in
inconsistent and often unfair enforcement.

For example, if someone goes to an Irish bar and
sits in on an informal jam session, they could be
considered an unpaid employee under current law,
and the restaurant could receive a hefty fine.
However, the restaurant doesn’t pay this
“employee” a salary, withhold income taxes, or pay
Social Security taxes, as required by state and
federal law.

With HB1242, the definition of an employee is now
taken from labor statutes, and as intended, only the
“real” employees that handle food and drink are
forbidden to consume alcohol on the job.
Mike's Accomplishments in
the New Hampshire House