Retooled plan to pay New Mexico legislators a salary passes House 

SANTA FE — After recent setbacks at the Roundhouse, backers of a push to pay New Mexico legislators a salary took a new approach this year.

While it’s too early to tell whether the different tack will ultimately lead to the idea going before statewide voters in November, the proposal passed a key hurdle Friday when the House voted 41-26 to approve it.

The measure, House Joint Resolution 5, which now advances to the Senate, calls for New Mexico legislators to be paid a yearly salary tied to the state’s annual median household income. That amount was set at $64,140 as of 2024. 

As a proposed constitutional amendment, the change would require approval of statewide voters if approved by the Legislature. It would then take effect in 2029.

In previous years, proposals to pay lawmakers called for an outside commission to be created to decide salary levels.

The new approach, which also includes future salary increases tied to inflation, was based on Alabama’s system and would avoid the need for an outside commission, said Rep. Cristina Parajón, D-Albuquerque, the measure’s sponsor.

“It helps legislators do better only when New Mexico families do better,” said Parajón, who said she had to give up her job and live with her parents after she was appointed to the Legislature in 2023.

New Mexico is currently the only state that does not pay its legislators a salary, though lawmakers do receive a per diem payment — currently set at $202 per day — for food and lodging expenses. They can also qualify for a legislative pension plan.

Legislative salary levels in other states range from $100 per year in New Hampshire to $142,000 per year in New York, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

During Friday’s debate, some House Republicans argued that paying legislators a salary could lead to some candidates running for the paycheck — not the office itself.

“There might be a time when a legislator just ‘phones it in,’ so to speak,” said Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo.

Other critics said paying legislators a salary would allow them to “double dip” by collecting both a salary and the per diem payments.

“I think before we give ourselves a raise, we need to look at the policies coming out of this building,” said House Minority Whip Alan Martinez, R-Bernalillo.

The vote ultimately broke down largely along party lines, with two Democrats — Reps. Derrick Lente of Sandia Pueblo and Joseph Sanchez of Alcalde — joining House Republicans in voting against the proposal. All other Democrats voted in favor.

The idea of paying New Mexico legislators a salary is one of several modernization proposals that have gathered momentum in recent years. Already, the Legislature has expanded webcasting of all floor sessions and committee hearings, and recently began allowing all lawmakers to have a paid legislative aid.

Molly Swank, the executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, a nonprofit group that supports paying legislators a salary, said after Friday’s vote the change would make it easier for New Mexicans from all walks of life to serve in the 112-member Legislature.

“New Mexico’s Legislature has been unpaid since our state’s founding and we’re beyond due for modernization,” said Swank.

Meanwhile, this year’s measure is not the first legislative salary plan to pass the House. A 2023 proposal also passed the chamber, but ultimately stalled in a Senate committee.

Dan Boyd covers state government and politics for the Journal in Santa Fe. Follow him on X at @DanBoydNM or reach him via email at dboyd@abqjournal.com