Gray recaps first half of legislative session

By ROB LARSON
Daily Press Staff Writer
With the New Mexico State Legislature’s 60-day session a day past its halfway point, Republican State Representative Bill Gray spoke to the Daily Press about the progress of the Appropriations and Finance and Energy and Natural Resources Committees, how he anticipates the remainder of the session will play out, and how Southeast New Mexico is making his job easier.
For most of the last 30 days, Gray, who has represented District 54 in the New Mexico House of Representatives for roughly seven years, has been attending committee meetings. … For the rest of the story, subscribe in print and on the web.
As a member of the appropriations committee, which he called “the hardest working committee up here,” he and 18 other representatives have been hammering out the entire $6 billion state budget.
“We meet every day except Sunday, but on busy weeks, we meet seven days a week,” Gray said. “By law, we have to be on budget every year. We can’t be like the federal government and spend more than we have. We’re looking to have the budget finished and on the floor of the House by early next week.”