RIO RANCHO — Gov. Bill Richardson scaled back his special session ambitions even further Tuesday after a new revenue forecast showed the state can count on much less money than expected from oil and gas revenue.

The forecast provided by government economists showed New Mexico receiving $225 million, not $392 million, in new, one-time money to fund Richardson’s special session priorities, which at one time included universal health care coverage, tax rebates and $200 million in road construction projects.

The more modest agenda may mean less money for road construction and the tax rebates New Mexicans may get could get smaller.

In a statement the governor said he is "revamping" his CARE package, which included the tax rebates, and will present a new package to legislators before the special session.

The session is expected to start Friday.

That leaner financial forecast caused some lawmakers to wonder how much money there really is to spread around. And one prominent lawmaker asked why the Legislature is meeting at all.

"The common denominator … is that we absolutely have no idea where we stand and why we are going into special session," Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Tuesday afternoon.

Smith went on to say that he believed the forecast from the economists is overly optimistic because it assumes that the price of oil and natural gas will recover what those two commodities have lost in value in recent weeks. Oil and gas have traded at much lower prices than at their peak earlier this summer.

"My suspicion is that behind the scenes is that someone is trying to justify the special session," Smith said, adding that he believed the economists were told to go out and find more money to beef up the forecast’s estimated revenues.

Rep. Luciano "Lucky" Varela, D-Santa Fe, and vice chairman of the Legislative Finance Committee, wouldn’t go as far as Smith, but he said he would reserve judgment on the special session until he sees Richardson’s agenda for the special session.

"At this point, there might be something urgent for us to address. Take for example Ruidoso," Varela said of the city that recently suffered severe flooding that damaged homes, buildings and infrastructure. "That is something I consider to be special.

Varela then added, "If he calls us into special session and gives us a proclamation, we have to see what we have. We’re just waiting to see if we are called in."

Richardson had not issued a proclamation calling state lawmakers into session and probably wouldn’t until Friday, said spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.

But there were signs that Richardson is not ready to give up on calling state lawmakers back to Santa Fe.

In a statement, Richardson said that the new forecast still meant that the state had "$225 million … during the special session for one-time tax rebates and other relief for New Mexico families."

The $225 million represents one-time money that typically is used to fund brick-and-mortar projects — also called capital outlay or pork — around the state.

In addition to that pot of money, there is another pot that Richardson hopes to tap to pay for a "health coverage plan, which includes an aggressive effort to cover all children under the age of 19." That pot of money — $351 million — represents the extra money over and above operating expenses the state will have on hand after this fiscal year ends.