NM Legislature approves resolution for lawmaker pay, sending question to voters on November ballot
New Mexico lawmakers approved a resolution asking voters to decide in November whether legislators should receive salaries, potentially ending the state’s long-standing unpaid Legislature.
Proposed constitutional amendment would end New Mexico’s status as the nation’s only unsalaried legislature if voters approve measure in November
Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
This article was originally published by Source New Mexico.
The New Mexico Senate late Tuesday approved a resolution that would allow state lawmakers to receive a roughly $68,000 salary if voters approve the measure via a constitutional amendment during the Nov. 3, 2026, general election.
New Mexico remains the only Legislature in the country that does not pay its lawmakers a salary, though lawmakers do receive per diem payments for travel reimbursement during the legislative session and for interim committee meetings.
House Joint Resolution 5 would make lawmakers eligible for salaries equal to the state’s median household income, which a fiscal analysis of the bill calculates as $67,800. For 112 state lawmakers, the annual cost to taxpayers will be about $7.6 million.
During the Senate floor debate Tuesday, sponsors Sens. Cindy Nava (D-Albuquerque) and Angel Charley (D-Acoma), said lawmakers like them require salaries to balance family obligations with careers in public service.
“We should not limit who can be here. But when we do not provide a salary, we do,” Charley said. “And so if we believe that we rise together, then our Legislature should look more like New Mexico.”
During the two-hour debate that ended shortly before midnight Tuesday, the Senate struck down proposed amendments from Republicans who opposed the measure, including 16-year term limits for lawmakers and the elimination of per diem payments for meetings within 50 miles of legislators’ homes.
Sen. Larry Scott (R-Hobbs) blasted the measure as rewarding lawmakers despite their apparent failure to solve New Mexico’s myriad problems.
“All we gotta do is show up and write the checks,” Scott said about what his job as lawmaker entails. “Doesn’t take any expertise, doesn’t take any knowledge, doesn’t take any frugality, doesn’t take anything but cashing the check.”
Senators passed the resolution by a vote of 23-19. Four Democrats joined Republicans in opposition. One Republican, Sen. Joshua Sanchez (R-Bosque), voted in favor. of it.
The resolution requires voters to weigh in on salaries for lawmakers in 2026 during either a special election or the Nov. 3 general election. Lindsey Bachman, a spokesperson for the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed to Source NM Wednesday in an email to Source NM that the constitutional amendment question will be on the November ballot.
Patrick Lohmann is a reporter for Source New Mexico.
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