A MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES OVER THE LOSS OF TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE IRMA RANGEL.

WHEREAS, Texas State Representative Irma Rangel passed away on March 18, 2003 after a long battle with cancer; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel was the first Mexican-American woman elected to the Texas state house, in 1976; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel was a passionate advocate for the poor, the needy and the underserved; and

WHEREAS, when she saw a wrong she would fight it and if she saw a right she would fight for it; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel served as chairwoman of the Texas house higher education committee, and she authored the Texas state law that required Texas colleges and universities to automatically admit high school students who graduated in the top ten percent of their class; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel graduated from St. Mary's university school of law in San Antonio, Texas; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel closed her private law practice in 1993 to devote herself to the people of Texas' forty-third house district; and

WHEREAS, Representative Rangel was a role model for Hispanic lawmakers throughout Texas and the southwest; and

WHEREAS, her passion for the people she represented should be modeled by all legislators in the United States;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that condolences be expressed to the family of Representative Rangel, the Texas house of representatives, the Texas Hispanic caucus and the people of the state of Texas; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the family of Representative Irma Rangel and to the Texas house of representatives.