THE SHOWDOWN: After months of work, and frequent bickering, the final scenes of the 2011-2012 legislature are about to be played out.

This week House and Senate must take final action on all remaining bills and both bodies are hedging their bets by resurrecting key bills killed by the other side.

Of particular note are two tax bills, one prohibiting the Department of Revenue Administration from taxing Internet access and the other doubling research and development tax credits.

In a moment of anger at the Senate for killing some of its prized bills, the House late last month attached the provisions of a bill requiring a 24-hour waiting period before a woman could have an abortion to SB 295, which doubles the amount of research and development credits to $2 million a year, a bill that had strong Senate backing and the support of Gov. John Lynch.

Business organizations and anti-abortion advocates were vocally livid over the move.

Last week, the House Finance Committee voted 17-9 to approve the bill, but without the 24-hour waiting period, retaining the research and development credits at $1 million annually, but making the credit permanent.

The business organizations were pleased as were the advocacy groups.

However House Speaker William O'Brien, Deputy Speaker Pam Tucker, House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt and others in leadership have proposed a floor amendment for this week's session to restore the 24-hour waiting period.

The Senate may want the research and development credits, but would lose nothing if the $1 million-limit were retained and could just kill the bill.

The Internet access prohibition was a victim of House fury over the Senate killing the House plan to put most of the $17.7 million surplus from the last biennium into the state's rainy day fund.

The prohibition quickly found a home on SB 399, which limits the fees for dredging. Another bill requiring legislative approval of DRA tax forms was added to what is now known as a Christmas tree with all the ornaments hanging off it along with a provision to use $1.5 million of the surplus to help reduce the developmentally disabled wait list for services.

And this week, another bill dear to the hearts of House leadership, HB 1418, which increases the exemption for paying the business enterprise tax from $75,000 to $100,000 and for payrolls from $150,000 to $200,000, will be added to SB 399 as a floor amendment. The Senate tabled the exemption bill not knowing its impact on state revenues.

Other House bills making a comeback after the Senate derailed them include several right-to-work provisions, exempting employers who object on religious or moral grounds from a state mandate to provide birth control services as part of their health plan for employees, and allowing communities to establish one-year moratoriums on refugee resettlement programs.

Other resurrections include establishing a defined contribution retirement program for new public workers, defining domicile for voting purposes, creating a state database to track and review abuses by federal airport security agents, prohibiting physicians from prescribing devices they helped develop, and prohibiting a state-based health insurance exchange as required under the Affordable Care Act.

The Senate has sent the House some bills it killed such as a bill aligning the state's interest and dividends tax with the federal levy, a study of a defined contribution retirement system and others.

By the end of this week, there will be even more bills resurrected and more ammunition loaded before the Thursday deadline for action. The Senate is set to vote this week on a very big bill for O'Brien and his leadership team, CACR 13, a proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting any new tax on income.

The Senate Internal Affairs Committee voted a month ago to approve the proposal on a 3-1 vote, but said it would need to be amended, although no amendment is being proposed at this time.

O'Brien feared the Senate would do to that amendment what it did to CACR 6, which would have required a three-fifth vote to raise or institute new taxes. The Senate turned it into a spending cap instead and the House refused to go along and asked to negotiate the differences.

All of this has the makings for a very volatile couple of weeks and we haven't even gotten to the conference committees yet, which is where the real wheeling and dealing takes place.

Someone suggested last week the Senate should adjourn and go home now, which the Senate did in 1989 when the two sides could not agree on a capital budget.

It may not matter if the Senate goes home now or not because there may not be much left standing when this showdown is over.

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NO EARLY PRIMARY: Despite the efforts led by Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley, the state primary election will be the traditional second Tuesday in September.

Bradley is the prime sponsor of SB 232, which would have set the primary date as the last Tuesday in August, which would mean a two-week longer period for the general election and a shorter period of intramural bickering for the parties.

However, the House Election Law Committee last week voted 20-0 to kill the bill, saying holding the primary election in August could hold down voter turnout.

The theory has always been no one pays attention in July and August and the general public only becomes interested after Labor Day.

This year however, the timing makes it difficult to meet federal regulations to have primary ballots in the hands of military voters 45 days before the date given the filing period will end June 15 or later due to the uncertainty about the House redistricting legal challenges.

On the other hand, moving up the primary makes it easier to comply with the federal military requirements for the general election.

Committee member Rep. Al Baldasaro notes the current primary and general election dates will mean a 55-day period between the primary and the general election for the next 20 years.

That time allows for recounts and ballot printing to meet the federal requirements, he said.

No Labor Day break for candidates this year, nor for the media.

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CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION: This year voters will have an opportunity to decide if the state should have a constitutional convention.

Every 10 years the question has to be put to voters if they want a convention and this is the year.

Some wonder if a constitutional convention might not be a good way of addressing some of the longstanding issues that have constantly failed to win approval through the usual channels, such as an education funding amendment.

The current education funding proposal will go before House and Senate negotiators next week. The conference committee is set to meet at 10 a.m. May 22 in Rooms 210-211 of the Legislative Office Building.

The New House version of the amendment is a big question because it will need nearly all of the Republicans to reach the 60 percent threshold to appear on the general election ballot.

Democrats want no part of it and Gov. John Lynch has yet to say if he will back it or not. He did back the Senate's proposed amendment, but between 75 and 100 House members will not because it states the state has a responsibility to provide a public education to children.

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SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Lynch nominated Canterbury resident and Orr & Reno attorney Jim Bassett to be the next Supreme Court associate justice.

Bassett, a one-time Republican Congressional candidate, is well-liked and well-thought of and is almost assured of confirmation after his public hearing before the Executive Council Friday at 1 p.m. in Executive Council Chambers. The council could vote as early as May 23.

Lynch picked Bassett on the recommendation of an independent Judicial Selection Commission that reviews candidates and makes recommendations to the governor.

Lynch and former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen used independent commissions to help them decide on judicial nominees.

Former Gov. Craig Benson did not and neither did former Gov. Steve Merrill.

Judges used to be vetted by the NH Bar Association, but former Gov. Judd Gregg did away with that tradition.

Managed Care Review: The Executive Council finally approved the multiple-billion-dollar Medicaid Managed Care contracts last week and now lawmakers will begin holding Health and Human Services agency officials and the contractors' feet to the fire.

The House Finance Committee holds a public meeting with agency officials and representatives of the three companies Thursday at 1 p.m. in Rooms 21-211 of the LOB.

The state budget assumes a savings of $15 million in fiscal year 2013 from the change to managed care.

The Legislative Health and Human Services Oversight Committee meets at noon on Friday in Room 205 of the LOB to discuss the contracts and the implementation of managed care as well.

Garry Rayno writes State House Dome weekly for the New Hampshire Sunday News. E-mail him at grayno@unionleader.com.