Senate Democrats champion raise for governor, other officials

SANTA FE -- George W. Bush was serving his first term as president and the first season of American Idol premiered on TV the last time the governor of New Mexico received a salary increase.

Not just the governor but the attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer and state land commissioner haven't seen raises in more than two decades.

Three high-ranking Senate Democrats are championing a proposal to give them each a nearly $60,000 raise.

Whether the five-figure salary increase should take effect immediately or after the next election cycle in January 2027 triggered an hourlong debate Friday in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee that grew testy at times.

Sen. Katy Duhigg of Albuquerque, who is sponsoring Senate Bill 442 with Sen. George Muñoz of Gallup and Senate Majority Leader Peter Wirth of Santa Fe, said the salaries of elective state officers, which haven't changed in 21 years, "are awfully low, especially considering the incredible work that goes into these positions."

"As an anecdote, I heard that when our new attorney general moved into his office, he had to bring with him a George Foreman Grill to cook his lunches on because of the pay cut [the former Bernalillo County district attorney] was taking," she said, referring to Raúl Torrez.

"It is hard to get good people to run for these positions when they pay so little," Duhigg added.

Under the proposal, the attorney general's annual salary would jump from $95,000 to nearly $155,000.

For the governor, it would increase from $110,000 to nearly $170,000. That's higher than the average pay for governors across the nation of $148,939, according to 2022 data from the nonprofit U.S. Council of Governors. Salaries for governors ranged from $70,000 in Maine — a rate set in 1985 — to $250,000 in New York, the council's 2022 data shows.

The proposed raises would make the governor of New Mexico the highest-paid in the region, with gubernatorial salaries of $92,700 in Colorado, $95,000 in Arizona, $150,000 in Utah and $153,750 in Texas.

The national average salaries for secretary of state, attorney general and treasurer are $121,628, $139,075 and $126,015 a year, respectively, according to the Council of Governors. New Mexico's officeholders currently make well below these averages but would make more if the raises pass.

The proposal to give statewide elected officials in New Mexico a raise comes amid a push to pay state lawmakers a salary, part of a larger effort to modernize the Legislature. Specifically, lawmakers are considering a proposed constitutional amendment to establish a citizens commission on compensation that would have the authority to set legislators' salaries.

Sen. Brenda McKenna, D-Corrales, called the current salaries for top New Mexico officials "disrespectful."

"I can't say that loud enough," she said.

The original version of SB 442 called for the proposed salary increases to go into effect in January 2027.

At the beginning of Friday's committee hearing, however, Duhigg proposed a "very simple amendment" for the pay raises to go into effect right away if the bill is signed into law, even though a fiscal impact report states the New Mexico Constitution prohibits salary increases for public officials from taking effect during their terms.

Duhigg, citing what she called a "lengthy" 1971 court opinion, said she believes the fiscal impact report is "wrong."

Her proposal set off a back-and-forth of differing opinions among lawmakers.

"Why would we want to do that?" asked committee Chairman Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque. "They were willing to run for it at these salaries. Why would we want to increase them now?"

Duhigg said one reason is to "appropriately compensate" the elected officials for the "incredibly hard work" they are doing.

"The fact that people are willing to do public service should not foreclose ever appropriately compensating them for that service," she said. "I ran for this position knowing it didn't pay a penny. I still think we should have a paid professional Legislature."

Ortiz y Pino said he agreed the salaries of statewide elected officials need to go up and noted lawmakers have approved similar bills in the past. But he said making the proposed salary increases effective immediately is "just wooing a veto" from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

"I mean, it's like killing the bill to do that," he said.

Sen. David Gallegos, R-Eunice, said he didn't "like the idea at all" of the proposed raises taking immediate effect.

Sen. Bill Tallman, D-Albuquerque, said he "wholeheartedly" supported the proposed raises but was "a little troubled" by pushing up the start date.

Tallman and Ortiz y Pino joined the two Republicans present for Friday's hearing, Gallegos and Stuart Ingle of Portales, in voting against the amendment calling for an earlier start date, resulting in a tie vote that killed the proposal.