The special session ended Friday, or so we were led to believe. But Kate Nash of the Santa Fe New Mexican is dead on with her story today that suggests that maybe the session has gone into overtime, what with all the bickering between Gov. Bill Richardson and state lawmakers. Personally, I think it’s a prolegomena — that’s one of them fancy words what means it’s a preliminary discussion — leading up to the January regular session. If Richardson and state lawmakers think last week’s special session was difficult, they’re missing the obvious. The regular session is going to much worse than last week.

Meanwhile, in our neighbor to the north, Colorado state workers will see eight furlough days during the state budget year that ends June 30, Gov. Bill Ritter announced Tuesday, according to the Denver Post. State workers had been scheduled to take four days, but Ritter added four more to help balance this year’s budget.

Want yet another sign of how heated the debate over health care reform has become? A number of conservative Kansas lawmakers have proposed amending that state’s constitution to exempt Kansas from federal health care mandates, reports the Wichita Eagle. Within hours of the announcement, the state Democratic Party immediately set up an online petition to oppose the idea. According to the newspaper, “The proposition, which would have to be approved by two-thirds of the Legislature and a majority of voters, seeks to nullify any law passed by the federal government that would require individuals to buy health care or force employers to provide it.”

States have reported creating or saving 380,000 jobs thanks to federal stimulus funds, USA Today reports. The paper’s count is based on reports generated by 33 states and comes a couple of days before the Obama administration is scheduled to announce a 50-state total for the number of jobs created or saved. Of course, debate still surrounds this issue, with some people saying the numbers are vastly overstated.

Here’s an update from yesterday’s posting about S.C. Gov. Mark Sanford. I noted that one of Sanford’s fellow Republicans in the S.C. House of Representatives was preparing to file legislation to begin impeachment proceedings. But those plans were foiled — by a Democratic lawmaker. Rep. Walton J. McLeod argued that it was out of order because the House was meeting in a special session to discuss specific economic issues — not impeachment, reports the Los Angeles Times. As a result, the resolution cannot be considered before January, when the next legislative session begins.

Jayson Blair, the reporter who single-handedly gave the New York Times its worst black eye with his fictitious stories earlier this decade, is scheduled to be the featured speaker at a Virginia journalism ethics seminar.

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