As the slow-moving special session inches along into its second week, many House Republicans expressed frustration Monday that nothing seems to be getting done.

They're complaining that their bills — those that Republican Gov. Susana Martinez wants — have not been getting committee hearings.

"Are we just here as part of an economic stimulus for Santa Fe?" Rep. Paul Bandy said on the House floor.

And Rep. Larry Larrañaga, R-Albuquerque, said there's been so little work done, he might return his per diem checks to the state. He said he's done it before. Lawmakers are paid $171 a day during the session.

A spokesman for Martinez said in an email Monday that "lawmakers have plenty of time and ability to consider redistricting and a limited, but important agenda of items at the same time. Leadership has simply lacked the will."

But House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, and other Democrats defended the amount of work being done at the session. And Luján reiterated that the top priority of the session is redistricting — drawing up new political boundaries for congressional, legislative and other seats — and other issues will have to take a back seat to that.

A resolution signed by nearly all GOP House members as well as Rep. Andy Nuñez, I-Hatch, complained that the House Voters and Elections Committee, which is handling redistricting, has met for only three hours in the last five days, while House floor sessions so far have lasted less than 10 hours. The nonbinding resolution implores the House to "work more diligently and expeditiously to consider legislation that has been introduced" in the special session.

Rep. Nate Gentry, R-Albuquerque, who co-sponsored the resolution with House Republican Leader Tom Taylor of Farmington, said on the House floor that if he only worked 13 hours in a week, "I'd be fired."

Luján and House Democratic Leader Ken Martinez said most of the work of the session so far has not taken place at committee meetings or floor sessions.

So far, there has been no agreement on any of the redistricting plans among House or Senate members.

Later in the day, Gentry told a reporter that while he recognizes that the leadership and the Voters and Elections Committee have been working hard, he sees no reason why five or six other committees can't be working on other bills as well. "Some of these bills are very important," he said. "It's costing us $50,000 a day to be here, so let's get to work."

Among the other bills introduced are those to repeal the law that allows illegal immigrants to get driver's licenses; to end "social promotion" of students who can't read by the third grade; to fix the finances of the state's unemployment program; to strengthen fireworks regulations; and to fund capital-improvement projects across the state.

Rep. Dennis Roch, R-Texico, pointed out that he and Rep. Joe Cervantes, D-Las Cruces, are co-sponsoring a bill appropriating $6.3 million to the Medicaid program and $450,000 to the supplemental nutrition-assistance program. However, he said the bill would not be able to be heard until Friday. "The bill has bipartisan support," he said. "I just think this is an opportunity to move a little faster. ... I'm not browbeating anyone."

Cervantes told a reporter that he thinks the frustration is not because lawmakers have too much to do, but because few of the bills on the agenda deal with what people are concerned about — increasing employment and helping small businesses.

During the floor session, Luján said that weeks before the special session was called, the Legislative Council had sent the governor a letter requesting that the session focus on redistricting.

Luján said the letter requested that if there were any "real burning issues," Martinez or her staff would meet with legislative leaders to come to a consensus before the session started on what could be accomplished. But, Luján said, "I don't think there was even an answer" from the governor.

Scott Darnell, a spokesman for Martinez, denied that Monday.

He said in an email that Martinez met legislative leaders on several occasions in the weeks leading up to the session. During an Aug. 1 meeting with Luján and House Democratic Whip Sheryl Williams Stapleton of Albuquerque, Martinez spoke about the items she intended to put on the proclamation. Martinez also had a lengthy meeting with the speaker last week, Darnell said.

"Speaker Luján also indicated his desire to hold two special sessions this summer [and] fall — one for redistricting and another for items on the Governor's agenda," Darnell wrote. But Martinez thought separate sessions would have cost too much, Darnell said.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.