SENATE MEMORIAL 2

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first special session, 2020

INTRODUCED BY

Peter Wirth and Stuart Ingle

 

 

 

 

 

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING SENATOR MARY KAY PAPEN, SENATOR JOHN ARTHUR SMITH, SENATOR RICHARD C. MARTINEZ, SENATOR CLEMENTE "MEMÉ" SANCHEZ, SENATOR JAMES P. WHITE, SENATOR GREGG FULFER AND SENATOR GABRIEL RAMOS FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP TO NEW MEXICO.

 

     WHEREAS, Senator Mary Kay Papen was first elected in 2001 and has served twenty years in the senate representing Dona Ana county in district thirty-eight; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Papen has served on many standing and interim committees during her tenure in the senate, including as chair of the senate committees' committee, as vice chair of the senate education committee and as a co-chair on the New Mexico legislative council; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Papen was selected to serve as president pro tempore of the senate in 2013 and has served in that role for eight years; and

     WHEREAS, some of Senator Papen's most notable legislation includes the Assisted Outpatient Treatment Act, the Wholesale Prescription Drug Importation Act and Katie's Law; and

     WHEREAS, outside of the legislature, Senator Papen has volunteered and served on various foundation and committee boards, which has led her to receive numerous awards, including the governor's award for outstanding New Mexico women in 2000; and

     WHEREAS, Senator John Arthur Smith was first elected in 1989 and has served thirty-two years in the senate, representing Dona Ana, Hidalgo, Luna and Sierra counties in district thirty-five; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Smith has served as chair of the senate finance committee since 2008, and he formerly served as chair of the senate corporations and transportation committee and as vice chair of the senate public affairs committee; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Smith has worked countless hours helping the state to maintain a balanced budget; and

     WHEREAS, apart from his work on the state budget, Senator Smith has worked on legislation for health coverage for unmarried dependents, legislative oversight of the New Mexico lottery and the Learning Center Act; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Richard C. Martinez was first elected in 2001 and has served twenty years in the senate representing Los Alamos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe and Taos counties in district five; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Martinez served as vice chair on the senate judiciary committee from 2005 to 2010 and as chair from 2011 to 2019, and he also served as vice chair of the senate conservation committee; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Martinez received the New Mexico mining association's Senator Ben D. Altamirano award for legislative excellence in 2010; and

     WHEREAS, during his tenure in the senate, Senator Martinez has worked on the following notable legislation: the firearm sale background check, use of public water and landowner protection and providing authority to the northern New Mexico state school to develop and implement a teacher education program; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Clemente "Memé" Sanchez was first elected in 2013 and has served eight years in the senate representing Cibola, McKinley, Socorro and Valencia counties in district thirty; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Sanchez has served as vice chair on the senate corporations and transportation committee from 2013 to 2015 and as chair from 2016 to present, and he also served as chair on the committee on compacts; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Sanchez has worked on numerous pieces of legislation throughout his time in the senate, most notably legislation on raising the minimum wage, providing authority for creation of an off-campus instructional center for the university of New Mexico in Valencia county and narrowing a gross receipts tax deduction for chemicals and reagents; and     WHEREAS, Senator James P. White, who was first elected in 2009 and served as a member of the house of representatives until 2014 and was elected as a member of the senate in 2016, has served a total of nine years in the legislature representing Bernalillo, Sandoval, Torrance and Santa Fe counties; and

     WHEREAS, Senator White served as a member of numerous standing and interim committees during his time in the senate, including the senate education committee, the senate finance committee and the senate corporations and transportation committee; and

     WHEREAS, Senator White is a retired United States air force colonel who served in the air force for twenty-six years and whose experience in the air force influenced his time in the legislature, as exemplified by his work on an aviation gross receipts tax reduction bill for which he received a greater Albuquerque chamber of commerce start to finish award in 2014; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Gregg Fulfer was appointed to the senate in 2019 and served two years in the senate representing Lea and Eddy counties in district forty-one; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Fulfer served as a member of the senate corporations and transportation committee and the senate education committee; and

     WHEREAS, during his time in the senate, Senator Fulfer sponsored the engineering and surveying scholarship program; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Gabriel Ramos was appointed to the senate in 2019 and served two years in the senate representing Catron, Grant and Socorro counties in district twenty-eight; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Ramos served as vice chair of the senate Indian and cultural affairs committee in 2019 and served as chair in 2020, and he also served as a co-chair of the tobacco settlement revenue oversight committee in 2019; and

     WHEREAS, Senator Ramos has sponsored various pieces of legislation during his time in the senate, most notably the Tobacco Products Tax Act and the temporary election changes for the 2020 general election;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Senator Mary Kay Papen, Senator John Arthur Smith, Senator Richard C. Martinez, Senator Clemente "Memé" Sanchez, Senator James P. White, Senator Gregg Fulfer and Senator Gabriel Ramos be recognized for their significant service and leadership to New Mexico; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to Senator Mary Kay Papen, Senator John Arthur Smith, Senator Richard C. Martinez, Senator Clemente "Memé" Sanchez, Senator James P. White, Senator Gregg Fulfer and Senator Gabriel Ramos.

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