New Mexico special session costs: By the numbers

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IMG_6117As New Mexico’s special legislative session begins its seventh day, here are two quick charts that give a historical perspective on how much a special session costs.

Since 1990, lawmakers have held 17 special sessions at a total cost of $5.2 million for 129 days. That’s based on data from Legislative Service Council.

Here’s a look at the total cost of each of those sessions:

That’s an average cost per day of $40,461, though average costs per day have ranged from about $17,841 in 2007, a year in which the Senate met fewer days, to $65,405 in 2002 for a single-day session.

Here’s a look at the number of days of each session, the month they were held, the total cost and the average cost.

Legislative employees won’t tally up the costs of the current session until it’s over and lawmakers have submitted their per diem expense requests.

But if this session were to cost the average since 1990, the total would come to more than $283,000.

The bill to fund this session was amended by the House to total $264,400.

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