My regular readers will know of my affection for the Out West Roundup, a Colorado Politics feature that lets us keep up to date with the goings on out here in the western U.S., and draws attention to stories that likely would otherwise go unreported. This week’s column is no different, and so I will leap atop my soapbox of idealism to comment on a thing or two going on that may have escaped your gaze.

If you haven’t driven through New Mexico, you have missed a treat. It’s a lovely state, and Santa Fe is about the most understated state capital there is. There are many lovely and interesting places to visit, including the Taos Pueblo, the only living location of Native Americans that is both a United Nations World Heritage site and a National Historic Landmark. And though on a global scale our nation is relatively youthful, when compared to our European friends, Taos Pueblo has been continuously occupied for nearly 1,000 years.

If you visit Santa Fe in hopes of seeing their state legislature in action, you must plan carefully. The legislature is only in session for 60 days in odd numbered years, and a mere 30 days in even numbered years. And if you are a New Mexico resident who wants to serve in the legislature, you probably need to be either retired or rich, and that’s a shame.

Happily, there is an effort to fix the problem.

New Mexico is the only state in the U.S. that by custom and law keeps their legislature unsalaried. Though they can collect an allowance for food, travel, lodgings and such, they receive no base salary. And that makes them unique among the states. The next closest in frugality is New Hampshire (maybe it is an issue with being a “new” state?), which pays its legislators $100 per year — technically a salary, but, seriously, a silly amount.

The idea, of course, is a noble one. Famously in history, Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus (can you guess which U.S. city is named after him?) was a 5th-century BC statesman, soldier and farmer. When a crisis befell his beloved Rome, as the story goes, he was offered command, as a total dictator, over Rome and her armies. Cincinnatus is said to have left his plow in his field, and to have returned to Rome to serve as, well, total dictator. Once the crisis was past, rather than clinging to power, he resigned as dictator and returned to his plow. (One can only hope that someone had been feeding the horse, but history is silent on that).

The American Cincinnatus was, of course, George Washington, and it can be argued that he was even better than Cincinnatus, in that Washington resigned from near-dictatorial power twice: once when he resigned after the Revolutionary War as commander in chief, and then again, when he declined to serve as president past a second term.

Perhaps the founders of New Mexico had these two gentlemen in mind when they created a volunteer legislature. On first glimpse, it might seem like a fine idea, wherein only dedicated volunteers would, metaphorically, step away from their own plows to serve in the legislature for no pay. And I admit, it’s a nice thought.

But it is also a pretty terrible idea.

You see, in order to serve the good people of New Mexico, you must be able to work for free, and that work extends far beyond the few weeks they are formally in session. And that means that the legislature will, by necessity, be made up of people who don’t have to work and earn a living wage.

So, what does that actually mean to the composition of the legislature?

Frankly, it means that only a few special classes of people will be able to run. And if you are not of one of those special classes, you are basically unrepresented.

Retirees, like me for example, could run for office. My Air Force pension is entirely adequate to live on, and I could afford to run for a seat in New Mexico. Heck, I ran for the U.S. Congress back in 2008, a feat impossible absent my military pension.

Who else can afford to run? Well, wealthy people, who already have money in the bank, can run. So, if you are not rich, you are basically unrepresented.

Who else?

Well, that’s about it, actually.

If you want to serve the people of New Mexico (or New Hampshire), you must be financially independent. In theory, folks could run while still working, but that would be tough and would also likely introduce conflicts of interest.

Frankly speaking, you get what you pay for.

If you want a state legislature (or a federal one for that matter), that is professional and reflects the basic demographics of the state, you need to pay a salary that will allow the 27-year-old teacher who wants to serve to run against the 42-year-old firefighter.

Happily, some relief may be in sight. The state Senate narrowly endorsed an amendment to the state constitution that would get rid of the salary prohibition and would let voters decide, come next November, if the legislators should be paid the rough median income of the state, which turns out to be around $67,000 per year. That, my friends, would be a giant step toward more representative government. It will be a tough vote to win, as lots and lots of people are pretty cynical about elected officials, but I got my fingers crossed.

I can only hope that the good people of New Mexico realize that their rights are better protected when the legislature looks more like all of them, and not just the old and rich. I’m not optimistic, but maybe we’ll get lucky, and New Mexico will create a better state legislature.

Next stop, New Hampshire.

Stay tuned.

Hal Bidlack is a retired professor of political science and a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who taught more than 17 years at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.