Gov., other state officials would get five-figure pay bump under proposed bill | Local News

New Mexico’s state elected officials would receive five-digit pay rises under one of several bills approved by the Legislative Finance Committee on Monday, on the eve of the start of the 30-day legislative session.

Other bills the committee endorsed include a proposal to make New Mexico a hub of hydrogen production, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham called her administration’s “signature law” during the session, and a measure that would lower the tax rate on gross receipts in the state by a quarter percent.

A bill creating a venture capital program in the New Mexico Finance Authority, legislation that would make a number of changes to the state’s procurement law, and a bill that would increase the minimum distribution in the Early Childhood Trust Fund from $30 million to $40 million. Dollar increases were confirmed by the committee.

The proposal to increase the salaries of elected officials does not include the legislature.

Members of the Public Regulation Commission would get the largest pay rise of $90,000 to $140,000. The proposed pay rise comes after voters approved a constitutional amendment that changed the body from an elected five-member commission to an appointed three-member commission.

The original proposal called for an increase in commissioners’ salaries to $115,000. But Sen. Steve Neville, R-Farmington, successfully lobbied for a bigger raise.

“We will recruit people [serve on the commission], and we’re looking for lawyers, we’re looking [certified public accountants]”We want electrical engineers, the kind of people who apply for these jobs,” he said.

Under the proposal, the governor would get the next highest salary increase, from $110,000 to $150,000 — or $40,000 more per year. The salaries of the Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Comptroller and Treasurer would increase from $85,000 to $115,000 per year. The attorney general’s salary would increase from $95,000 to $125,000 per year, and the commissioner of public lands would also receive $125,000 from the current salary of $90,000.

“We produced an FIR (Fiscal Impact Report) that includes the national ranks for the current payroll rankings and then the proposed rankings,” said Connor Jorgensen, an analyst for the committee. “In general, we will be somewhere in the middle when it comes to pay if the provisions of this bill are implemented.”

This is an evolving story and will be updated.