$50,000 of Taxpayers Money for Three Hour Workdays

Tom Taylor

NewsNM note - Spence - There's an old joke that goes like this. Do you know many people work for the government? The answer: About HALF of them. During the first five days of the Special Session, House Democratic majority limits work to an average of less than 3 hours per day. Today, Republican Floor Leader Tom Taylor and Representative Nate Gentry introduced a resolution calling upon the majority Democrats to schedule legislation for committee hearings and encourage active debate and action by the House of Representatives.

Andy Nunez

The resolution was signed by House Republicans and the one independent, Andy Nunez. After a full five days of session, the majority Democratic Party has limited the House to work a total of 13 hours, an average of less than 3 hours per day. "This is unacceptable to New Mexicans who expect us to work on a few pressing issues facing this state, including repealing the dangerous law that permits illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses, creating jobs in New Mexico, and improving our educational system," said Taylor. “It is important to note that while yes, redistricting is the primary focus of this session; we only have 28 bills in the pipeline. In previous sessions, we have had up to 150 by the time Monday rolls around.”

Ben Lujan

"The majority Democrats have the sole power to schedule committee hearings so that we can consider the very important issues facing this state. There has been a great deal of complaining by the Democrats that there is too much to do, but I have yet to see the majority convene committees for any significant period of time to get it done. It’s time we get to work," Gentry said. Historically, standing committees begin meeting on the second or third day. The Special Session is costing the tax payers of New Mexico approximately $50 thousand a day and is budgeted for 21 days.

$50,000 of Taxpayers Money for Three Hour Workdays