Opinion: Needed amendments falling short

Every two years New Mexico voters get the chance to make changes to our state constitution. Some years they’re big, fundamental changes, like scrapping the old state Board of Education in favor of a secretary appointed by the governor or ending the cash bail system. Some years they are just tinkering around the edges.

This is one of those years. Voters will have four constitutional amendments on the ballot this year.

Two of them will increase state support for disabled veterans and all veterans who have been honorably discharged. I don’t know how one could vote against either of those at a time when the state is so awash with money.

The third would tinker with the appointment process for the Judicial Nominating Commission.

Only the fourth amendment, which would allow the county commission to set salaries for county officers, is likely to stir much debate.

Before we became a state, the territorial government paid county officials a fee for each service rendered. A sheriff would get so much for each arrest, or a clerk would get paid for each specific duty he completed. The constitution put those powers in the hands of the Legislature.

County officials are now paid based on a complex formula that includes size, population density and real estate values.

One advantage of the current system is that it creates consistency and uniformity throughout the state. But my guiding principle here is that local control is usually best. If we don’t like their decisions, we can make sweeping changes in the county commission much easier than we could with the state Legislature.

The Legislative Finance Committee has prepared arguments for and against each amendment that are available on their website under the publication tabs.

The big story again this year is not the constitutional amendments that passed through the Legislature and will now be on the ballot. It’s the ones that are desperately needed but fell short once again.

House Joint Resolution 1, which would have scrapped the alternating 30-day and 60-day sessions for regular 45-day sessions with no restrictions allowing the governor to control the agenda, never got a committee hearing. Other similar joint resolutions were introduced in the House and Senate, but none fared any better.

HJR 7, which would have established a commission to consider paying legislators, made it through two committees but never got a floor vote.

New Mexico is the only state that does not pay its Legislature. While that may sound like the taxpayers are getting a good deal, the result is that most average, working-age residents can’t afford to serve.

Sen. Siah Correa Hemphill was forced to surrender her seat because it was hurting her family financially.

We end up with a Legislature filled with retirees, self-employed business owners and political activists. There aren’t many lawmakers living the life experiences of their struggling constituents.

Our founders made it easy to change the constitution. All it takes is a majority vote of all members in both chambers to put the issue on the ballot. But current lawmakers are so afraid of change they can’t even study the issue.

Walt Rubel is the former opinion page editor of the Las Cruces Sun-News. He lives in Las Cruces, and can be reached at:

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