The Seal of the State of New Mexico inside the Roundhouse on Jan. 10, 2024. (Photo by Anna Padilla for Source NM)
About 16 percent of lawmakers have taken the required training to build field offices and hire staff to work in the places they represent across the state.
Lawmakers can choose whether to hire a district legislative aide. If they do, they must go through human resources training, according to policy adopted in June by the Legislative Council, the committee made up of representatives and senators that oversees all lawmaking between sessions.
Eighteen lawmakers have gone through the training so far, newly appointed Legislative Council Director Shawna Casebear said at a virtual meeting on Monday. There are 112 total seats in the House and Senate.
Fourteen district legislative aides have been hired, along with one district office manager, Casebear said. She did not specify which lawmakers hired them.
According to the policy, district legislative aides will be responsible for correspondence, scheduling, policy research, local constituent services, organization of nonpartisan town halls, and other duties assigned by the lawmaker as appropriate. Aides are explicitly prohibited from any election or campaign related work.
Any lawmaker without opposition in the upcoming elections, became eligible on Sept. 1 to hire district legislative aides, said outgoing Legislative Council Service director Raúl Burciaga during a previous meeting.
If the incumbent in a contested race wins in November, they can start hiring staff Dec. 1. Newly elected members will be able to hire in April 2025, Burciaga said.
N.M. Legislature approves study of district offices, staff for every lawmaker
A working group made up of Legislative Council Service staff is meeting to address questions that have come up in the rollout of lawmakers’ district offices, Casebear said. The group is considering potential revisions to the legislative district office policy, she said.
The Legislative Council’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 25. Casebear said she intends to have some recommendations for the Council then.
Sen. Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez (D-Albuquerque) said she wanted lawmakers to be able to use their district staff when the Legislature is insession as a legislative aide in Santa Fe, as well.
“I understand that’s not allowed, and I see that’s a real problem,” Sedillo-Lopez said. “Since I’m working with that individual on legislation, the idea of training a new person during the session seems kind of silly.”
Casebear said the working group is looking at the issue. Session staff are supposed to be hired by the chief clerks of the House and Senate, she said, and there is limited office space in the Roundhouse.
“To date, we have discussed that (district legislative aides) will not be working as session staff, in particular, that the position is focused on work in the district, but it’s certainly an ongoing discussion as part of those working group discussions,” Casebear said.
Sedillo-Lopez said it does not make sense to hire one legislative aide at the district level and hire a second one for the session.
“One idea that was thrown out was to have the staff resign from this position and then get hired on — which again, seems kind of silly to me,” Sedillo-Lopez said.
The Legislative Council Service has hired new staff to support current operations and additional support needed for district offices and district legislative aides, Casebear said.
The new hires include a web developer, a network administrator, two computer specialists and four new human resources workers, she said. The Legislative Council Service wants to hire two additional accounting staffers this fall, she said.
Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D-Albuquerque) asked when there will be guidelines to rent and furnish district offices.
Casebear said there isn’t a specific guide, but one is in the works.
She said current policies require the Legislative Council Service to approve leases and ensure any furniture is properly purchased or leased under the state’s procurement code.
The policy lets lawmakers pick where their district office will be, but requires them to consider public spaces before they seek out a space in the private market.
House Speaker Javier Martinez, who chairs the council, encouraged lawmakers to look for places they can rent for free like community centers, senior centers, universities or colleges, especially those representing urban areas.
“That’s not an official policy necessarily but I would certainly encourage us all to look for those options before we enter into any type of expensive lease agreement,” he said.