STATE OF NEW MEXICO
New Mexico Senate
SENATE APPROVES BILL TO FUND THE 2013 LEGISLATIVE SESSION
For immediate release
Contact: Arnold Vigil, (505) 986-4263
The Senate on Thursday morning unanimously approved House Bill 1, a proposed $24 million measure that will fund the 60-day 2013 Legislative Session as well as the fiscal-year 2014 operating budgets of the Legislative Council Service, the Legislative Finance Committee, the Legislative Education Study Committee, as well as the chief clerk offices of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Senator Arthur Smith, (D) Deming, says the feed bill went to a “committee of the whole” floor vote because the members of the Senate Finance Committee, which usually examines the measure before it reaches the floor, had not been officially announced yet. The Senate’s Committees’ Committee, whose members were announced during the morning session by newly elected President Pro-Tem Mary Kay Papen, (D) Dona Ana, was scheduled to announce this year’s final committee selections on Thursday afternoon.
Senator Smith said that the 2013 feed bill represented a 3.2 percent increase from the last 60-day feed bill that funded the 2011 Legislative Session. The increase was necessary mostly because of increased insurance premiums and pension payments, Senator Smith said. About $23.6 million of the funding will come from the General Fund and $400,000 will be taken from cash reserves.
The Senate’s quick approval mirrored the recommendations of the House, which sent their approved version of the bill to the Senate on Wednesday afternoon. The jointly approved bill is awaiting the governor’s signature.
senateapprovesbilltofund2013legislativesession
Comments are closed.