The Granite Institute is a nonpartisan public policy think tank that focuses its research on educational choice programs and tax reform in New Hampshire. ¹ The Granite Institute is affiliated with Granite Action, a nonprofit advocacy organization headed by Institute board member and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Ovide Lamontagne. ^{3 While the Institute is nonpartisan, members of its board have affiliations with the Republican Party.}

Activity

The Granite Institute is a nonpartisan public policy think tank that focuses its research on educational choice programs and tax reform in New Hampshire. ⁴

The Institute advocates for the implementation of school choice programs and education savings accounts (ESAs). ⁵ The Institute also supports using public funds to fund private schools, religious schools, and special education institutions. A 2017 report published by the Institute claimed that under certain circumstances, New Hampshire tax money was already being used to fund private schools, religious schools, and for-profit institutions. ⁶

In 2016, the Institute published a study advocating for the reform of New Hampshire’s business tax. The study claimed that the Business Enterprise Tax established in 1993 had continually risen, despite the fact that economic growth had not accelerated, and advocated for a Business Flat Tax (BFT) instead. ⁷ In 2018, the Institute published its “New Hampshire Advantage Index” where it continued to advocate for a BFT. The Index claims that New Hampshire’s economy is threatened by policy that supports rising tax rates in New Hampshire, tax reductions in neighboring states, and  the Medicaid expansion program instituted by the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). ⁸

Funding

The Granite Institute is funded by donations from undisclosed individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Granite Institute last filed a 990 with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2016. In the years before and since, it has filed a form 990-N, claiming revenue of less than $25,000. ¹⁰

Jody Underwood serves as an education fellow at the Institute and on the Croydon School Board, where she formerly served as chair before becoming the board’s secretary and school choice liaison. ¹³

Ovide Lamontagne is the chair of Granite Action. Lamontagne formerly served as chair of the New Hampshire State Board of Education and as general counsel for both Americans United for Life and the New Hampshire State Senate. Lamontagne was the Republican nominee for Governor of New Hampshire twice and was named “Conservative of the Year” by the New Hampshire chapter of Americans for Prosperity in 2011. ¹⁴

Raymond Pinard formerly sat on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and as the chair of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. ¹⁶

Stewart Levenson was a Republican primary candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018. ¹⁷“About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.[/^note]

1. “About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.
3. “About.” Granite Action, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. http://graniteaction.org/index.php/about.[/^note]

   The Granite Institute is an affiliate member of the State Policy Network, a coalition of free-market state-level policy organizations. ²“The Network: New Hampshire.” State Policy Network, 2021. Accessed January 21, 2021. https://spn.org/directory/#NH.

4. “About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.
5. “Education Savings Accounts.” The Granite Institute, 2017. Accessed January 30, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/application/files/2315/1365/9665/NH_Education_Savings_Account_Primer.pdf.
6. Underwood, Jody S. “Public Funds for Private Schooling in New Hampshire: Myths and Facts.” The Granite Institute, December 2017. Accessed January 30, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/application/files/2315/1365/9580/NH-PrivateSchoolFundingPaper-WEB.pdf.
7. Moody, J. Scott and Warcholik, Wendy. “A Business Flat Tax: True Tax Reform For New Hampshire.” The Granite Institute, September 2016. Accessed January 30, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/application/files/7914/7346/8827/NH-BusinessFlatTax-WEB.pdf.
8. Moody, J. Scott. “New Hampshire Advantage Index.” The Granite Institute, 2018. Accessed January 30, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/application/files/9715/3542/6003/New-Hampshire-Advantage-Index-2018.pdf.
10. “Granite Institute.” IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=264378967&name=Granite%20Institute&city=Woodsville&state=NH&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES,%20EPOSTCARD,%20COPYOFRETURNS&orgTags=CHARITIES&orgTags=EPOSTCARD&orgTags=COPYOFRETURNS.[/note]

    People

    Staff

    Scott Moody works as the CEO of the Granite Institute, as the director of the Family Prosperity Institute, and as a senior fellow at both the Illinois Policy Institute and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Moody formerly served as the CEO and chief economist at the Maine Heritage Policy Center (now the Maine Policy Institute) and as a senior economist at both the Tax Foundation and the Heritage Foundation. ⁹“About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.

13. “About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.[/^note]

    Board of Directors

    Board chair Andrew Hemingway formerly served as the New Hampshire political director for Newt Gingrich’s 2012 presidential primary campaign and as the chair of the Republican Liberty Caucus of New Hampshire (RLCNH). Hemingway ran in the 2014 New Hampshire Republican primary gubernatorial election. ¹¹“About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.[/^note]

    Harold Turner Jr. is a leading advocate for the creation of Zero Net Energy building developments. Turner formerly sat on the boards of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. ¹²“About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.

14. “About.” Granite Action, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. http://graniteaction.org/index.php/about.
16. “About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.[/^note]

    Board member Bart Fromuth also sits on the advisory board of the New Hampshire Chapter of Children’s Scholarship Fund and previously served two terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives. ¹⁵“About.” Granite Institute, 2021. Accessed January 25, 2021. https://graniteinstitute.org/about.