Wikimedia Commons
Wikimedia Commons
In New Mexico, a newly proposed constitutional amendment could pave the way for lawmakers to begin receiving state salaries for the first time.
Led by state Sen. Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque), several state legislators have already come out in public support of the proposal, which ultimately needs the backing of the newly formed State Ethics Commission.
Currently, New Mexico stands as the only unsalaried legislature in the country, though members receive a $162 daily stipend during sessions and reimbursement for some travel expenses.
Fellow amendment sponsor Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto said lawmakers who support the measure have been careful not to avoid the taboo against lawmakers approving their own compensation.
“There is no ability for us to even consider whether there should or could be an appropriate level of salary for the work that we’ve done,” Ivey-Soto told the Associated Press. “If we were to do it, then we’re self-dealing.”
In addition to legislators, the State Ethics Commission would also be responsible for making salary decisions for various other elected state and county officials. Voters approved the creation of the commission back in 2018 following a rash of public corruption scandals.
As currently stipulated, the proposed constitutional amendment would take effect with the arrival of a newly elected House and Senate in 2021, with new salaries for all members to kick in sometime around two-years later.
Across the country, at $110,459 California pays its legislators at the highest clip and lawmakers there and in Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin all earning an average of $82,000.
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