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Friday, July 11, 2008

Richardson: Special Session in September

By Barry Massey
Associated Press
      SANTA FE (AP) — Gov. Bill Richardson plans to call a special session of the Legislature in early September and he's expanding the agenda.
    The governor said in an interview Friday that health care will remain a focus of the session but he also will ask legislators to consider a package of initiatives to help working families with the rising costs for food, gasoline and other household expenses.
    Details of the legislative package are being developed but the governor said it may include some tax relief.
    "It's been a rough year for working families," Richardson told The Associated Press.
    Richardson previously has said the special session would be in August or September. He has narrowed the timeframe and said the session would be in early September because he didn't want it held before the Democratic and Republican national presidential nominating conventions. Democrats meet Aug. 25-28 in Denver and Republicans gather Sept. 1-4 in St. Paul, Minn.
    The governor's announcement that he's expanding the work of the special session came on the heels of a new revenue forecast that shows the state collecting a windfall because of high prices for oil and natural gas. Revenue collections should be almost $400 million higher than expected in the current budget year.
    The governor said part of the surplus would be used to pay for the proposals to help families.
    "My philosophy has always been, 'You have a surplus, you turn it back to the taxpayers,'" said Richardson.
    The governor also took aim at legislators who continue to doubt whether the state can afford a universal health care plan that Richardson wants approved during the special session.
    "I am tired of members of the Senate — some members of the Senate — constantly saying no to any kind of progress on education reform, on health care," said Richardson. "I am tired of these 'Dr. No's.' Ever since I've come into office ... we've had substantial progress despite their dire predictions, which continue unabated every year."
    Sen. John Arthur Smith, a Deming Democrat and chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, is among those who have publicly questioned Richardson's health care proposal. Smith contends oil and gas revenues are too volatile to rely on in financing a health care expansion that likely will increase in cost with each year.
    "As far as saying no to everything, it's our responsibility," Smith said in a telephone interview. "We're the appropriating body. We have to make certain it's affordable and sustainable even when he's gone. I think on the finance side, the Senate side, we're trying to make certain that whatever we put in place is a program and not a deal."
    Smith proposed earlier this week that part of the revenue windfall go for a tax rebate to help New Mexicans with skyrocketing fuel prices and some of the surplus be used to cover a half billion dollar transportation financing shortfall, which has forced the state to delay some highway construction projects.
    Richardson said Smith's "solutions are knee jerk, piecemeal solutions that won't work."
    Smith said he was pleased that Richardson was considering proposals to help families with the high cost of fuel and other expenses. He suggested Richardson was expanding the agenda of the special session to try to gain more support among lawmakers for returning to work in September — only a few months before the regularly scheduled 60-day session that convenes in January.
    "I'm certainly not surprised that he's trying to find additional issues to throw into the special session to try and get some traction because obviously it hasn't had traction at this point," said Smith.

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