By Margaret O’Hara
The Santa Fe New Mexican

As a student in Española Public Schools, Democratic state Sen. Leo Jaramillo predicted the future. 

“In the fourth grade, Leo Jaramillo stood up and probably said, ‘I will win an election one day to help the people of Española Valley’ — because I wanted to help those who helped me,” he told fellow members of the Senate Rules Committee on Wednesday morning. 

He was no stranger to donated Christmas gifts and food bank distributions as a child, said Jaramillo, the committee’s vice chair.

He later learned New Mexico lawmakers are unpaid. As a result, he said, “People like me didn’t run. Our voice was silenced.”

The committee offered initial approval to this year’s version of an often-proposed amendment to the New Mexico Constitution that would provide salaries for lawmakers, a plan proponents argue would make it easier for a more diverse group of people to run for legislative seats.

“I see this as opening the doors to the next generation,” said Sen. Liz Stefanics, D-Cerrillos, another committee member. 

The committee voted 7-2 to advance a committee substitute of Senate Joint Resolution 1, which made a few changes to the resolution’s original form, largely pertaining to the timeline for implementation.

However, not everyone was excited about SJR 1. Republican members of the committee noted the constitutional amendment should also impose term limits on lawmakers. 

Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, voted against SJR 1, arguing salaries would take away from legislators’ sacrifice.

“We have a certain amount of money in this state. For me to take away from public safety and education, to me, is a disgrace,” he said.  

SJR 1, sponsored by Sen. Natalie Figueroa, D-Albuquerque, would ask voters to approve an amendment creating an independent citizen commission responsible for establishing legislative salaries. 

That way, said resolution co-sponsor Sen. Katy Duhigg, D-Albuquerque, the committee chair, “There would be no self-dealing. We would not be involved in making those decisions about salaries.”

Under the resolution, the commission would have to review and research possible lawmaker salaries before adopting a final report on its determination to establish or limit those salaries.

While the original version of the bill asked the commission to report their findings by Oct. 1, 2028, the approved committee substitute pushed that date to Oct. 1, 2029. Salaries would go into effect the following July.

The proposed amendment would go before voters statewide in the 2028 general election. The next three legislative sessions, Duhigg said, would allow lawmakers time to craft the “enabling legislation” that would iron out the specifics of the commission.

Commenters from several advocacy organizations — from NM Native Vote to the League of Women Voters, the Sierra Club’s Rio Grande Chapter and the Veterans and Military Families Caucus — supported the resolution as a means to ensure New Mexicans of all backgrounds and incomes are able to vie for a seat in the Legislature. 

“The people of New Mexico are clear: They want a Legislature that looks like them, lives like them and understands who they work for,” Cathryn McGill, founder and director of the New Mexico Black Leadership Council, told the committee.

Sen. Jay Block, R-Rio Rancho, estimated it takes an annual income of $200,000 to afford to be a legislator — a sum that’s not realistic for most New Mexicans. 

“If you’re not making $200,000 a year, you can’t do it. You just can’t do it,” he said. 

However, Block noted he had “an elephant and a donkey on [his] shoulder,” both of which favored the proposal as well as term limits for lawmakers. He said term limits are “critical” to keep new ideas cycling through the Roundhouse. 

For Jaramillo, being a state senator comes with long hours and unique challenges. 

He said he’s fortunate his employer, Los Alamos National Laboratory, allows him the flexibility to work just 20 hours a week during the session — but he has to fit in those hours around a packed legislative schedule. That means Jaramillo works from 4:30 to 7:30 a.m. and squeezes in the last hour of work at some point during the day.

“I’m making a major sacrifice to represent the Valley and senate district that I absolutely love,” he said.

Gallegos framed those sacrifices as part of a state senator’s job. 

“I look at it as my giving back to the community for everything they’ve done for me,” he said.