Lawmakers pass few bills through Roundhouse

The legislature is just nine days away from the end of its sixty day session - and so far lawmakers have passed very little legislation all the way through the House and Senate. 

 

It's a lot of ketchup - not much hamburger.

 

Lawmakers don't have much to show after 51 days on the job. On January 15 the lawmakers kicked off the session with the Governor's State of the State address. Since then lawmakers have introduced more than 1,300 bills and more than 300 memorials and resolutions, but Gov. Susana Martinez has seen very little of it crossing her desk.

 

Legislative leaders say that's about to change.

 

"It's remarkable what happens in the last week up here in Santa Fe," said Rep. Moe Maestas, an Albuquerque Democrat who serves as majority whip, or second-in-command floor leader for the House Democrats. "People are working incredibly hard. We have a $5.9 billion budget we need to fine tune. We need to give a raise to state workers for the first time in 5 years."

 

"I have signed two bills thus far," Martinez said Wednesday. "That's the feed bill which is what gives them the money to have the session, and the Bataan memorial, declaring April Bataan Memorial Month."

 

Since talking with us, the Governor has signed another bill, dealing with surveying on land grants, and two more bills have arrived on her desk. That's a grand total of five.

 

Bills and memorials: 1,630

Legislation passed:  5

Cost of session (feed bill): $8,639,700