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It’s half over.

How about the worst part?

There are a number of possibilities. Too many memorials. Weak coffee. Too few legislators who understand their own bills. But I’ll go with Sen. George Muñoz congratulating himself for being a humble servant of the people.

What’s wrong with humble service?

Nothing. My complaint is about self-serving legislators such as Muñoz, a Democrat from Gallup.

Catch me up. What did Muñoz do, talk out of both sides of his mouth?

Something like that. Muñoz this week helped block a proposed constitutional amendment to pay legislators a base salary. He declared he’s at the Capitol only to serve. What he failed to mention was his record of supporting bills to improve his personal finances.

How can he do that if he doesn’t make a living at the public trough?

Legislators in 2022 and again last year increased their own pensions. The first bump was 27%. They followed up with a whopping 50% increase. Muñoz voted for both.

You mean legislators who aren’t salaried can get a pension?

Only in New Mexico, as they say.

And they gave themselves two pension increases in two years?

You’re catching on.

Those percentages you mentioned seem pretty large. How about providing a dollars-and-cents example of what sort of pension an ousted or retired legislator will receive?

Sure thing. According to the Legislature’s calculations, a senator or representative with 20 years’ service who retires this year would receive an annual pension of more than $62,000. A 30-year lawmaker’s pension would exceed $93,000 annually.

How about that gutsy senator who saved the taxpayers a bundle by opposing salaries for legislators? What kind of pension would he get?

Muñoz is in his 17th year as a senator. He could qualify at this stage for an annual pension of more than $50,000. I say “could� because legislators had to sign up for the pension program and make small annual contributions, initially $500 and now $1,000.

You mean taxpayers are providing almost all the money for legislators’ pensions? Math is your strong suit.

A lot of these legislators are young, much younger than you. They have to wait until they’re in their 60s to collect these pensions, don’t they?

Actually, no. Former legislators who served at least 10 years can start collecting their pensions at any age. Retired House Speaker Brian Egolf, D-·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe, phoned me the other day. He’s not yet 50, but he’s the recipient of a legislative pension.

I’ll be. Pensions for part-time legislators seem much more favorable than the ones for full-time public employees. How can we stop the politicians from rewarding themselves to this extreme?

Elect legislators who are committed to repealing the pension increases.

Hmmm. Would that be tough?

As tough as it gets. Entrenched legislators often receive hefty campaign contributions from PACs, corporations and lobbyists. Incumbents typically outspend challengers by significant amounts.

So we’re stuck with a bad system?

Barring a revolution at the ballot box, it would appear so.

Hold on a minute. I read there are a lot of newcomers in the Legislature this year. Sixteen of the 42 senators are freshmen. Couldn’t they close ranks in an attempt to overturn these excessive pensions?

Not this year. The deadline to introduce legislation was Thursday. Beyond that, the statistic of about 16 new senators doesn’t mean they’re all new to the Capitol or new to looking out for themselves. Four of the new senators served for years in the House of Representatives. While in that chamber, Republicans Candy Spence Ezzell, Larry Scott and Jim Townsend voted to twice increase their legislative pensions, by 27% and then 50%. Democrat Natalie Figueroa voted for the 27% pension bump but against the 50% increase.

Are you telling me Republicans who generally oppose salaries for legislators also voted to boost their own pensions?

Of course. Both bills for the pension increases had bipartisan support and carried by wide margins. For instance, the Senate voted 34-0 for the 27% increase. The other eight senators were listed as absent or excused.

Did those eight skip the vote to protect themselves from political fallout? Few make it to the Legislature without being calculating. Fewer still can honestly say they have never ducked a vote. But all of them will tell you they vote their conscience, no matter the cost.

Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at msimonich@sfnewmexican.com or 505-986-3080.