Professionalizing New Mexico’s Lawmakers | The Line

March 6, 2020 – New Mexico has the only unsalaried legislature in the nation. During the recently ended session the issue came up – yet again – whether it’s time to start paying the state’s legislators.  Another question also comes up yearly: does lobbyist money have an undue influence on lawmakers? Gene Grant and The Line opinion panel debate whether professionalizing legislators will affect lobbyist spending in New Mexico. 

Line Panelists:
Dan Foley, former state representative
Julie Ann Grimm, editor, Santa Fe Reporter
Christine Sierra, UNM political science professor emerita
Diane Snyder, former state senator

For Further Reading:
NM lobbyists spend $151,000 on legislators — Albuquerque Journal
Governor appears open to exploring salaries for NM legislators — The Los Alamos Monitor Online