To the editor

Paid legislature

Beyond the races for various public offices, voters have an opportunity to address a number of ballot issues.  One of those items is Amendment 4 to the New Mexico State Constitution, which I encourage you to support. 

The purpose of the amendment is to provide salaries for our state legislators.  Passage of the amendment will make service in the legislature more accessible to people who otherwise could not afford to seek the position because they need paid employment to support their families and themselves. It will also recognize the value of the work done by the legislature and, if they can then spend less time on outside, paid employment, they have more time to devote to oversight of the executive branch and to being more accessible to their constituents.

In addition to their work during the 30-day and 60-day sessions, legislators serve on interim committees which meet multiple times between legislative sessions and require travel around the state. They also have responsibility for learning the needs of their constituents, especially in relation to capital outlay and funds allocated to legislators for special projects. Paying legislators is a cost of government and a responsibility of the public.

How much would they be paid and when? The salary would be set at the level of the median household income in the state (about $68,000 last year) and would not take effect until January 2029.

Kathy Brook

Las Cruces

What constituency is he serving?

Some people say politics is the art of compromise, but lately it seems more like the art of rolling over to big money interests, even by those we think we can depend upon to protect the health and safety of our communities.

A case in point is Senator Heinrich's proposed Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), an act that would gut portions of our most successful environmental laws. The bill intends to fast track permitting for big polluters by weakening safeguards. Arbitrary deadlines for permit issuance, limiting opportunities for communities and individuals to challenge permits, new provisions that allow polluters to sue when permits are not delivered on schedule, even when there has not been time to fully evaluate the environmental impacts the project will have on communities - these are the hallmarks of the bill offered by a senator who likes to portray himself as an

environmentalist.

Senator Heinrich hopes to bring his bill to the floor in early November, before changes in the Senate take place post-midterms. It seems he is unwilling to take the risk that if his fellow Democrats attain a majority in the senate they will reject his corporate handout.

And, that raises the question: whose interest is Senator Heinrich trying to serve here? Certainly not my interests. Nor the interests of the communities he represents. So, who does that leave? Oh yeah,...the polluters.

Glenn Landers

Las Cruces