If New Mexico legislators were paid a salary, what would you expect them to do that they have not been doing up till now?
Triple Spaced Again
Merilee Dannemann is a longtime New Mexico journalist. Her columns are posted at www.triplespacedagain.com. Comments are invited through her web site.
New Mexico is the only state legislature where legislators are not paid something like a salary, though they do receive per diem and mileage compensation. This November, a proposed amendment to the state constitution (House Joint Resolution 5) will be on the ballot, asking voters to approve or vote down proposed compensation. You and I will vote on this proposal.
Here’s the problem: The language of the proposed amendment is specific as to what the compensation shall be. It says absolutely nothing about what legislators are supposed to do once the compensation takes effect.
The proposed amendment says the compensation shall be “equal to the annual median household income for New Mexico as initially determined and adjusted thereafter by the rise or fall of the median household income for New Mexico.” That is estimated currently to be around $64,000 to $68,000 per year, considerably higher than the average for all states, which was $47,904 in 2025, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
If the amendment passes, per diem and mileage will not change.
We had a similar proposed amendment in 2016, which did not pass.
In recent years I have observed many conversations about paying legislators a salary. I have been repeatedly astounded that nobody talks about what that salary should pay for. The amendment uses the word “compensation” rather than “salary” and I am guessing that avoids a number of legal complications. But it but leaves many questions unanswered.
Should legislating be a year-round fulltime job? In most states, it isn’t. Should legislators be required to give up any other job or business they have? In most states, they are not required nor expected to.
This proposal does not require legislators to do anything to earn the money.
I have written several previous columns about this issue. Rather than repeating myself, I have reposted those columns on my web site along with the complete report of my 2023 survey of several other states. It is right up front at www.triplespacedagain.com.
In 2023, these were the legislative salaries of four Western states: Idaho $18,875; Arizona $24,000; Colorado $40,242; Washington $57,876. Most of these states have larger populations and bigger economies than New Mexico. So why should New Mexico pay legislators more than these states?
Paying legislators is a good idea. The complexity of the issues has been increasing year after year, increasing their responsibility and the time and effort necessary to do the job. Proponents say we need legislators drawn from more different social and economic groups – working people and small business owners, who now cannot afford to serve because they need their income. I agree.
The compensation proposal is part of a larger vision called legislative modernization. Legislators now have paid in-district legislative aides, based on a law passed in 2024. That is a huge positive change. If the compensation amendment passes, the next step might be a move to increase the length of legislative sessions. It is argued that without the compensation, legislators would not be able to afford the additional time in Santa Fe, so the salary has to come first. All those reasonable facts don’t explain the logic of the specific compensation amount.
Advocates for the compensation proposal had better start advocating, very soon and very loudly, for how this proposal fulfills the need for a more responsive legislature. I suspect many voters who generally support paying legislators a salary will need a lot of convincing to vote for this particular proposal.