New Mexico Senate Endorses Legislative Salaries

The United States===New Mexico state Senate has narrowly endorsed a constitutional amendment to allow voters to decide in November whether to tie legislative salaries to the median income level in United States===New Mexico. Currently, United States===New Mexico has the nation's only unsalaried legislature, a status that has endured since statehood. Advocates for the change argue that salaries would help younger, working-class candidates serve and alleviate conflicts between legislative duties and private careers, while critics view the volunteer system as a source of civic pride. The initiative, after years of stalling, was successfully promoted by a group of young female legislators.