New Mexico special session costs: By the numbers

As 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.