Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Overriders of the Purple Sage

Looks like override fever is spreading in the Senate. After yesterday's vote to override Gov. Bill Richardson's veto of SB531 from last year's session, the gang of 42 might be considering another override today.

This one is Sen. Steve Neville's SB460 from last year. That bill would change the membership makeup of the scandal-plagued State Investment Council, giving the Legislature more influence and the governor less.

In an e-mail statement, Neville said:

“In this time of great suspicion, it is important both the Senate and House vote to override the governor’s veto. There is no more time to lose, this should have become law last year. We need to instill more confidence in the State Investment Council that manages $12.1 billion of New Mexico dollars.”
Neville and Sens. Tim Keller and Cisco McSorley have similar bills this session, all of which have been combined onto a committee substitute SB18.

Richardson, despite pocket-vetoing Neville's bill last year, gave a message to allow such a bill to be considered during this budget session of the Legislature.

Richardson's spokesman Gilbert Gallegos yesterday dismissed the first override as a "procedural gimmick" and an attempt to "derail the serious business of the legislature."

CORRECTED: A previous version of this post didn't include McSorley's as one of the bills that was combined in the substitute bill.