NM legislative session reaches halfway point

From KOB-TV.com - By: Stuart Dyson, KOB Eyewitness News 4 - State lawmakers are struggling to reach a compromise on the budget as the 30-day legislative session hits the halfway point. Under normal circumstances, that is the time when the House of Representatives would be voting on the budget and sending it over to the Senate, so that it would arrive on the Governor Susana Martinez' desk in good time. But these are not normal circumstances. Oil and natural gas revenues- especially natural gas - remain a mystery for economists trying to gauge the state's income for the next budget year. The forecast they have come up with is about $257 million on new money, after several years of declines, but stagnant natural gas prices make that prediction shaky. The budget drafted before the session would spend only about $215 million in new money, but the bill remains stuck in the House Appropriations and Finance Committee while Democrats and Republicans squabble over details. "I would say we probably have about a day and a half more," said Democratic Rep. Kiki Saavedra, Appropriations and Finance chairman. "We're gonna meet with the minority party and they've got some concerns about the budget, so we'll probably meet with them this evening or tomorrow morning and see what we can iron out." At the heart of the disagreement is the governor's power to decide on budget cuts if there is less money than expected, or tax cuts or spending increases if there is more money.  Read more

NM legislative session reaches halfway point