| Jason Osborne | |
| Office: | Majority Leader of the New Hampshire House of Representatives |
| Term Start: | December 2, 2020 |
| Predecessor: | Douglas Ley |
| Predecessor1: | Gene Charron Stella Tremblay Dan Dumaine |
| State House1: | New Hampshire |
| Termstart1: | December 3, 2014 |
| District1: | Rockingham 4th |
| Birth Date: | 15 June 1977 |
| Party: | Republican |
Jason M. Osborne (born June 15, 1977) is a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives. He represents Rockingham 4, comprising the towns of Auburn, Chester, and Sandown.[1] In November 2020, the Republican caucus chose him to serve as the New Hampshire House Majority Leader.[2]
Osborne is from Defiance, Ohio, where his family founded Credit Adjustments, Inc. (CAI), a debt collections company, in 1964.[3] Osborne joined the family firm in 1995 and worked as the CIO, and later CEO.[4] [5] With Osborne as CEO, CAI applied for and was granted more than $4 million in federal loans from the Paycheck Protection Program.[6]
In 2021, CAI re-branded as Mammoth Tech.[7] In 2022, Mammoth Tech. abruptly closed, laying off more than 500 employees.[8] The company is currently facing a class-action lawsuit for failing to give notice. This includes rent payments, a $1 million judgment to a staffing agency, and another $181,000 decision on a management company. Former pregnant employees have reportedly filed two disability discrimination suits, one settled and one ongoing.[9]
In 2010, Osborne moved to New Hampshire from Ohio as part of the Free State Project.[10] [11]
Osborne is a Republican. As New Hampshire House Majority Leader, Osborne has been credited with achieving conservative legislative victories despite the Republican caucus's slim majority.[12] [13]
In 2017, Osborne voted for SB 66, which authorizes murder charges for an individual who causes the death of a fetus.[14] In 2021, he voted for HB 625, which prohibits abortions after 24 weeks.[15] He has also voted to repeal New Hampshire buffer zone law and against requiring insurance plans that cover maternity benefits to include coverage for emergency or elective abortion services. In 2022, Osborne voted with Democrats to table HB 1477, a bill that would have prohibited abortion upon the detection of a fetal heartbeat.[16]
In June 2022, Osborne proposed that firearms training be taught at every grade level in public schools.[17] He also described efforts to pass gun safety measures at the federal level as "fruity ideas."
Osborne argued for the legalization of cannabis in New Hampshire in a 2023 op-ed titled "Conservative case for cannabis reform".[18]
Osborne holds a PhD in economics from George Mason University.[19] Osborne's children do not attend public school.[20] Osborne's wife, Sharon, is the chair and director of Latitude Learning Resources, a nonprofit offering cross-curricular classes for homeschoolers and other students.[21] [22] [23]
In 2022, web forum posts from Osborne between 2007 and 2011 surfaced. In them, Osborne used racist slurs and sexist comments about women breastfeeding. He also appeared to argue for abolishing age-of-consent laws.[24]