Politics
NM residents could vote on whether state lawmakers should get a salary
The state Home has endorsed a plan to ask voters to finish New Mexico’s standing as the one state and not using a salaried Legislature.
The Albuquerque Journal stories the plan gained approval Saturday, largely alongside occasion traces with Democrats in favor. The newspaper stated the plan would amend the New Mexico Structure to determine a citizen fee that will set a wage for the state’s 112 lawmakers.
The measure will go earlier than voters subsequent yr if the Senate agrees to the plan within the closing two weeks of this yr’s session that ends on March 18.
DEMOCRAT INTRODUCES BILL THAT WOULD MANDATE POLLING PLACES IN NEVADA JAILS
New Mexico residents might be able to vote on whether or not New Mexico ought to strip its standing as the one state and not using a salaried Legislature.
Members of the Legislature now draw per diem funds throughout legislative classes and for conferences within the interim, obtain mileage reimbursements and might take part in a retirement plan, however they don’t get a year-round wage. Republican Rep. James Townsend of Artesia stated lawmakers are “generously gifted with a retirement package deal.”
The Journal stated a legislator with 10 years of service may obtain about $17,000 a yr in retirement, in response to an instance calculated by the state’s pension system. Participation prices about $600 a yr in member contributions.
The laws debated Saturday wouldn’t set a specific wage, the Journal stated, including {that a} nine-member citizen fee would as a substitute decide the salaries with the additional pay beginning in mid-2026.