LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION

HB0102

HOUSE BILL 102

57th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Cristina Parajón
and
Cindy Nava

AN ACT

RELATING TO THE LEGISLATURE; ALLOWING COMPENSATION FOR
LEGISLATIVE SERVICE BASED ON PRIOR-YEAR ANNUAL MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD
INCOME IN NEW MEXICO; ALLOWING A LEGISLATOR TO REFUSE THE
COMPENSATION OR A COMPENSATION INCREASE; PROVIDING A CONTINGENT
EFFECTIVE DATE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

SECTION 1.
A new section of Chapter 2, Article 1 NMSA
1978 is enacted to read:

"[
NEW MATERIAL
] LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION.--

A. Legislators may receive compensation pursuant to
Article 4, Section 10 of the constitution of New Mexico. The
compensation shall be determined initially by the 2027 annual
median household income for New Mexico reported in the American
community survey published in or around September 2028. After
the initial compensation determination, the compensation shall
be adjusted upward or downward every four years by the most
recent reported median household income for New Mexico.
Beginning with the fifty-ninth legislature, legislative
compensation begins when a legislator is seated and sworn in at
the beginning of a legislature and shall continue until the
legislator is no longer a legislator.

B. A legislator may choose not to receive
compensation or an increase in compensation by filing a
written, signed notice of refusal with the chief clerk of the
legislator's chamber. A compensation refusal may be withdrawn
at any time after a legislative session by the same process of
notice to the chief clerk. If instating compensation or
canceling a refusal of a compensation increase, the new
compensation shall begin with the first full pay period after
notice has been received by the chief clerk; provided, however,
that the new compensation is prospective only and shall not
include any payment of lost compensation during the time of
refusal.

C. Legislators shall not be considered state
employees for any purpose by virtue of their receiving the
compensation provided for in this section."

SECTION 2.
CONTINGENT EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date
of the provisions of this act is January 16, 2029 if the
secretary of state has certified that the constitution of New
Mexico has been amended by a joint resolution of the second
session of the fifty-seventh legislature entitled "PROPOSING TO
AMEND ARTICLE 4, SECTION 10 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW MEXICO
TO ALLOW LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION THAT IS LIMITED TO THE MEDIAN
HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR NEW MEXICO, TO REQUIRE LEGISLATIVE
COMPENSATION TO BE REDUCED IF THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR
NEW MEXICO FALLS, TO ALLOW LEGISLATIVE COMPENSATION TO BE
INCREASED ONLY IF THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME FOR NEW MEXICO
RISES AND TO PROVIDE FOR DELAYED IMPLEMENTATION.".

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