Should your state legislators get paid?

SANTA FE — It’s a short piece of legislation but a big concept: creating a salary for New Mexico legislators.

Proposals that could lead to lawmakers receiving a salary have stalled at the Roundhouse in recent years, but a new attempt passed its first committee Wednesday.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 would, if passed by the Legislature, allow voters to decide whether to start paying lawmakers.

New Mexico is the only state in the nation with no established salary for legislators; they receive a daily per diem and mileage compensation for legislative travel and can get retirement benefits.

The per diem payment is intended to cover food and lodging expenses and is currently set at $202 per day.

The Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday voted 7-2 to approve the resolution, with Sens. James Townsend, R-Artesia, and David Gallegos, R-Eunice, voting against it.

Under the proposal, nine public members, no more than four of whom can belong to the same political party at the time of appointment, would make up a “citizen commission on legislative salaries,” tasked with establishing the salaries, under the resolution.

The average legislative salary in the U.S. last year was $44,320, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“There would be no self-dealing. We would not be involved in making those decisions,” said bill sponsor Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque.

Fifteen people showed up in person in support of the bill. Meredith Machen with the League of Women Voters of New Mexico pointed out that most current legislators will be retired by 2028, arguing against a common sentiment that the measure is self-serving for the policymakers.

“It’s going to increase the diversity of community members who can serve in our Legislature, making it very healthy,” she said.

Duhigg specified the constitutional amendment would appear on ballots in 2028 after the start of the 58th Legislature. The bill states that the amendment would be “submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at the next general election or at any special election prior to that date that may be called for that purpose.”

Having until 2028 would give legislators three years to iron out the details of how implementing the salaries would work in “enabling legislation,” Duhigg said.

She said that’s when details like term limits could potentially be added, something Republicans on the committee said is necessary to enact in the Legislature.

“You might get me on board with this if we came up with term limits because I think it is significant,” Townsend said.

Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, asked how many times voters have considered the constitutional amendment already. Bill sponsor Sen. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque, said New Mexicans have voted against this at least five times, the most recent being in 1992 — which, she added, was a close vote.

Block and Sen. Crystal Brantley, R-Elephant Butte, were the two Republicans to vote for the bill.

Senate Joint Resolution 1 now advances to the Senate Finance Committee.