Legislature: Special Session Agenda

The material below is the agenda, sent last week, to legislators about the coming special session. The conversation between the Governor and Legislative Finance Committee Chairman Sen. John Arthur Smith has gotten testy. In today's Albuquerque Journal, Gilbert Gallegos, administration director of communications and a former Albuquerque Tribune political reporter, used words such as "ridiculous" and "irresponsible" to describe Smith's questions about whether the state can afford to pay for health care changes proposed by the governor. In the agenda below, note that no dollar figures are attached to the health care package.

Sent: Thu, 17 Jul 2008 6:03 pm
Subject: 2008 Special Session

Dear Legislators:

Today the Governor announced additional items to be addressed during the anticipated special session, most importantly a significant package of measures designed to alleviate immediate economic challenges facing New Mexico’s working families due to high fuel and energy costs, and the rising cost of food staples. He also announced a one-time cash infusion to the GRIP highway package, and touched on the session’s main focus: Health care for all New Mexicans.


The CARE Package: Economic Relief for New Mexicans

The Cash Assistance Relief Effort, or “CARE Package”, amounts to approximately $211 million with the majority of relief going to working families and particularly those headed by single parents. The bulk of=2 0the package is one-time spending funded through the state’s $392 million additional one-time dollars in the most current consensus revenue figures.

The CARE package is comprised of the following components:

Cost of Living Tax Relief. This will be a rebate check sent directly to all residents of New Mexico who filed a 2007 personal income tax return. Amounts are adjusted according to income and household size, and range from a low of $75 for single high-income households to $500 for a family of five making less than $60,000. COST: $162.7 million, non-recurring.

A “Tax Holiday for the Holidays”. Following the popular “Back to School” sales ( gross receipts) tax holiday, the Governor proposes an additional 10-day tax holiday beginning just after Thanksgiving to give relief for the expensive holiday gifting season. This would be a ONE-TIME (i.e. CY2008 only) holiday. COST: $1.9 million, non-recurring.

Lengthening the “Back to School” Tax Holiday. Lengthen the period of the current early-August holiday from three to ten days. COST: $1.15 million recurring, beginning CY09 (special session won’t begin until after the ’08 holiday has already occurred).

Additional funding for LIHEAP and Weatherization Programs. $4 million each in one-time infusions into the LIHEAP and Weatherization programs to help with high home energy costs and energy efficiency measures. COST: $8 million, non-recurring.

Increasing the Working Families Tax Credit. Increase credit by 25%, from 8% to 10% of the federal earned income tax credit (EITC). COST: $7.8 million recurring.

Increasing Eligibility for Child Care Assistance to 200% of Federal Poverty Level. Income eligibility for CCA would increase from current 165%, to 200%FPL. This would cover approximately an additional 2,200 families by FY10. COST: $7.2mm FY09, $11.2mm FY10 recurring.

Supplemental Funding for School Bus Fuel. Additional funding to assist with higher fuel costs, to get us through to the regular 2009 session. COST: $3.2 million non-recurring.


GRIP

The Governor proposes a one-time cash infusion of $200 million into the GRIP program. ($100 million in non-recurring General Fund and $100 million in severance tax bonds.) This would do two things:
1. Complete approximately 90% of the GRIP projects;
2. Create thousands of jobs in communities around the s tate.



Health Care

Health coverage for every New Mexican remains the main focus of the special session. The Governor’s main issues surrounding the package are

1. Establishing a Health Care Authority with Administrative Consolidation of Certain Insurance Pools
2. Small Group and Individual Commercial Insurance Reform
3. Assuring Privacy and Developing Health Information Exchange and Electronic Medical Records.
4. Providing health care coverage for those currently without it

While the Governor remains fully committed to each of these components, he also acknowledged that he is willing to work with leadership and the general bodies to reach a consensus package that is both meaningful to citizens and passable by the legislative body.

Along those lines we will continue to meet with leadership and legislative work groups to come together prior to the special session date.