New Mexico state legislators will see a 50% increase in their retirement benefits. The governor has already signed the bill into law, but critics say the increase was passed quietly. “I wish there had been a more robust public discussion of this issue. It’s definitely something that has flown under our radar screen,” Paul said. Guessing the president of the Rio Grande Foundation to a government watchdog group. Gething told KOAT that his organization advocates for “good government.” “If you’re a New Mexico taxpayer and you want the Legislature to be more efficient, I definitely want to pay for it, not for a pension, but for the time you’re actually serving,” Gessing said. Action 7 News On The Go: Download the app for free. New Mexico is the only state in the country with an unpaid legislature. This means that legislators do not receive a salary every time they are in session. “Do you take 30 days off? Or do you take 60 days off? And a lot of our work is done during the interim session,” said Sen. Harold Pope. Although Pope voted against the bill, he understands why it was passed. “I say people need to understand, they’ve sacrificed years for this, so in a sense they need support for the rest of their lives as well.” said the Pope. His previous stipend was $1,940 for each year of service. “Going forward, new retirees would be paid $2,911 for each year they served in Congress. The bill passed both the House and Senate in just five days during the recent 30-day session. “But not everyone was in favor of it.” “We want reforms where we have paid councils that can actually serve their constituents better; We could have staff working on these bills. That’s why I didn’t vote for it,” Pope said. Restrictions on new pension increases. Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube To qualify, a lawmaker must have served in Congress for at least 10 years. He must also pay $1,000 into the pension fund each time he serves in Congress. We reached out to the bill’s sponsor but did not receive a response. The new calculations only apply to: This statement was sent to us by the Governor’s Office. “Taxpayers will not be affected. The Legislative Retirement Fund is funded by contributions from each participating member of Congress, as well as distributions from oil and gas revenues and tax revenues collected under the Pass-Through Entity Withholding Tax Act. An out-of-state entity is funding this distribution.” Stay up to date with the latest information from the Santa Fe Roundhouse and Washington with updates on the KOAT app. Download here.
New Mexico state legislators will see a 50% increase in their retirement benefits.
The governor has already signed the bill into law, but critics say the increase was passed quietly.
Paul Gessing, president of the Rio Grande Foundation, a government watchdog group, said: “I wish there had been a more robust public discussion on this issue. It’s definitely something that has flown under our radar.” .
Gessing told KOAT that his group advocates for “good government.”
“If you’re a New Mexico taxpayer and you want to make the Legislature more efficient, I’m pretty sure you want to pay for time served, not a pension,” Gessing said. Ta.
Action on the go 7 News: Download the app for free
New Mexico is the only state in the country with an unpaid legislature, meaning that lawmakers do not receive compensation during each session.
“What job can you take 30 or 60 days off? And a lot of our work is done during the interim session,” said Sen. Harold Pope.
Although Pope voted against the bill, he understands why it was passed.
“I would say people need to understand. They’ve sacrificed years to do this. So in a sense, they need support for the rest of their lives as well.” the pope said.
On May 15th, members’ retirement pensions will be increased.
The previous payment was $1,940 for each year of service. Going forward, new retirees will be paid $2,911 for each year they served in Congress.
The bill passed both the House and Senate in just five days during the recent 30-day session.
But not everyone was in favor of it.
“I would like to see reform where we have a paid legislature that can actually serve voters better. And we could also have staff working on these bills to do voter service. So , I didn’t vote for it,” Pope said.
There are limits to new pension increases.
Follow us on social: Facebook | twitter | Instagram | YouTube
To qualify, members must serve in Congress for at least 10 years.
They also have to pay $1,000 each year into the pension fund.
We reached out to the bill’s sponsor but did not hear back.
The new calculation applies only to future retirees after the bill’s effective date.
We received this statement from the Governor’s Office.
“Taxpayers will not be affected. The Legislative Retirement Fund is funded by contributions from each participating member of Congress, as well as distributions from oil and gas revenues and tax revenues collected under the Pass-Through Entity Withholding Tax Act. An out-of-state entity is funding this distribution.” ”
Stay up to date with the latest from Santa Fe’s Roundhouse and Washington with updates on the KOAT app.You can download here.