Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham | Facebook
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham | Facebook
House Republicans express frustration after not receiving notice of legislation for the special session and not getting draft text or information on any of the proposed bills.
They later labeled the session “smoke and mirrors” that will lead to tax hikes.
“For the governor to call a special session and tell us what we are going to hear with less than 24 hours before we meet is incredibly disrespectful – not just to this institution, but to the people we all represent. This is legislating at its most cynical,” House Republican Whip Rod Montoya (R-Farmington) told the House GOP.
Montoya said legislators had been asking for the special sessions for three months with no reply, only for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to email just a list of legislation. That list included partisan issues unrelated to New Mexico’s economic crisis, the House GOP reported.
House Republicans had been promised to get information on anything proposed for the session a week before its start, House GOP said.
This was the first time in state history lawmakers had not been able to review or even see legislation before they were asked to pass it, according to the House GOP.
After a fifth day of the special session, Montoya said Republicans called the session "smoke and mirrors."
“We simply did not do enough to protect New Mexicans from massive tax increases that the majority obviously plans for January,” he told the House GOP. “The real losers of this session are the businesses, workers and law enforcement who will pay the price for this lack of leadership.”
House Republicans voted against the budget bill, though it passed with the Democratic majority. They said economic conditions will get worse this year, which will force massive spending cuts and require big tax hikes on state residents.
“Protecting lawmakers from making these tough decisions – that all New Mexicans are having to make by the way – will force the legislature to impose massive tax increases next year on people who are still lucky enough to have a job,” Montoya told House GOP.
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