Governor: Special session will go beyond health care, pocketbook issues
Gov. Bill Richardson said in a news release today that he plans to announce ideas tomorrow for putting money into New Mexicans' pockets during these tough economic times. These ideas and health care reform -- along with a few other as-yet-unnamed proposals -- will dominate the upcoming legislative special session that is proposed for September, his office said Wednesday.
"Health care will be the top priority," spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said. The governor's office even has an acronym for these ideas -- CARE, which stands for Cash Assistance Relief Effort. The package "will focus on expanding health care coverage and boosting family budgets by putting money in people’s pockets," the release from the governor's office said.
Gallegos then went on to say the special session agenda will "go beyond those two things" -- health care reform and putting money back into people's pockets.
Gallegos declined to say what these other proposals would be. Asked how the state will be able to put money back in New Mexicans' pockets and still pay for comprehensive health care reform -- a goal the governor has repeatedly trumpeted rather than the alternative of bite-size changes, Gallegos said, "We'll be able to pay for it."
Richardson announced last week that the state had $392 million in new money that will be on the table when he calls the Legislature into a special session to address access to universal health coverage.
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