Gov. Bill Richardson will have to scale back his plans for the special session of the Legislature that begins Friday because of falling oil and natural gas prices.
All agree there will be less money available than what forecasters projected in their previous revenue estimate. Several weeks ago, they projected that the state would have a $392 million windfall for one-time expenses and another $392 million for recurring expenses.
On Tuesday, the governor released a new revenue estimate that said the state will have a $225 million revenue windfall for one-time expenses and $351 million for recurring expenses. Because of that,
“The bottom line is the state still expects $225 million in extra money — money that should go back to
But Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, told The Santa Fe New Mexican that another preliminary estimate showed the windfall revenue for one-time expenses had fallen to between $100 and $150 million because of falling oil and natural gas prices.
Based on the previous estimates,
But Smith told The Associated Press that a tax rebate “is about the only kite that will fly right now.”
The new revenue projections