UNM research explores N.M. State Legislature modernization
January 17, 2023 - Carly Bowling and Savannah Peat
Lawmakers often use research and study committees to help inform legislative decisions, but this time it’s personal.
Two groups at The University of New Mexico sought to uncover the need and estimate the costs of modernizations to the state legislature that would include staffing, legislator compensation, and session scope and length. Lawmakers will weigh both of the individual reports from the Bureau of Business and Economic Research and UNM Political Science Professors Timothy Krebs and Michael Rocca as they consider changes in the 2023 legislative session.
Last spring, the state legislature appropriated funds for the Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) to investigate topics that have, in previous years, stirred controversy at the Roundhouse. Specifically, BBER was charged with surveying and interviewing members of the legislature to determine how often legislators were working without compensation if they felt they needed more staff, how they felt about session length and structure and whether or not they thought legislators should be paid.
Read more at UNM Newsroom.
