New Hampshire Municipal Trust Workers' Compensation Fund v. Flynn

The defendant, the Commissioner of the State Department of Labor, appeals from a ruling by the Superior Court (Morrill, J.) on the plaintiff’s petition for declaratory judgment that found RSA 281:2, V-b (Supp. 1988) unconstitutional under part I, article 28-a of the New Hampshire Constitution. On appeal, the defendant claims that RSA 281:2, V-b (Supp. 1988) (hereinafter referred to in its current form at RSA 281-A:17, II (Supp. 1989)) is constitutional because it neither mandates nor assigns a new, expanded or modified program or responsibility. For the following reasons, we affirm.

On May 17,…