State GOP says guv should not call special session

The Republican Party of New Mexico says Gov. Bill Richardson should not call a special session for health-care reform.

“The legislators and citizens of New Mexico spoke loudly and clearly during the past legislative session: Bill Richardson’s government-managed health-care plan runs the risk of driving doctors and insurance providers out of New Mexico and could bankrupt the state,” the party’s executive director, Adam Feldman, said in a news release. “For the sake of New Mexico taxpayers and small businesses, Richardson should not call a special session this year.”

The governor has already said he will call a special session, and is meeting with Senate leaders on Thursday to discuss possible dates. The House approved a revised and watered-down version of Richardson’s universal health-care plan after much debate during the regular session that ended earlier this month, but the Senate refused to even consider it.

Many lawmakers have said publicly that they see no point to calling a special session when there is no consensus on health-care reform.

Feldman said the state should spend the rest of the year making “every effort to increase enrollment in the current health-care programs available to New Mexicans, allowing the Legislature to reassess our health-care situation next year.”