Should NM legislators get a salary? Let the debate begin!

From Capitol Report New Mexico - New Mexico is one of the few states in the entire country with a so-called “citizen legislature” and the only state in which state lawmakers receive no salary at all. That’s right. Roundhouse representatives and senators get no pay — just a per diem for expenses that comes to $153 a day when they are in Santa Fe during legislative sessions and committee meeting hearings. Some people say that’s the way it should be. Others argue that lawmakers should be paid a part-time salary (for example, another western state — Utah — pays its legislators $117 per day, $95 for lodging and $61 for meals) while others call for full-time pay (California pays its full-time legislators more than $95,000 a year — nice work if you can get elected to it). For more on the debate, here are some links: Blogger Heath Haussamen suggests paying lawmakers about $25,000 a year. Democratic state rep Antonio “Moe” Maestas of Albuquerque told the Las Cruces Sun-News, “I support a paid legislature – maybe $40,000 or $50,000 a year per member – and zero gifts of any kind.” The conservative editorial page of the Albuquerque Journal hasn’t come down on one side or the other, but in a recent editorial says the issue deserves a hearty debate. The writers at CalWatchdog recently posted a story about an initiative to scale back the salaries of state lawmakers in California. If you’d like to see how lawmakers in other states are paid, the folks at Ballotpedia have a handy guide. Click here for that. Read more

Should NM legislators get a salary? Let the debate begin!