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EDITORIAL: Governor's Rebate Plan Worth Special Session
(Albuquerque Journal (NM) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jul. 20--In the face of economic realities few people envisioned just six months ago, the agenda for Gov. Bill Richardson's special legislative session is getting a makeover. It already looks slimmer and better.
When he first proposed it, at the close of the regular session in February, an irritated Richardson wanted an almost immediate special session to reconsider his health-care reform bill.
With legislative House and Senate leaders still balking at the complexity and cost of the governor's proposed makeover, plans for the special session became hazy. This week, they snapped into focus.
The governor says he will call legislators back to Santa Fe in the first or second week in August -- but not just to try to push through a universal health-care plan. Richardson wants legislative approval to send tax rebates to households struggling with skyrocketing fuel and food costs.
That's a goal worthy of the $46,000-a-day cost of a special session.
Thanks to $392 million in unanticipated revenues from oil and gas, the state is in a position to compensate taxpayers for some of the unanticipated expenses they face at the gas pumps. Following the model of the federal government's recent economic stimulus rebates, Richardson proposes sending the largest checks to low-income taxpayers and those with children. Rebates would range from $75 to $150 for each taxpayer.
Along with larger tax credits for working families and other assistance, the Cash Assistance Relief Effort (CARE, in case you missed it) will cost about $191 million. That leaves about $200 million in extra oil and gas revenue for the Legislature to allocate.
A week ago Richardson seemed ready to push that money toward health-care reform, but on Thursday he backed off. Many legislators have been calling for greater spending on stalled highway projects, and the governor is proposing a $100 million contribution from the surplus.
Health-care reform will still be on the agenda, but in a form better suited to a quick session: Establishing a blue ribbon group of legislators and experts to examine the issue and bring ideas to the 2009 Legislature. While many of the governor's health-care reforms were on the right track, they weren't going anywhere in this session. The task force is a good step.
Governor, make your call.
To see more of the Albuquerque Journal, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.abqjournal.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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