Two news stories last week proved New Mexico has a working class and a ruling class.
The first story was about Santa Fe’s minimum wage, which will increase to $14.60 an hour March 1. That’s a bump of 4%, or 57 cents an hour.
The second story was shorter, almost a footnote. It mentioned New Mexico state senators and representatives approving a bill with the harmless title of “Legislative Retirement Changes.”
A more accurate heading would be: “50% pension increase for sitting legislators.”
New Mexico’s citizen legislators do not receive a base salary, so you might wonder how they can qualify for pensions.
They make the laws, and they have created a Cadillac pension plan for themselves. Legislators stand to gain even more if Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signs their bill into law.
Pensions for state lawmakers are calculated through a complex formula, but almost all of the money comes from taxpayers.
Legislators receive a daily expense allowance when they are in session or working on interim committees. Those who serve at least 10 years qualify for a pension based on 14% of the expense allowance that’s in effect when they retire. The current rate is $231 a day.
That formula is multiplied by 60 for every year a lawmaker served. The pension of a legislator who retired today would be about $1,940 for each year of service, according to a legislative staff analysis.
If Lujan Grisham signs Senate Bill 165, the multiplier jumps to 90. Pensions for new legislative retirees would increase to $2,911 for each year of service.
Lawmakers say the higher rate for their pensions was mistakenly omitted from previous legislation setting the multiplier at 60. They failed to account for New Mexico alternating between 30-day and 60-day legislative sessions, said Rep. Harry Garcia, D-Grants.
“Senate Bill 165 is a technical fix to the bill that was passed in 2022,” he said to fellow House members. “The accounting was supposed to be for 60 days and 30 days for a total of 90. But 30 days was dropped, and this bill just makes a correction.”
Sen. Bobby Gonzales is a sponsor of the latest bill to increase legislators’ pensions. I asked him why no one caught the supposed error after the first bill was introduced in 2022.
“That’s a good question,” Gonzales told me, but he had no answer.
Is it fair for legislators to receive another increase in retirement pay?
“I would say it is fair. Put yourself in our shoes,” said Gonzales, a state lawmaker for 29 years. “We’ve reached a point where being a legislator doesn’t stop. We deserve something for the loss of personal time and also for the sacrifices of our families.”
Gonzales acknowledged running for the office is a choice. But, he said, lawmakers are under more financial pressure than ever.
“Santa Fe has really become unfriendly to legislators as far as hotel accommodations and other lodging. The hotels study our per diem and set their rates by it,” he said.
Gonzales can only imagine how rising rents have negatively affected people working two or three jobs at minimum wage.
Just three of the 42 senators voted against the bill to increase legislative pensions. In the House of Representatives, not a single member rose to debate the bill after Garcia described it as cleanup legislation.
House members approved the bill 46-18, sending it to Lujan Grisham for her consideration. She should save her sharpest pen and most acerbic response for the legislators’ self-serving proposal.
Because Lujan Grisham’s staff has said writing veto messages can be burdensome for her, I’m happy to assist with a draft. Here goes:
“Honorable legislators: You hold powerful positions. They should not come with expectations of privilege or financial reward.
“Your existing pension plan, with roots in the 1960s, is a nice perk — one never envisioned by the authors of our state constitution. It’s more lucrative than almost any retirement program you’ll find in the private sector. You contribute $1,000 a year, and some of you will collect $30,000 or even $70,000 annually.
“If I sign your bill, some of your pensions could top $100,000 a year. Remember Manny Aragon, the corrupt old Democratic Senate leader? He received a legislative pension of $27,000 a year while he was in federal prison, and that was 11 years ago.
“Just as important, legislators don’t have to wait for retirement income until you’re 62. You can collect your pension at any age. At least one of your old colleagues began receiving a pension while in his 30s.
“The bill I signed two years ago was advantageous to you. If you want something more, I suggest you try to do what I did. Run for Congress, serve three terms, and then move on to the governor’s residence. Salaried political gigs with phenomenal benefits would be a better fit for some of you.
“If higher office is out of your league, you have a challenge. Think of a way to explain to your constituents why the statewide minimum wage is $12 an hour, but you wanted to increase your pension benefits for the second time in two years.”
