The bill to fund the special session of the Legislature will have to go back to the House for concurrence after senators removed a House-approved provision to provide each lawmaker approximately $300 for mailing constituents during the session.
House Bill 1, the feed bill, is now awaiting new House action.
The bill was amended Friday evening by the House Appropriations and Finance Committee to extend the length of the session to a maximum of 10 days and include the $35,233 for mailing expenses. The House approved the bill on a vote of 47-14.
But the Senate wouldn’t have it. After accepting an amendment proposed by John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, to strip the funding for mailing expenses, the Senate approved the bill on a vote of 31-2.
The governor’s tax-rebate and health-care proposals — which each include several bills — have been introduced, as have bills to provide supplemental funding for the November election, money for state road projects and emergency cash to help rebuild after recent flooding in Ruidoso.
And perhaps House Minority Whip Dan Foley is hoping to go out with a bang. The Roswell Republican, who lost his primary battle and leaves office at the end of the year, has introduced this bill to eliminate the personal income tax in
Lawmakers are currently meeting in committees. The House and Senate plan to reconvene later today.
Also, I neglected to post yesterday a TV ad that aired throughout