By Kate Nash

The Senate was scheduled to convene at 10. That was Senate time, apparently.

Scroll down to the bottom of this entry for the latest news.

It's 10:24. No action to report yet.

So far, there's a slew of grouchy reporters, tired staffers and a handful of folks in the public gallery. Jeans and sweaters are the outfits of the day. The suits all went to the dry cleaners, apparently.

A handful of Republicans are in the chamber, as well as a lone Democrat, Pete Campos. The caucus continues upstairs. . .

My prediction for the day is that the Senate will pass at least the feed bill, so they -- and the House -- can get paid.

Here's what Senate leaders predicted for today.

UPDATE 11:07 a.m.. The Republicans have left. But now more Democrats are here. Go figure.

If this were the regular session, there would be jokes and maybe some singing by now. Even a mariachi or two. But not now. It's just a bunch of lawmakers standing around. I'll bet those who drove from the far-flung corners of the state are angry.

UPDATE 11:23 The clerk is calling the roll.

At 11:30, Senate Minority Leader Stuart Ingle made a motion to adjourn. It was a voice vote, which is being challenged. The clerk is now calling the roll.

There were enough votes, by one, to adjourn.
The Senate is clearing out.

UPDATE 1:16 p.m. It's still up in the air what happens next. House and Senate leadership were just meeting downstairs. House Speaker Ben Lujan made it sound like he wanted his chamber to keep working later this week and not adjourn. The House technically is in recess right now.

Word on the street is that there's strong support for calling this session off and coming back later in the year.

It looks like for now, at least, the House won't meet Sunday, which had been discussed as a possibility. I think anytime after that might be in play, however.

It will come as no suprise that Gov. Bill Richardson isn't happy. Here's what his office is saying.

"The Governor is very disappointed that the Senate chose to continue to shirk its responsibility to the citizens of New Mexico," said Gilbert Gallegos, Communications Director. "While we had a tremendous regular session the fact of the matter is there were critical, time sensitive issues that remained unaddressed -- which is why the Governor convened the special session. The House recognized this and did the people’s business. Certainly local governments recognize this. Victims of domestic violence recognize this. Civil rights advocates recognize this. Proponents of ethic reform recognize this. It seems the only people who don’t recognize it are certain members of the Senate who would rather make a political statement than take care of business."

"The Governor is not giving up and expects the Senate to address these issues. The House debated the bills, amended them and passed solid legislation. The Senate may have temporarily avoided their work today but they will have to come back. This is not over."

Still no word on what the plan is for the House to come back.

Some of the senators who wanted to leave Santa Fe said they were concerned about those in the communities affected overnight by a tornado. Sen. Tim Jennings said Richardson ought to be here, declaring an emergency for the area that was hit, including Clovis.

Well, the gov. will be in Clovis Sunday, it turns out, after his speech tonight in Los Angeles to the Human Rights Campaign.

More on the storm damage, straight from the state's Office of Emergency Management:

Governor Richardson will travel to Clovis, New Mexico to receive a briefing at 1:00 to 1:30 p.m. at the Clovis-Carver Public Library, 701 N. Main St. The Governor will receive a full briefing on the extent of the damage sustained by the town on Friday night. The Governor will also be available for questions. His visit will follow the damage assessment conducted today by the New Mexico Office of Emergency Management. Two teams were dispatched early this morning.

Early reports from Logan show 55 properties were affected by the storm. Twenty are listed as completely destroyed; thirteen sustained major damage; and nine suffered minor damage. The American Red Cross is working to deploy nurses to provide mental health assistance. The shelter located at the Civic Center is fully staffed and supplied, but has no occupants now. State EOC staffers listed numerous road signs as being down and power poles. Farmers Electric Coop is already replacing damaged poles. Most power has been restored to the community. EOC staffers are now headed to aid the second team in Clovis.

Posted by Kate Nash at 10:23 AM | Permalink