New Mexico is slowly being left behind. 

For yet another year, a proposition to modernize the state legislature has failed, and our elected officials are growing increasingly out of touch with the needs of everyday New Mexicans. 

Right now, New Mexico stands as the last state in the nation with an unpaid legislature. You shouldn’t have to be rich to serve in public office, but under this framework, the only people who can afford to run for office are those who don’t need to work for a living — something entirely out of line with the majority of our electorate. 

SJR 1, sponsored by Sen. Natalie Figueroa, Sen. Peter Wirth and Sen. Katy Duhigg, would have asked voters to approve a change to the state constitution that would remove the prohibition on legislative compensation and set up a nine-member citizens’ commission to set and limit salaries for lawmakers, ensuring both transparency and fairness.

If passed by voters, this would have increased equity in representation in our legislature and diversified the voices representing our communities. The complex issues that face our state requires a responsive, diverse body equipped with the tools to work in the best interest of all New Mexicans — not for special interests or for the ultra-wealthy. The reality is that our unsalaried legislature restricts who is able to serve as a lawmaker and, in turn, limits the legislature’s effectiveness.

Before it could make it to the voters, SJR 1 was killed in the Senate Finance Committee by Senators Campos and Muñoz, two wealthy, career politicians who have been in office for over fifteen years. Both Democratic Senators joined Republicans in voting against the measure and effectively killing it in a tie. Now, Common Cause is a non-partisan organization and we see modernization not as a non-partisan issue, but as an issue of traditionalist values and those who value equity and efficacy.

While discussing the legislative salaries committee in the February 18 meeting, Senator Muñoz mentions that constituents have a “chip on their shoulder” because they want to talk to their representatives. He expressed that he feared paying legislators would give constituents leverage over their politicians to hold them accountable. 

He even notes that he avoids talking to his constituents in his district, especially at the grocery store, by grabbing ice cream and telling concerned constituents that the ice cream is melting so they’ll leave him alone.

Is this who we want representing us in the Roundhouse? Elected officials who avoid talking to community members and fear being held accountable to the people who elect them to office in the first place?

Senator Muñoz’s comments highlight a truth about modernizing the Roundhouse: paying legislators will increase their accountability to the people. SJR 1 would’ve opened doors to new candidates being able to run for office and for more competitive elections. This halt on progress ultimately comes down to those in power who fear a change in the status quo. Coincidence?

But the status quo is no longer good enough, and a majority of New Mexicans agree. Polling done in 2024 by the Center for Civic Policy shows that 68% of registered voters in New Mexico support establishing the independent salaries commission. 

Paying legislators a living wage would enable people from all walks of life to run for and serve in office. It is a disservice to the people and to our democracy that career politicians would stand in the way of legislation that would give voters a choice to reform their government to better represent them.

New Mexicans overwhelmingly want a legislature that looks more like our communities, and they deserve a representative, responsive government that is equipped to tackle the complex problems we face.

For a democracy that truly serves everyone, New Mexico must modernize its state legislature.